Area summer readers keep skills up

Children and teens in Northwest Arkansas are reading book after book this summer in hopes of scoring record players, Xbox Live subscriptions, gift cards, cash, baseball tickets and books given away at the end of the month.

Summer reading programs sponsored by local libraries are nothing new, but the way they're being set up is different from the ones of the past. Gone are the days of tracking the number of books read by avid junior readers or asking all children to read the same book. Now, prizes are awarded to children who spend the most collective minutes reading.

"The really competitive kids understand that concept -- the more they read, the more times they're entered for a grand prize," said Lolly Greenwood, director of youth services at Fayetteville Public Library. "Ours is an independent reading program driven by parents and readers themselves."

Reading programs at Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville libraries are all free to enter and don't require a library card. Participants are given reading logs to track minutes and incentives at multiple levels--some weekly, some monthly.

It helps keep children's reading skills up in June and July. That's the biggest advantage, reading program organizers said.

"It keeps them reading during summer to avoid that reading loss that happens frequently," Greenwood said. "We hear from teachers that kids can slide down one or two grade levels during the summer otherwise."

At 3,900 reading listeners, Fayetteville Public Library has the largest summer reading program in Northwest Arkansas. They keep the engagement high, Greenwood said, through end-of-week activities, reader parties and daytime lock-ins. Each reading log is awarded with coupons for fun activities in Fayetteville, later weeks have mid-level prizes, and there are always drawings for iPads, $100 bills and tickets to Silver Dollar City.

The cream of the crop, though, is a party for the top 20 readers who are rewarded with a meal from Zaxby's, goodie bags and Target gift cards.

To encourage reading, local programs don't put limits on the titles, authors or genres that children can choose from.

"Continuing to read throughout the summer helps children to not fall into the 'summer slide,' when they lose some of the skills they gained throughout the school year," said Sue Ann Pekel, children's librarian for the Bentonville Public Library. "And, of course, one of the greatest benefits is the value of the stories they're reading."

The Bentonville library reading program, which had more than 1,600 participants last year, is broken into age categories, beginning with a "read to me" program for children young enough to need help reading stories.

Goals are set by amount of time spent reading daily for independent readers.

"Lifelong learning is a part of our mission, so all ages are eligible to participate," Pekel said. "We have them set a daily goal for how much time they'll read each day to encourage daily reading as a lifelong habit."

Participants can log their minutes online so they can keep reading and competing for those prizes regardless of where they are that week. Completed reading logs are awarded with stickers funded by the Friends of Bentonville Library and a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. Weekly incentives in the form of book-oriented supplies -- such as bookmarks, pencils, and erasers and gifts from local businesses -- keep children focused.

Once Bentonville participants meet their personal summer reading goal, they're awarded with a free book supplied by Reader Link, a vendor to Wal-Mart that supplies a plethora of popular titles to choose from, and get a paper trophy on the Champions Wall of Reading. When school starts back, Pekel said many are honored for their dedication at the first assembly of the year through a partnership that relays the amount of reading minutes back to their teachers.

The Rogers Public Library is taking a different approach to its reading program. They involve more reluctant readers through the use of game boards that guide children through activities, many reading-related, but interspersed with tasks of "go for a walk," "tell someone a story" or "put on some music and dance."

"We try to keep them challenged but make it a lot of fun," said Rebecca Willhite, Rogers children's library director.

The reading goals come in short bursts of reading 15 or more minutes a day -- a difference that was intentional to refocus the quality of reading.

"We used to count how many minutes read, but a lot of kids were just trying to get the minutes and not enjoying the process of reading," Willhite said. With that type of reading goal, "kids who were slower readers felt a little excluded because their numbers weren't as high. This way it's more inclusive."

Game boards divided by age categories keep activities appropriate. The weekly incentive is a take-home science activity pack in which children make things through an engineering challenge, such as following directions to build a structure out of toothpicks and marshmallows.

Completing five gameboards lands the first 150 participants a pair of tickets to a Northwest Arkansas Naturals baseball game. Past years of the Rogers program have seen 1,800 participants, but Willhite expects that number will dip to 1,000 this year because of a change in protocol requiring children to turn the boards into the library in person.

Springdale Public Library has leaned toward an activity-oriented reading program as well for activities that take place at the library.

"It's a good way for them to continue to read over the summer, but it's getting kids and parents into the library, which is the most important part of it," said Laura Speer, coordinator for children's services.

A "kibbles and books" program encourages children to read aloud to therapy dogs to grow confidence in their skills, and a Chispas story time reading children's books in Spanish and English. This summer, Friends of the Springdale Library began to provide round trip Ozark Transit tickets based on feedback from patrons who have difficulty getting transportation to the premises.

Only 625 participants are registered, but 3,000 children and families attend these summer reading activities.

They too hand out stickers and Naturals game tickets, but the fifth week of reading awards patrons with a book of their choice -- whether that's mystery, adventure, romance or thrillers, Speer said they're increasingly offered in a variety of languages.

"We just want them to enjoy reading and coming to the library," Speer said. "Summer is a time for recreational reading to not feel like a chore."

NW News on 07/18/2016