Kildare County Council announces commencement of Summer Stars Reading Programme

Get Kids Reading With ‘Summer Stars’ at Your Library

Children of all ages can take part in the Summer Stars Reading programme, which started this week and runs in all Kildare libraries throughout the summer.

The purpose of the free programme is to encourage reading for fun over the summer.  To help children keep track of their reading, Summer Stars reading cards are available at the library or can be download online.  Children can record their reading and get recognition and encouragement each step of the way. 

The aim of the programme is to encourage reading so all children who participate will receive a certificate of achievement from their local library at the end of the summer.

Children can share reviews of the books they read online at www.summerstars.ie, where they can also find recommended reading lists for all ages and helpful reading tips. 

All Kildare libraries will be hosting fun events, activities and storytime’s throughout the summer.  Follow us on social media or sign up to the library newsletter to see what’s happening near you.

A special Summer Stars collection is also available on Borrowbox, our free online eBooks and audiobooks service which is available to all library members.

Librarians’ top tips for helping kids to find the fun in reading this summer:

• Encourage children to choose stories they are likely to really enjoy.
• Try to keep stories appropriate to your child’s reading level; if the story is too hard or too easy, they may lose interest or confidence.
• Comic books or graphic novels can be a good way to help children to follow the story if they have difficulty reading or are reluctant readers.
• If they find a word they don’t understand, try to avoid telling the child the meaning straightaway; instead ask them instead to guess what the unknown word is likely to be based on the pictures near to it or by looking at the full sentence around it.
• Give lots of encouragement and praise for even the smallest accomplishment.
• Focus on the enjoyment and fun of reading. If you show an interest in reading and learning yourself, your child will be more likely to follow your lead and explore as well.