For Parents

Children and teens who read succeed!

Multnomah County Library's Summer Reading program promotes reading as a fun activity during the summer. Children and teens who read for fun during the summer maintain their reading skills and are more likely to be successful when they return to school.

Reading for recreation develops lifelong reading habits that will always bring entertainment and learning opportunities. Here at the library, we think that reading is its own reward and incentives add to the fun, encouraging both enthusiastic and reluctant readers to enjoy reading during the summer.

We want kids of all ages to enjoy the game, so you may tailor the program to suit your child. All reading counts, and all players may count the time someone reads to them.

To customize the program for your child or teen, you might:

Make the game easier or less stressful for a reluctant reader by decreasing the amount of time needed to mark off a space on the gameboard. Or, increase the amount of time to make the game more challenging for an enthusiastic reader.
Finish a time requirement in more than one sitting, if you child becomes restless.
Use optional activities at your discretion. You may choose to count reading only.

If you prefer your child not receive incentives for reading, consider encouraging them to use their reading to earn Book Bucks. Each Book Buck earned goes towards buying books for kids in homeless shelters and child care centers.

One of Summer Reading's main goals is to connect youth with their public library. Because of this, participants must be present to select their own prizes.

If you have questions, ask for help at your library.

Multnomah County Library offers hundreds of special events and activities for babies, kids and teens this summer to encourage children to use their library even more. Ask at your library for a schedule of events.

The final day to collect incentives is August 31, 2008.