When is children's summer reading?

• Monday, June 22 - Thursday, August 27, 2009.

Who can participate in children's summer reading?

• Children of all ages!  There are two programs:
  • Read to Me Club for pre-readers in their first five years.  The Read to Me Costume Party is Wednesday, August 19 at 11 a.m.
  • Summer Reading Club for kids reading on their own.  The Summer Reading Finale Party is Thursday, August 27 at 6 p.m.  The visiting author will be Grace Lin, she wrote Year of the Dog, one of CT's current Nutmeg books!  Pick up your party pass by Wednesday, August 26.

How do I sign up?

• If you do not have a user name, create one with either a library card or an email address.  If you have one already, just log in.
• Sign up for summer reading online either at home or in the library.  But, then come in to pick up your summer reading passport!  Summer Reading Club members (readers) also get a FREE BOOK with their passport.  You choose the book!

What is the passport?

• The passport is your guide to summer reading!  Use the back pages to keep track of books/audiobooks you've read this summer, you can also keep track online in your user name account.  The passport's front pages are reading quests that will take you around Darien and give you the opportunity to discover more about your family, friends, and town.  Reading is everywhere!
  

What books do I read this summer?

• Any "just right" books.

What else counts?

• Audiobooks and playways count as a book.
• Graphic novels count too.  What is a graphic novel?  It is a more sophisticated cousin to the comic book.
  

So, what do I do exactly?

    *Read to Me Club* for pre-readers

•  Every 10 books read together (up to 50 books,) visit the Children's Library to pick up your board book prize!  All members and a grown-up are invited to the August 19 Costume Party.  You can also write down your favorite summer books for our Read to Me Club display in the library.

    *Summer Reading Club* for kids reading on their own

• In July:  each time you complete 2 books and 2 quests, write them in your passport.  Show the Children's Librarians by Monday, July 27 to enter a raffle to win prizes.  Good news!  Your name can be entered more than once.  If you read 4 books and complete 4 quests your name will be entered twice, and so on, and so on.  There are 15 raffle prizes; ipod shuffles, flip video, gift cards to Barrett Bookstore and Game Stop.
• In August: write 2 reviews on the library's website and read 2 more books to earn a party pass for you and your grown-up.  Visit the Children's Library to by Wednesday, August 26 to pick up your party pass.  It is your invitation to the August 27 Finale Party.

Do I do the quests in order?  What happens if I do ALL the quests?

• You can do the quests in any order. 
• If you do ALL the quests, you'll get Questmaster Status and we'll take a picture of you (if you'd like) and put it on the Darien Library's website with your first name and age.

What is a review, can you tell me more about that?

• A review is a sentence or two about the book, movie, or whatever it is you're reviewing.  It also involves giving stars/rating the book (1 star is lowest, 5 stars is highest.)
• You can review anything in the library's catalog for summer reading: books, movies, audiobooks.  The reviews can be of something you read last year, it doesn't need to be from this summer.  We just like to see reviews in the catalog!
• Watch how to write a review.
• When we give you a party pass we will probably not ask to see your reviews, unless you like them and want to show us.  But, we might ask you about them :-)

 
Can Readers email the quests and books?

• Yes!  Email the Children's Library at crstaff@darienlibrary.org.   Email everything at once, in one email, it will be a raffle entry:
  •        your name
  •        your phone number
  •        your 2 book titles
  •        your answers to the 2 quests you completed.
•  
• We will print it out and add it to the raffle jar for you.  Email us by Monday, July 27, 2009.