Our 2024 Kids Summer Reading Program, "Read, Renew, Repeat," begins on Thursday, June 13 with our Kickoff Party and ends on Wednesday, August 28. Read and track your minutes to earn prizes, participate in fun programs for all ages, and come to our weekly Family Garden Shows on Monday nights throughout July and August.
Kids ages 0 through 12 are welcome to participate! Teens and adults may also join the fun by signing up for their own, separate programs. To get started, log in to your existing account or create a new one on the Ames Free Library's READsquared online platform. The app has a brand new look this year, making participation simpler than ever! You can even link other readers within your account, which lets you log minutes for the whole household at once.
Our popular Read & Bead program will be returning as usual, as will the WWF Animal Adoption Raffle, sponsored by the Friends of the Ames Free Library! More information on both programs can be found below!
After creating your READsquared account, you will log the minutes you read every day! Reading quietly to yourself counts, of course. And reading out loud to someone else counts for both the reader and the listener! Picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, magazines, and audiobooks all count as reading, too. Every 1 minute that you read is equal to 1 point.
Easton Public Schools students can check out this page for information about any school-assigned summer reading they may have.
What do you do with those points?
Our Prize Store on READsquared is full of different styles of plastic beads, which you will use the points you earn for reading to purchase.
You can also use your points to purchase a raffle ticket toward the symbolic adoption of an endangered animal through the World Wildlife Fund. This prize has been made possible through the generosity of the Friends of the Ames Free Library. At the end of the summer, 5 lucky winners will go home with a plush animal friend!
Use your earned points to "buy" beads and/or raffle tickets in our online READsquared Prize Store! You'll get a complimentary chain and brag tag just for registering. Then, choose from a variety of different beads to create a custom necklace. The fancier the bead, the more points (or minutes) it costs!
Our wide assortment of beads includes: plain, sparkly, color-changing, animals, and even glow-in-the-dark skulls! This year, you can also purchase a discounted "get what you get" bead, and choose from a box of miscellaneous retired bead designs.
You can also use your points to purchase a raffle ticket for the chance to win a World Wildlife Fund plush animal. Each plush represents the symbolic adoption of an endangered animal through WWF. At the end of the summer, 5 lucky winners will be chosen to go home with a fluffy friend. Don't worry though, even if you don't win the raffle, you will still receive a sparkly red heart bead with every raffle entry you purchase.
WWF Animal Friends available for adoption in 2024 are:
All five animal adoptions have been made possible through the generosity of the Friends of the Ames Free Library.
Stop by the Children's Room with any questions you may have! Our Youth Services staff and VolunTEENs will be happy to help however they can.
Happy reading!
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