Pearl River Children Dig into Summer Reading

For the third year in a row, the Pearl River Public Library kicked off their summer reading program Wednesday with hours of chalk-drawing and face-painting.

Some youngsters drew mermaids; others chalked books; and one girl penned a Doctor Who poster.

The goal of Wednesday afternoon’s fun activities? Get kids excited about the library’s summer reading program, which is celebrating its 42nd anniversary this year.

The program has two parts. One is the reading club, where kids read books with older reading buddies, log them, and receive prizes and stickers. The other element of the program are countless activities that the kids participate in, like duct tape crafts or baking.

“Reading during the summer helps bridge the gap,” said Christina Linder, the Young Adult Librarian at Pearl River Library. “If they read over the summer, they’ll do better in school.”

If children avoid reading over the summer, it can have negative impacts, staff told Patch.

“Experts claim that by not reading over the summer, children can lose 2.5 months of learning,” said Pamela Gunning, the director of children’s services at the library.

Yet, Gunning insists this loss can be easily avoided.

“10 to 15 minutes a day is all they need,” she explained.

That’s why the librarians lremind children of all ages that reading is fun.

“If you become engaged with reading at a young age, it will stay with you throughout your life,” Linder said.

The summer reading groups are divided by age, with the youngest group going from a few months old to two-years-old. Groups go all the way up to age 19, in which they work online, write reviews and discuss books. Overall, there’s an average of 450 kids in the reading club over the summer every year. During the summer, Gunning estimates that children will read around 3,500 books.

“We have one second grader that reads over 100 books a summer,” Gunning added.

The parents seem to be just as excited about the program as the kids. Cynthia Wheeler’s daughter is now seven years old, and has been participating in summer reading since she was entering pre-k.

 “You don’t want kids to lose what they learned, it helps them retain information,” Wheeler said. “And she loves this.”