Summer Reading Program Kicks-off at the Library
The Kokomo-Howard County Public Library’s summer reading program kicks off Friday, setting the stage for a season of shared adventures and endless imagination for readers of all ages.
This year’s theme, All Together Now, features weekly themes of unity, giving, kindness, belonging, community and friendship. This annual program kicks off coinciding with the Strawberry Festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, June 2.
TKP Photo | Heidi Pruitt
All ages are invited to sign up for the Summer Reading Program, which features prizes for reaching reading goals, free family-friendly events throughout the summer and a private two-hour final bash at Kokomo Beach for participants who complete four out of six weeks of the program.
“All we do is we ask people when they sign up to track their reading. We have a paper version with stickers or you can track your reading online using Beanstack. We don’t say how long you have to read, we just want you to read every day,” said Trina Evans, Children’s Services Coordinator.
Throughout the six-week program, which runs through July 22, readers can create streaks.
“Similar to reading streaks on your Kindle or Garmin or streaks on Snapchat, the library will have reading streaks for summer reading, We know people will break their streaks, but there are additional power-ups to make up for it,” said Evans.
Alongside the “All Together Now” theme, program participants can make up for missed streaks by volunteering, attending library events or even checking out a book.
“There aren’t many multigenerational activities around, grandmas reading to babies, parents reading to children. It all counts,” said Evans. “That’s kind of how the streaks came about. In previous years, when you have to read a certain amount of time each day or a certain amount of books during the summer, we felt like it began to feel like a forced chore. We’re hoping if you start to read the first chapter, that you’ll want to keep reading.”
After enjoying time at the Strawberry Festival on Friday, make your way to the downtown library for free food, crafts, and fun including a 360-degree video booth from 4 to 8 p.m. Indy 500 Festival Princess Hailee Pearson will be at the library from 4 to 6 p.m. to visit with members from the community as well.
“We’re just trying to show people how important the library is and all of our resources and all the amazing things the library offers. We’re always thinking of what we can do for the community and what we can do to make the community its best and this is one of the things we do,” said Evans.
Find more information on the summer reading program including all of the events, visit www.khcpl.com.