The Great Summer Reading Race Encourages Young Readership

Tuesday, May 26, kicked off the Great Summer Reading Race at the Reader's Cove Bookstore. The race is designed to encourage readership among students over the summer and the reward isn't just reading books, they actually receive prizes for reading.

Students can register anytime during the summer, but the biggest prize is $1,000 in books for the school with the most points. Young readers can read up to two books a day and prove they read the books by: skits, paintings, poems, pictures, sculptures, book reports, videos, songs and anything else that demonstrates they read the books.

The points and prices break down like this: anything from their treasure chest (zero points), $5 gift card to Reader's Cove (10), coupons to local businesses in the vacinity (15) and entering the drawing for the $1,000 in books for a particular school (25).

Although encouraging readership among students is a great way to guide them to read more (or at all), isn't reading itself enough of a reward?

Another program that started in the summer to encourage young readers was the 25-year-old show, "Reading Rainbow" with LeVar Burton.

The program featured a book, which was read by a celebrity, and then LeVar choose a theme that was related to the book. The themes usually involved looking closer at the way things were made (how jeans were made was my favorite!) or a particular profession.

Growing up, every Thursday afternoon in my elementary school we got end the day with this program and the words of the theme song still resonate with me today, "I can be anything! Take a look, it's in a book - a Reading Rainbow..."

Now really, what is better in the long run, prizes that will eventually be thrown away or the knowledge from books and the affirmation that I can be anything I want to be?

No brainer.

But either way, summer reading programs are great because they facilitate healthy relationships with reading literacy. Studies show that reading literacy has improved over the last 30 years, but that is primarily due to encouragement to read and not simply being compelled to read.

And as LeVar used to say at the close of every show, "'But you don't have to take my word for it...'"