The rewards of reading are rich and varied, as young people who took part in the Public Library’s Summer Reading Challenge proved on Saturday, 28 September 2013.

For logging nearly 37,000 minutes of reading over the recently ended school holidays, some 45 children, aged between six and 17 years, received participation packages and prizes ranging from a Kindle Fire to gift certificates,.

Deputy Director Paul Robinson and Community Branch Librarian Dothlyn McFarlane organised the programme.

Ms McFarlane explains that to complete the challenge successfully the young people had to read at least five books.

“Our goal was to motivate children to keep reading throughout the summer months; in the belief that this would strengthen their reading skills and allow them to return to school with increased confidence and excitement. My own experience, as the mother of a participant, and that which other parents have shared with us, suggest that we have achieved this,” Ms McFarlane states.

Programme sponsors included Rotary Sunrise, Baraud Recruitment, Books and Books, as well as Book Nook.