The “Adventure Starts Here” themed Summer Reading Challenge for children and teens will begin on Friday, June 14, and will run through Saturday, Aug. 31. Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) will hold six celebratory kickoff events will in June at various library branches. Friends of the Library, Montgomery County, Inc. and the Washington Nationals baseball team are sponsors of the program.
Children, teens and adults are invited to sign up for the Challenge online or at any MCPL branch. Pre-registration opens Wednesday, May 15.
MCPL’s Summer Reading Challenge for children offers a chance to fill summer with great books, fun learning activities and in-person and virtual events. This year, MCPL and Friends of the Library, Montgomery County are teaming up with the Montgomery Parks Foundation to help children, teens and adults embody a spirit of adventure. By reading or completing activities to earn three e-badges, participants can help increase accessibility to the County’s parks, preserve history and keep the parks beautiful.
“Introducing children to reading early and maintaining their interest throughout their teen years is crucial for nurturing a lifelong love of reading,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “The Summer Reading Challenge at our libraries provides an opportunity for children, teens and adults to read and engage in learning activities throughout the summer, thereby enriching their lives and offering the opportunity to give back to the community and supporting important green initiatives.”
Teens (13 years and older) can participate by completing special bingo game board activities. They will receive a free book for signing up, Nationals tickets are available as a halfway prize and Washington Mystics basketball tickets will be awarded if they complete the challenge.
MCPL invites adults to participate in their own Summer Reading Challenge, where they can win prizes by reading books and attending five Adult Summer Reading events in and outside the library.
There will be six indoor-outdoor kick-off events to celebrate the start of the Summer Reading Challenge. Dates, times and locations:
- Saturday, June 15. 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m. White Oak Library, 11701 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring.
- Saturday, June 15. 2-3 p.m. Gaithersburg Library, 18330 Montgomery Village Ave., Gaithersburg.
- Saturday, June 22. 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Damascus Library, 9701 Main Street, Damascus.
- Sunday, June 23. 2-4 p.m. Connie Morella Library, 7400 Arlington Road, Bethesda.
- Friday, June 28. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Kensington Park Library, 4201 Knowles Avenue, Kensington.
- Saturday, June 29. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Aspen Hill Library, 4407 Aspen Hill Road, Rockville.
- Sign up (or log in) to pre-register online.
- Starting June 14, read books and participate in activities to earn online badges throughout the summer.
- Optional: print an Early Literacy or Elementary School Age gameboard at home or pick one up at a local library. Gameboards are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Amharic, French and Korean.
- Teens will complete a bingo-like board of activities by reading books, attending library programs and helping their community for a chance to win prizes. They can print gameboards from the MCPL website or pick up a paper copy from their local branch.
- Adults will complete their own bingo-like board of activities by reading books and attending Adult Summer Reading programs for a chance to win prizes.
