Enjoy 'Wild Reads' at Storrs Library

LONGMEADOW The Storrs Library invites both parents and children to join our reading programs at our Registration Celebration on June 23 from 5 to 7 p.m.

It's a night of ice cream and balloons for kids of all ages and their parents. This Meadows Masons' sponsored event is free of charge and the whole family is welcome to attend. It's a great evening for kids, their families and caregivers, to explore the joy of reading at the Storrs Library by joining our reading program Wild Reads at Your Library!

Youngsters who participate in the program will expand their knowledge, broaden their foundations for future learning, maintain their reading skills and just have fun! Parents who participate will show their children that reading is fun for everyone. Weekly adult raffles will be a highlight of the adult summer component of Wild Reads at Your Library!

Each parent who enrolls their child and visits the Discovery Room throughout the summer will receive a chance to win gift certificates for each visit they make with their children.

Libraries are in the business of making reading fun, but the rewards of reading for pleasure are tangible. According to a recent national study, children who participate in summer reading programs show an increase in vocabulary scores on standardized testing and an increase in comprehension scores. Best of all, kids are successful whether they read a lot or read a little. As a participant in this statewide summer reading program, readers from the Storrs Library will receive bookmarks and reading logs.

Families who join the summer reading program will receive reading incentives donated by local merchants and coupons for reduced admissions to a variety of Massachusetts' cultural and recreational institutions. Students will receive the support they need to maintain their reading skills throughout the summer.

Each Youth Service librarian in more than 350 libraries throughout the state customizes this program. Wild Reads at Your Library! is provided with funding from the Massachusetts Regional Library Systems and the Board of Library Commissioners in partnership with the Storrs Library. It will run for seven weeks, ending on Aug. 8, with drawings for the kids for each hour of reading weekly.

Every child who participates receives a paperback book and is invited to our end of the summer ice cream party sponsored by the Longmeadow Friendly's. There will also be a final grand prize drawing for students with the winner announced at our free roller skating party sponsored by Interskate 91 in Wilbraham.

Visit the Storrs Library, 693 Longmeadow St., and join Wild Reads at Your Library! It will be the best thing you can do for your family this summer.