When I was in elementary school, I participated in a summer reading program at a bookstore in my neighborhood. While I don’t remember actually signing up or logging my reading time, what does stand out in my memory is getting a call that I had won a prize in the drawing for people who had completed a certain amount of reading time. I can still remember walking into the store one afternoon and telling a person at the counter who I was, and watching as she reached down to a shelf and then handed me a boxed set of books. I had won a whole series! I was so flabbergasted to be given such a treasure, and I went home and immediately became engrossed in the Bunnicula books, which I would read on several other occasions, and still remember fondly to this day.
My library’s summer reading program is officially in motion, and I think it’s a great activity for kids to get involved in. Yes, the lure of prizes is probably a motivating factor for some, but I think that the simple practice of reading daily can create a great long-term habit for many. When I did the summer reading program, I was already a reader. I didn’t need incentives to make me pick up a book. But because I participated and was fortunate enough to win something, I was given even more motivation to read. And I even discovered a set of books that I might not have found on my own. Talk about a great prize.
There's probably a summer reading program near you. Go sign up! I promise that on those languid, hot summer days (especially for those of us in Texas), there is sometimes no better way to beat the heat than to lay under a fan with a cold drink and a good book.
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