Summer Reading Club Gives Parkville-Area Students a Head Start

As students return to Baltimore County Public Schools today, local librarians hope that teachers are able to see the results of the library system's summer reading efforts.

Across Baltimore County, students turned out in record numbers to participate in the Baltimore County Public Library system's Summer Reading Club.

The program started June 17—the Monday after schools closed for the summer—and ended Aug. 10.

For the fourth consecutive year, reading club participation set a new record. This summer, 53,658 children "dug into reading" via the program, according to library officials.

The program was most popular with elementary students, with 32,545 students registered. recognizing the importance of starting good reading habits early, parents enrolled 11,743 children from infancy to age 5, while 9,370 teenagers took advantage of the program.

The new registration record shattered last summer's mark of 48,539.

In Parkville-Overleas, 2,948 readers joined the club at the Parkville branch and 2,752  students participated at the Rosedale branch.

"Summer Reading Club is an important part of preventing 'summer reading loss,' which occurs when student fail to read over the summer, resulting in a loss of reading skills they've acquired over the past school year," library officials wrote in a statement. "Reading just four to five books over the summer months can contribute significantly to the retention of raiding abilities necessary to advance in the following cadmic year."

The club combined fun and participatory activities in addition to book reading, according to officials.

Elementary age and younger students followed a theme of "Dig Into Reading" while older students participated in "Beneath the Surface."

Each younger participant received a game board with 16 activities or spaces upon registering for the program. Each time they completed four activities or read four books, they were given a sticker to place on the game board. Participants who collected four stickers by completing the board were able to choose from a variety of "completion prizes."

Middle school students received raffle tickets for reading books, which put them in the running to wins prizes that included gift cards from Best Buy, AMC Theaters and Target and an iPod Shuffle.

Noting that it's never too early to get children involved in reading, the Read to Me Summer Reading Club served babies and toddlers.