There was a lot more reading in Sarnia-Lambton last summer through an annual challenge by the local library system.
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Nearly 2,800 people read about 33,600 books during about a month and a half in 2023, said youth public services coordinator Vanitia Campbell.
That’s more than double the 13,700 books read in the county’s 2022 summer reading challenge, when about 2,100 people took part, she said.
So, for 2024’s edition — challenging readers of all ages to log their reading, using Beanstack July 2-Aug. 11 for a chance to win prizes — hopes are to hit 40,000 books, Campbell said. Registration — by visiting lambton.beanstack.orgor at local library branches — is already up compared to this point in 2023.
The Beanstack platform, introduced to the challenge in 2023, makes it easier to track reading and is largely credited for the increase in books read, she said.
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Including adults in the challenge for the first time also helped boost the number of participants, she said, as did more distance from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This year, we’ve actually worked harder to align the adult, kids’ and teen programs even more so that families can participate in the challenge together,” she said.
That means more activities for adults to complete, similar or the same as those for kids, she said.
“It’s really, really important for kids to have reading role-model adults in their lives,” Campbell said. “So, we thought ‘why not encourage adults to read right along with their kids?’”
Themed events are also part of the challenge. Details are at llibrary.ca/src.
The program is designed, in part, to keep kids’ literacy skills up throughout the summer break, when they can otherwise regress without practice, Campbell said.
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The number of book prizes earned by kids, meanwhile, was also up last year, by almost 1,000, to 2,761, she said, noting the organizers had to restock with more prizes midway through the challenge.
“So, we’ve prepared this year (with more prizes) to see the program grow even more,” she said.
Registration recently opened, with age-specific challenge kits available at Lambton library locations.
New this year, in the Tales Through Time themed challenge, are golden tickets in four of the kits, one for each age group.
The golden tickets, nods to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, can be redeemed for prizes, including:
• A children’s Animal Farm tour and picnic lunch for the four and younger age group.
• Tickets to a Sting game, a meet-and-greet with players and a dressing room tour for five- to eight-year-olds.
• A canoe and kayak rental and other experiences at Pinery Provincial Park for the nine- to 12-year-old group.
• A gift certificate for a virtual escape room at District Beta for 13- to 17-year-olds, Campbell said.
“We want to make sure we’re able to reach as many people as possible,” she said about introducing the golden tickets.
“If somebody finds one of those golden tickets, they need to reach out to the library and we’ll get that prize in there for them,” she said.
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