CARLOW LIBRARIES ‘SUMMER STARS’ READING PROGRAMME MOVES ONLINE
Bestselling author Judi Curtin calls on children to join the reading adventure at home and online
Children and families across County Carlow are invited to take part in this year’s Summer Stars reading programme, running from June until the end of August.
Bestselling author Judi Curtin has encouraged all children to take part and enjoy a summer full of imagination, saying: “I am delighted to support Summer Stars 2020 Reading Adventure, a fantastic initiative from Libraries Ireland.”
This year, libraries have come up with creative new ways for young readers to access the programme online.
Summer Stars BorrowBox: Children of all ages can browse, borrow, read and listen to the Summer Stars collection of children’s eBooks and eAudio books through the public library’s BorrowBox app. This free app can be accessed at www.carlowlibraries.ie by library members anytime, anywhere and provides access to thousands of titles for children and adults.
Online Storytimes: Library staff and Irish authors will create Summer Stars virtual storytimes, including chapter-a-day readings from books. These will be available to families at home via Carlow Libraries social media pages and the summerstars.ie website
National Story Competition: Children and young people will have the opportunity to create their own stories and enter our Summer Stars Story Competition ‘An Unexpected Adventure’. The competition will run from the 1st of July to the 31st of August with three age categories (6-9, 10-14 and 15+) and brilliant prizes for the winners and runners up.
Children can track their reading progress on reading cards to be marked each time a book is read. These cards are available to download and print at summerstars.ie or can be posted out to young readers by email request to [email protected] Readers can also upload reviews of their favourite books to share with the reading community on the Summer Stars website.
Where possible, libraries will provide Summer Stars physical book lending services to children as they continue a phased re-opening. Stay tuned to your local library service social media pages for more information!
Tom Enright, Wexford County Council Chief Executive and Chair of the Libraries Development Committee said:
“The Summer Stars programme is all about finding fun in reading and getting young imaginations active. Things are a little different this year, given the Covid-19 restrictions, but we are delighted that libraries have been able to adapt and move the programme online so that children can enjoy the Summer Stars adventure at home. With children out of school for a number of months now, this programme will not only help to maintain and improve their literacy and reading skills, but will give busy parents another new option to keep the kids entertained over the summer.”
Michael Ring TD, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, whose Department has responsibility for public libraries, said:
“I am delighted that in the midst of the current restrictions the libraries are still engaging with children and not only keeping them entertained with all the online content, but also helping them keep their reading skills up. I am confident that again this year the Summer Stars Reading Programme will be a big success across the country.
The libraries have done a fantastic job preparing to deliver this programme online and I am sure the children will enjoy accessing the wonderful range of eBooks which has been boosted by recent investments by my Department. Summer Stars, which is part of the Right to Read Programme, is extremely important for children’s reading development and will equip them with skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. I would encourage everybody to make sure their children and grandchildren participate in this programme.”
Carlow County Librarian, John Shortall echoes the sentiments of Minister Ring and Mr Tom Enright saying:
“Every summer the Summer Stars reading programme has been a huge draw for the young people of County Carlow with 2019 seeing over 1,000 participants. Although different this year we hope that the programme will continue to encourage reading among young people and as our libraries gradually reopen safely we look forward to welcoming children countywide back into their local branch.”
Full details of the programme are available at www.summerstars.ie
Download Summer Stars promotional graphics at https://bit.ly/30IA0QP
