Summer Reading Club starts now!

By Susan Townley

We are all ready for summer to begin this year! A sure sign of summer is the arrival of the TD Summer Reading Club, and this year the Ottawa Public Library is ramping up in-person programming in library branches. There will also be some exciting online programming available through our website.

Every summer across Canada, more than 2,000 public libraries encourage children to keep reading during the school vacation and participate in the TD Summer Reading Club, a free, bilingual program sponsored by TD Bank. Library summer reading clubs provide an important way for children to maintain their reading skills, confidence and motivation. Children who participate in summer reading clubs not only maintain their grade level in reading but enter the fall a few months ahead. This year more than ever, the challenge of not falling behind in reading skills over the summer is critical. Most importantly, through the summer reading club, libraries encourage a life-long love of reading!

This summer we have some special guest performers joining us at Sunnyside Branch to offer programs for a variety of ages and interests.

On Tuesday, July 5 at 2 p.m., join Let’s Talk Science, a Canadian charitable organization focused on education and skills development for children and youth in Canada through science, technology, engineering and math-based programs. They encourage active learning and discovery outside the classroom.

On Thursday, July 21 at 2 p.m., dance with Luv2Groove. Participants will get lost in movement while interacting, building self-esteem and expressing their creative minds. Limited only by their imaginations, participants will explore various ways to move their bodies through space and time. Get ready to move, groove and have FUN!

On Tuesday, August 2 at 2 p.m., meet violist, composer and teaching musician Kathryn Cobbler. She is a loop pedal violist who has performed in some of the most notable concert series in Ottawa, including Music & Beyond, the Shenkman Arts Centre and Music at Southminster, right here in our own neighbourhood. While listening to different atmospheric pieces played by Kathryn with her viola, participants will paint landscapes and reflect on people, places and images that inspire them to tell their life stories. Participants will learn painting techniques and reflect on the music and type of imagery they experience.

These programs will require registration with a library card. You can register online on our website @BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca

Besides these amazing performers, we will have some other fun programs to celebrate Summer Reading Club at Sunnyside.

On June 18, we will kick off the 2022 TD Summer Reading Club with a Get Your Summer Read on Day. Join us at 2 p.m. to help build and decorate a garden home for our local fairies.

There are weekly programs all summer long for school-age children to build, craft and create. Whether you love dragons, dinosaurs, fairies or spinning a spell, we have a program that you will enjoy.

We will end the summer with a bang with a Fancy-Dress Party on August 25 at 2 p.m. Dress to impress! Don your princess, knight or favourite mythical-character costume, and join us in the library for a parade. Don’t have a costume? No problem! Create your own shield, crown or wand!

Along with our special programming for school-age children, we offer a weekly Family Storytime and Babytime for the younger children all summer. Many of these programs will also require registration with a library card on our website @BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca

You can join the club anytime throughout the summer, starting June 13. You do not need a library card to join the TD Summer Reading Club, but you will need one to register for many of the programs. You can visit your local library branch or bookmobile stop to grab a Summer Reading Club kit or to sign up for a library card.

Keep your eyes peeled in the Children’s Department at Sunnyside all summer long for our scavenger hunts. Fun and prizes await!

Hope to see you soon at Sunnyside Library!

Susan Townley loves to sing, dance and have fun in the Children’s Department of the Sunnyside Branch of the Ottawa Public Library.