The Mythical Maze is coming! Get lost in a book this summer…

Children across Suffolk are being encouraged to sign up to the Summer Reading Challenge which is being launched across all of the county’s libraries this weekend.

The Summer Reading Challenge is a hugely successful Reading Agency campaign which is run by libraries. The aim is to provide a fun way to get children to enjoy reading throughout the summer holidays to maintain their literacy skills.

Last year was the most successful ever in Suffolk and in the UK. Nearly 2,400 Suffolk children joined the library service to take part and 7,700 children in total signed up to take part in the reading challenge in the county. 810,000 took part nationally.

It’s one of the most successful ways of getting children engaged with reading and their local library as it uses fun and colourful characters and incentives to challenge them to read six books during the holidays. This year’s theme is ‘Mythical Maze’ and children aged four to eleven will be encouraged to find their way around a labyrinth that introduces them to fantastical creatures from the world of legend and mythology, collecting stickers of each character along the way as they complete reading challenges.

Each time a child completes a book they are given a prize to keep them going. There are also competitions and other library activities along the way and every child who completes the challenge gets a certificate. There’s also an interactive app this year which you can download on an iPad or smartphone and use with ‘augmented reality’ software to explore exciting hidden surprises in the Mythical Maze poster. There is more information and a list of reading challenge activities already planned on the Suffolk Libraries website – http://suffolklibraries.co.uk/events/categories/mythical-maze-reading-challenge

Any child who wants to take part can sign up at any of the county’s libraries from this Saturday (19 July). Children joining the library this summer will also get the new Suffolk Libraries children’s library card which has a colourful new design taken from a book by local author and illustrator Rebecca Elliott. The reading challenge runs until 6 September so there’s plenty of time to register and get reading!

Some comments about last year’s reading challenge in Suffolk:

“My six year old daughter’s favourite part was talking to the volunteers about her books. They really made her feel special and grown-up.”

“I thought the Summer Reading Challenge was amazing because you get to read all sorts of books and there are fun activities to do.” – A seven year-old.

“Brilliant incentive to keep children reading during the summer. Even our four year old participated which is an excellent way to get him looking at books.”

 

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