By CYNTHIA WOOLBRIGHT
Staff reporter
It’s lucky for Gabby Lopez that her last day of school at the South Whidbey Primary School this week was only a half-day.
Waiting until school got out at 11:25 a.m. Wednesday was almost too long for the Freeland 6-year-old to bear. By the time she and her mother arrived at the Freeland Library that afternoon, she was about to burst with excitement.
“As soon as she got out of school she kept hurrying me and telling me that we had to get here because she was worried that all the books would be gone,” said her mother, Bridget Lopez.
Gabby Lopez wasn’t the only kid excited to be at the library Wednesday. It was the opening day of registration for the Summer Reading Adventure and the Clinton, Freeland and Langley libraries were bustling. As of Thursday afternoon, nearly 300 eager readers had signed up to, of all things, spend their summer vacations reading.
“It’s important that kids become better readers when they can do it for fun, and not just during the school year for academic purposes, and summer reading programs offer this opportunity,” said Debby Colfer, the manager of the Clinton Library manager and childrens’ liaison for the Langley and Freeland libraries.
In the Summer Reading Adventure, two groups get special attention — preschool through sixth-graders, and teens and adults.
Last year, over 800 South Whidbey residents registered for the program, according to Laurie Barker-Perez, children’s librarian for the Freeland and Langley libraries.
This year, the Summer Reading Adventure has the Lewis and Clark Expedition as its theme. Participants set a summer reading goal of either hours or books read, then chart their reading progress.
“They set their own goal and this helps them learn a little about goal setting for other things in their lives,” Barker-Perez said.
Those meeting reading goals can win prizes such as Everett Aqua Sox tickets, free books, Italian sodas, gift certificates and more.
Additionally, reading events are held through the summer to keep the excitement level high.
Children often return year after year to fill their summer days flipping through Harry Potter tales, Nancy Drew mysteries and the adventures of the Cat in the Hat. Librarians get to see children such as nine-year-old Alissa Coupe and her brother, Cameron, 8, mature right before their eyes. The Coupes are starting their third year of summer reading.
“We have so many kids who can remember the prizes from two or three years back and have all of their certificates lined up on their wall,” Barker-Perez said.
Teen and adult reading participants also set reading goals and have program events throughout the summer. Additionally, they can choose to write book reviews to qualify for prizes. Upon submitting their first review, they receive Aqua Sox tickets, and all submittals at the individual libraries are then entered for an end-of-summer drawing for prizes, including tickets to Experience Music Project, $20 gift certificates at local businesses and more.
Those business donors keep the program running.
“Each year this program continues to grow and it has truly become a collaborative effort between the libraries and local merchants,” Colfer said.
The Summer Reading Adventure runs through the Wild and Wacky Readers Round-Up finale event Aug. 23.
