Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Bernardsville Library Summer Reading Clubs Kick-Off









One World, Many Stories: That’s the theme of Bernardsville Library’s Reading Club for children this summer. Children can expand their horizons when they travel, but they can also expand them by reading about other lands, listening to others who have traveled, and enjoying music, dance, games and stories from other cultures. That’s what will happen at the library this summer.

Sign-up for all summer activities begins Monday, June 20, and the official kick-off will take place on Saturday, June 25 at 1:00 pm with Wild Animals and Wallaby Tales, a traveling zoo that will be an amazing, comical, and educational experience for families.

One World, Many Stories is the summer reading club theme adopted by New Jersey and across the United States for children aged 2½ to Grade 6. You Are Here will be geared toward teens in Grades 7 to 12. Travel and foreign countries will be the subject of many of the activities at the library—focusing on the United States, India, Egypt and many more locales. There will be weekly craft programs, drop-in story times, and incentives and prizes to encourage reading, all of which are designed both to entertain and challenge children through the summer months.

Plenty of special events are scheduled, ranging from songfests with local musician Jeanne DePodwin (Mondays, July 11 and 25 at 7:00 pm); open chess games and tournaments under the direction of Martin Sobin (Wednesdays, June 29-July 20 at 7:00 pm); a performance by Kit’s Interactive Theatre, The Mysteries of Ancient Egypt (Thursday July 14 at 3:00 pm); Peacock Surprise with Enjoy Explore India (Thursday, August 4 at 6:00 pm); and Road Trip USA, a “trip” across the country led by tour guides from the library’s Teen Advisory Council (Saturday, July 16, 1:00-3:00 pm). Older children and teens will enjoy a henna (mehndi) workshop (Monday, August 1 at 6:30 pm) and make a connection to Indian culture with Move to the Music, Bollywood Style! with Enjoy Explore India (Thursday, August 4 at 7:00 pm).

Importance of Reading
Studies show that reading as a leisure activity is a powerful tool to increase reading comprehension, speed and vocabulary. Significant learning losses can occur over the summer if children don't read. The idea behind the summer reading programs is to help motivate children to read, to develop positive attitudes about reading and books, and to help students maintain and improve reading skills while they have fun.

Sign-Up
The summer reading clubs are open to readers aged 2½ through high school. Sign-ups for all programs begin Monday morning, June 20 when the library opens. The programs will run from Saturday, June 25 through Friday, August 19. This year, for the first time, special logbooks, in which participants record reading minutes to earn prizes, will be available to download from the library’s website. Middle and high schoolers will be able to earn community service hours in a book buddy reading program. Registration is open all summer. There is no charge to attend the programs, but advance sign-up is usually required. Register online at http://www.bernardsvillelibrary.org/ and follow the link under Kid Stuff, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

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