Summer Book Clubs
June 17, 2008 by Jenn @ Frugal Upstate
Filed under Kids
This is not my library-I got the pic from Wikipedia Commons, taken by Andrew Carnegie under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License.
I love the library, and we use the library frequently as any good frugalite family would. I was in last night and saw that they had the materials for the summer reading program out already. The program is simple-you sign up, then you either read to your child, or have them read (depending on ability level) 5 books during the 3 months of summer. When the 5 books are done the child gets a prize. Easy Peasy.
Check with your local library-this is a pretty standard summer program these days. Sometimes there is even a state wide program-the state of NY has a statewide summer reading program concentrating on Bugs this summer. To compliment this program our library is doing cool free evening entertainments and programs for the kiddos on the lawn.
Barnes and Noble bookstore is again sponsoring the Barnes and Noble summer reading program. All your children have to do is read 8 books (or have 8 books read to you) in the course of the summer, then using the journal and forms downloaded from Barnes and Noble’s site the child does a journal entry about each book and has their parent or guardian sign off on it. When complete they return it to the store for a coupon good for one book.
The books they read do not have to be from Barnes and Noble-they can be from home, friends, the library etc. The coupon, of course, is not good for any book in the store but rather for any book off a list of applicable books. But it is still a free book, and good encouragement for your child to read.
Princess, Buddy and I will be doing both of these programs this summer.
The NY Public Library (as in NY City) has a fabulous site. I’m so jealous that you can download audio books there-unfortunately living upstate my library card isn’t good in the city. But don’t dispair-they have a free online section for kids with “tumblebooks” which are online audio picture books. I’m sure Buddy will love watching someone “read” him books, an I can turn off the audio and have Princess work on her reading skills.
Know of any other great summer reading resources? Please take a moment to comment and let us all know.
Frugal 
summer 
family 
summer fun 
Reading 
Summer Reading 
free 
books
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I think bugs must be a national theme this year, as our library’s summer reading program is using it, too. (i.e., Catch the Reading Bug). The number of books is based on age. Pre-readers need to have 25 books read to them, older kids have fewer books but must read them themselves.
I didn’t know about the Barnes & Noble program. I’m going to check that out, too. Thanks!
The bugs theme is something that the library association created; they choose a theme every year and most libraries participate in that theme, although they can choose to do something else. (My mom’s a librarian.
)
Just checking: Princess and Buddy are both school-age, right? I checked the Barnes and Noble stuff online and it seemed to imply that only kids in grades 1-6 could participate. (My daughter loves books, but she’s two.)
Money Saving Mom (www.moneysavingmom.com) did a post on summer reading clubs that also mentioned the Half-Price Books/CiCi’s Pizza one; I believe it was posted yesterday.
We’ll be joining our local library ths summer too, hopefully this weekend. They have readin classes for toddlers in our local so toots and I will be taking full advantage. Especially on days like today, after weeks of glorious weather its absolutely chucked in down today (saves me watering the garden so I’m not complaining). It’ll be somewhere else to go on days when the weather isn’t so great.
We are about to leave Maine, but one of the things we have loved about this place is the local libraries. They have introduced us to great kids authors, read to our daughter at story time, and basically lead the way in saving us from renting DVDs. It’s great to be able to have some insurance that things will be free (assuming no late fees!) when the cost of everything is climbing so high!
Jerry
http://www.leads4insurance.com
My sister is a librarian at the George F. Johnson Library. She does such great events for the teens…i.e. game night, dinner and a book…the four county system is awesome!
Greetings,
I came across your blog post regarding book clubs. I’m Jason Pfeifer, and some friends and I started an online service called Booksprouts, that allows people to create book clubs, choose books, invite friends, and read and discuss online. We are currently seeking people who might be interested in trying the site out, and giving us feedback on the service. We also welcome people who have blogs to write reviews of the site (good or bad) as a means of feedback. We’re really excited to hear what people think, and on how we can improve the site. It’s 100% free, by the way. Please feel free to check it out.
book clubs
regards,
Jason Pfeifer
Community Manager
Booksprouts.com