By Gabriella Payne
Kids across the Cardinia Shire have been keeping their literacy skills up this holiday season with the ’Big Summer Read’ initiative, and if your child is a keen book worm, it’s not too late to join in!
The Big Summer Read is a fun and dynamic book reading campaign supported across all public libraries in Victoria for children ages 5 and up, and there are plenty of prizes to be won.
As well as encouraging youngsters to get lost in as many books as they can manage, the competition allows families to discover the magic of their local library – something that’s been a challenge with all the Covid hurdles over the past two years!
Beth Luppino, the CEO of Casey Cardinia Libraries, said that by taking part in the competition, kids could sharpen up their reading skills while discovering new worlds at the same time.
“Reading should be fun, and it gets easier for children the more they practise,“ Ms Luppino said.
“After the last two years of Covid lockdowns, we want the kids in Casey and Cardinia to get a head-start on their learning in 2022 and avoid the ‘summer slide’ where literacy skills often drop over the school holidays.
“The Big Summer Read is a really easy way to keep kids engaged in literacy and learning when they are not at school – what is not to love about books, virtual badges and a big prize draw?
“Our libraries are open and ready for kids to come and select their own favourite reads right across the holidays,“ she said.
Vicki Thornton, a youth services representative from Pakenham Library, said that it would be great to see more local kids immerse themselves in books, even if they weren’t your ’typical’ style novel.
“It doesn’t have to be fiction – it could be non-fiction, it could be a magazine, it could be manga – it’s about getting them to think beyond ‘a book is a fiction book’ that maybe they aren’t interested in,“ Ms Thornton explained.
“There really is a book for everybody!“
The Big Summer Read competition runs until Monday 31 January, but the Pakenham Library is always welcoming new readers to come on in and pick up a book!
For more information on the competition and prizes, head to cclc.vic.gov.au/big-summer-read/
