‘A great way for kids to relax’

LEOMINSTER — The annual summer reading program for kids is currently underway at the library and there’s a plethora of programming for all ages coming up — fun for the whole family.

This year’s summer reading program theme is “Plant a Seed, Read!” and it officially kicked off with The Yo-Yo Show event on Monday. Children from birth through to 12 and their caregivers can stop by the Dr. Martin T. Feldman Children’s Room on the first floor of the Leominster Public Library at 30 West St. to sign up and pick up a reading log.

They keep track of their reading and earn raffle tickets for a chance to win some great prizes including LEGO and art kits, a dolphin Squishmallow and gift cards. The last day to log reading time is Aug 14. In addition, every time kids visit the library they can get a raffle ticket for a pair of pink flamingo lawn ornaments, with that contest also running through Aug. 14.

“It’s always great to see kids set their own personal goals for summer reading while earning cool prizes as they reach those goals,” said Leominster Public Library Head of Children’s Services Sarah Chapdelaine. “The excitement on their faces is very rewarding to see. Summer reading is a great way for kids to relax and enjoy reading what they like, whether it’s reading their favorite fiction series, listening to an audio book on a road trip, or curling up with a comic book on the beach, after an afternoon of boogie boarding.”

She said children reading over the summer has an added benefit — “helping stop ‘summer slide,’ which is when students lose a percentage of what they learned during the past school year in class.”

It’s a great time to visit the children’s room and library in general, especially with the heat wave that is expected to bring heat index temps of well over 100 degrees this week. It is a cool spot that feels good on hot days, the perfect place to pick out books and other materials, play with the new toys there, enjoy board games and make new friends.

The library’s schedule is always jam-packed with programs and events for everyone — music, magic, arts and crafts, games and movies — with some requiring registration. There’s also a teen summer reading program and adult summer bingo going on right now. For more information on those and a full schedule visit leominsterlibrary.org.