Annual Winter Reading for Kids and New Program for Teens

Setauket, NY – December 20, 2022 –

Emma Clark Library is encouraging your children to curl up with a few good books this winter through both the Kids and Teen Winter Reading Challenges.

Reading for pleasure is one of the most important lessons for our youth to continue to be lifelong readers and learners. Both programs begin on Monday, January 23 and run through Sunday, March 12. Sign-up is ongoing; there is no need to register by a certain date, as long as it is during that time period. Registration is easily done through Beanstack, an online reading tool and virtual “bookshelf” of all books one has read. There is also an app called Beanstack Tracker.

The Children’s Winter Reading Challenge has a Mo Willems theme and is for babies through 6^th graders who live in Three Village. The child may have books read to them or may be reading on their own, depending on their level, and there are specific goals for each reading ability. Starting February 21, all who reach their goal can come into the library to pick up a prize bag, reading certificate, and a ticket for an exciting National Circus Project performance on March 11 from 11:00 a.m. – 12 noon. Additionally, there are raffle prizes, including tickets generously donated by The Rinx, for kids who log into Beanstack each week and complete the weekly activity. For more details and to register for the Children’s Winter Reading Challenge, visit emmaclark.org/kidswinterreading.

This year marks the inaugural Teen Winter Reading Challenge for 7^th – 12^th graders who reside in Three Village. Junior high and high school students receive a sustainable, literary prize just for registering – a plantable bookmark that is biodegradable and contains wildflower seeds. Plantable bookmarks are made of seed paper, an ecofriendly and zero waste product. The paper is made from post-consumer and post-industrial paper collected from schools and offices and embedded with high-quality wildflower seeds. The seeds are tested for purity to meet the United States Department of Agriculture standard, as well as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. 70% of the seeds are US native species and all of them are good for our bees.

For each book read, teens will be asked to write a quick “30-Character or More Review.” Once completed, they will be automatically entered into a raffle for two tickets to The Rinx Ice Skating in Hauppauge and Port Jefferson. The more books they read and review, the better their chances of winning a raffle prize. After the Winter Reading Challenge is over, teens who have read and reviewed one book or more are welcome to attend the Winter Reading Wrap-Up Party on Saturday, March 18 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., where they can hang out with other readers, share their favorite books, eat tasty snacks, and decorate a terracotta pot to plant their bookmark in. For more information and to register for the Teen Winter Reading Challenge, visit teen.emmaclark.org/winter-reading-challenge and plant yourself with a good book!

Raffle winners for both Kids and Teen Winter Reading will be announced after March 12.

Emma Clark Library would like to thank The Rinx and The Port Jefferson Photography Club for their donations for the Winter Reading raffle prizes.

Emma Clark Library employees, trustees, and members of their household are not eligible to enter raffles.

 

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, located at 120 Main Street in Setauket and on the web at www.emmaclark.org, provides public library service to all residents of the Three Village Central School District.

“The Heart of the Three Village Community”

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