The Thunder Bay Public Library and the Thunder Bay Border Cats have announced an exciting new partnership to promote literacy among children this summer. The TD Summer Reading Club, a free 7-week program for kids aged 0-12, offers participants the chance to earn Border Cats tickets and other fun weekly incentives just for reading. Additionally, Library storytime events in July will feature readings by Border Cats players.
Each week, kids in the TD Summer Reading Club check in at their chosen Library branch to report on their reading progress and receive prizes. For the second week of the program, participants will receive a Border Cats ticket. Later weeks will feature giveaways from long-time sponsors Mario’s Bowl and Boston Pizza.
Programming Librarian Laura Prinselaar says the Library has been offering a summer reading program for over 30 years with the goal of fostering a lifelong love of reading. “Offering a weekly incentive helps keep kids engaged with the program and builds regular reading time into their summer away from the classroom,” she said. "All reading practice is worthwhile, whether it is re-reading Dog Man for the sixth time, co-reading Robert Munsch with a parent, or browsing through a dinosaur encyclopedia. The Summer Reading Club helps kids to find the fun in reading."
Border Cats Vice President Bryan Graham says he and the Border Cats players are pleased to serve as role models for kids in this respect. “Our players know the importance of practicing,” he said. “And whether we’re talking reading or baseball, the more you practice your skills, the better you get and the more fun you’ll have doing it. We hope that by offering these incentives and participating in the 'Hit the Books with the Thunder Bay Border Cats' events on July 5 and 17, we can help kids have fun with their summer reading.”
Registration for the 2024 TD Summer Reading Club is now open for up to 550 children. More information and registration can be found at www.tbpl.ca/src. Details on the 'Hit the Books with the Border Cats' events are available on the Library’s event calendar at www.tbpl.ca/onlinecalendar.
