The state government has launched the fifth annual Big Summer Read.
Local Government Minister Nick Staikos launched the statewide reading challenge that aims to combat the ‘summer slide’ when children don’t read as much over the long school holidays, thus losing literacy skills.
“We know that young people have a decline in literacy skills over the summer holidays when they’re not engaged in reading, and the Big Summer Read aims to combat this,” Mr Staikos said.
“The Big Summer Read helps to get kids across the state into libraries over the summer holidays by making summer reading fun and rewarding.”
Victorian children under the age of 18 are eligible to register and track their reading progress through the Big Summer Read website, with digital badges and prizes on offer for participants. As part of the program, parents can register and read to children who can’t read independently yet.
Four winners will each take home a Zoos Victoria family membership, one for each age category, and local libraries from across the state will also award locally sourced prizes to Big Summer Read participants.
The program reinforces the role of public libraries as a vital community resource for early childhood development and lifelong learning throughout adulthood, and was designed to give smaller, rural public library services without an independent summer reading program a way to engage young Victorians over the summer break.
Details: https://readbooks.com.au/bsr
