Tulsa City-County’s Library 2014 children’s and teen summer reading programs will take families around the word while rewarding young readers with tasty and fun prizes.
The free annual program is ongoing May 27-Aug. 2. To sign up, children and teens, ages newborn to 18, can pick up a reading log at any of Tulsa City-County Library to record the titles of the books they read and the visits they make to the library during the summer.
The theme for the children’s program is “Fizz, Boom, Read” and the tween/teen program theme is “Spark a Reaction.”
By visiting the library four times and reading eight books, children will complete the program and earn a medal of achievement, a booklet of coupons for free entertainment and food items, and entry into the grand prize drawing for bigger prizes. By reading 20 books, readers can earn a LED foam light stick baton. Free coupons include:
• Admission to Tulsa Shock game
• Cinnamon sticks from Mazzio’s Italian Eatery
• Admission to Oklahoma Aquarium
• Chicken nuggets from Wendy’s
• Admission to Tulsa Zoo
• Chicken nuggets and milk or apple juice from McDonald’s
• Admission to Tulsa Air and Space Museum
• Round-trip bus ride on Tulsa Transit
• Admission to Tulsa Drillers game
• Glazed doughnut form Krispy Kreme
• Admission to Tulsa State Fair
• Iced and decorated cookie from Merritt’s Bakery
• Admission to Tulsa Children’s Museum
Tweens and teens, having completed fifth grade, can reach their goal by reading six books throughout the summer. By completing the program, they will earn a coupon booklet for free entertainment and food items, a lava pen and entry into the grand prize drawing for bigger prizes. Free coupons include:
• Admission to the Tulsa Zoo
• Admission to the Tulsa State Fair
• Cinnamon sticks from Mazzio’s Italian Eatery
• Snack wrap and bottled water from McDonald’s
• Chicken nuggets from Wendy’s
• Frozen custard from Freckles Frozen Custard
• Glazed doughnut from Krispy Kreme
• Iced and decorated cookie from Merritt’s Bakery
• Round-trip bus ride on Tulsa Transit
• Admission to a Tulsa Shock game
• Admission to a Tulsa Drillers game
The summer reading program is a fun way to keep students reading throughout the summer by helping them retain and improve their reading skills.
“With all the prizes, medals and excellent programs, the summer reading program motivates families to bring their children to the library and keep reading,” said Marianne Stambaugh, youth services manager. “At the heart of the program, children are devouring books that they choose. Just by reading when school’s out, they can prevent the ‘summer slide’ in their academic skills. By starting young, children develop a love of reading and learning that will continue throughout their lives.”
The summer reading program goes beyond the books by offering hundreds of free programs that will thrill the imagination. Performers and presenters from all over Tulsa County, Oklahoma and the nation participate. Look for performances from The Sock Rockerz, The Boogers, Paul Mesner Puppets, The Que Pastas, Tulsa Theater Projects – Magic Man, and many more entertaining and educational performers.
The summer reading program concludes with the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature. Jack Gantos, author of the Newbery Medal-Winning “Dead End in Norvelt,” is the recipient of this year’s honor. He will be in Tulsa Aug. 22, 7 p.m. at Hardesty Regional Library’s Connor’s Cove, 8316 E. 93rd St., to receive the Zarrow award and present awards to winners of the 2014 Young People’s Creative Writing Contest.
Thank you to the 2014 summer reading program presenting sponsors: Tulsa’s Channel 8, Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Tulsa Drillers, Tulsa Shock, Williams and Tulsa Library Trust. Additional support provided by The Mary K. Chapman Foundation and George Kaiser Family Foundation.
For more information on TCCL’s children’s and teen/tween summer reading programs, call the AskUs Hotline, 918-549-7323, or visit the library’s website, www.tulsalibrary.org
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