Every Hero's Story

Summer Reading is in full swing here. Registration for our Every Hero Has a Story (ages birth–12 years) and Unmasked (ages 13–17 years) opened on June 1.

As of this writing, 13,256 children and teens have completed the online registration through our Beanstack portal. These children and teens (plus the approximately 1,400 adults who have created profiles) have logged an amazing 48,450 books read. The children and teens have earned 29,057 badges for their reading, earning incentives like water bottles, as well as stickers for their booklets (English and Spanish language booklets available in all branches while supplies last).

One of the reasons summer reading is special is that it is open to all kinds of reading. Research suggests that allowing kids to select their reading material, encourages reading for fun and helps prevent “summer slide,” which can leave children unprepared for the next year of school. Our program encourages just that: kids can log any book read, whether they read it by themselves, listened to it read by a parent, or read it aloud to a younger sibling, or a Grandreader, or a dog.

Have a hard time finding anything your kid wants to read? Our staff can help, as can our summer reading software. Connected to the Zoobean summer reading software, the summer reading portal can send you a weekly reading recommendation based on your child’s reading level and interest and selected from our collection. These recommendations will continue after the summer reading program ends on August 31 for year round reading fun. Of course, you can also talk to our staff in any branch who will help you find the right books for your child, from picture books to chapter books to graphic novels.

Of course, we can’t talk about Summer Reading without talking about programs! This summer children across the County have enjoyed visits from horses to hedgehogs, from goats to penguins, from music to magic to science, so there has been a little bit (or maybe a lot!) of everything. Teens can participate in financial literacy programs, teen writing clubs, game clubs, and movie nights.

… And we’re not done yet! Registration for Summer Reading remains open through August 9. Registered participants can log books read (and earn badges) through August 31, and programs will also continue throughout the month of August. Hope to see you soon!

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