During the summer months, children can lose up to a month of reading skills, and local libraries have a summer reading program designed to help, and not just for the children.
“It’s just an opportunity for us to reach out into the community and encourage everyone of all ages to read,” said Abby Reese, the outreach librarian for the Madison Library District. “Our big push is obviously kids. We really want to combat the summer slide where pretty much everything they have read throughout the school year moves its way on out and then they have to relearn that over the next school year.”
These reading programs are a tradition for libraries across Eastern Idaho and are even supported state-wide to help children retain what they have learned over the school year.
Programs often offer rewards for those who participate in an effort to keep people engaged in reading despite summer being a season where reading tends to be at the bottom of the priority list.
“You know, school gets out, and summer gets really busy, but we want to make sure that kids keep reading, and that also goes for our teens and we also don’t want the adults to feel left out of the fun so we have children’s programs, a teens program and an adults program,” said Trina Bonman, the associate director of the Marshall Public Library in Pocatello.
You or your children can sign up by visiting your local library or by checking out their websites.