Grand Rapids — “Who’s excited to have a brand-new book?” teacher Lisa Frost asked students as they exited a recent book fair at Coit Creative Arts Academy.
The question drew a roomful of hoots, hollers and shouts of “Woo-hoo!” from Frost’s Ignite Summer Learning program fifth-graders, who’d just signed up for the Summer Reading Challenge with Grand Rapids Public Library.
Library representatives were at Coit for one of several start-of-summer book fair events to get students involved in the challenge, which lasts from June 1 to Aug. 29 and tasks students with keeping track of the reading progress they make during that timeframe.
The challenge also rewards GRPS summer school students for participating, presenting them with a book to help kick off the season.
‘Getting them to read is the most important thing.’
— fifth-grade teacher Lisa Frost
Amy Cochran, youth services manager for GRPL, said the library has been partnering with the GRPS summer school program for the past several years. The aim of the partnership is to set students up for success by helping them ramp up their reading efforts during the summer months.
“They have reading time every day,” Cochran said. “They read, read, read, and they get a free book that they can have at their home.
“That’s important to us … because so many kids don’t have books in their homes, they don’t own books, so the more books we can get in kids’ hands, the better.”
For the first time this year, rather than finishing up the challenge with a book giveaway, the library is handing out books to kick off the summer. Cochran said under the old model, more kids would sign up than finish the challenge; GRPL’s hope is that getting books in hands ASAP will lead to more students seeing the program through.
‘It’s good for our brains’
Students from grades 1-5 fluttered through the book fair, listening to Cochran and Erin Antes, youth outreach librarian, explain the program before the moment of truth came when they got to pick out their very own book.
Between each visiting grade level, the book selection was changed to correspond with the incoming age group, so students like Mulick Park Elementary fourth-grader Amani Robinson were able to pick books suited to their reading level.
“I’m really good at chapter books, I know that, and I plan to read this book, and I’m going to see if I can finish it before the summer ends,” Amani said.
Why’s he so gung-ho about reading? “It’s good for our brains,” he said.
Amani noted that the passes to Millennium Park — handed out by GRPL during the book fair — was an exciting added bonus.
RommieLee Whiteside, a fifth-grader at Coit, had his eye on a “Wings of Fire” book that was among the available texts for his grade. He’s a big fan of fantasy.
“Oh, I also read about Greek mythology a lot,” RommieLee said, excitedly. “I really just like reading.”
Frost, who spends the school year teaching at César E. Chávez Elementary, said the library’s partnership with GRPS benefits students big-time.
“Getting them to read is the most important thing,” Frost said. “I know for a lot of them, they can’t always afford books or be able to get to the library. … So it’s nice that they’re bringing it to them, and acknowledging that we are reading at summer school, and putting in the work at summer school.”
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