What are you doing for 'Get caught reading' month? | Community Spirit

Did you know May is officially 'Get caught reading' month? 

Get Caught Reading is a campaign that is celebrated nationwide, and is meant to remind people of all ages just how fun it is to read.The original idea for the campaign was from Pat Schroeder (a former Congresswoman from Colorado) in 1999.  She was then President and CEO of AAP (Association of American Publishers) and saw a chance to promote the 'joys of reading through an industry-supported literacy campaign.'

Here are a few ways now and during the summer where you can get your children (and teenagers too) to read and enjoy themselves.

Read to a dog - where young children get the opportunity to read their favorite book to a licensed therapy dog.  Both the child and the dog seem to enjoy the experience.  For more information on this opportunity please visit - http://www.library.pima.gov/kidsweb/readtoadog.php

Manga mania - An opportunity for teenagers (and parents) to get together and experience all things Manga. The kickoff event is at Murphy-Wilmot Library (530 N. Wilmot Rd.) on May 19 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more information on this event please visit: http://www.library.pima.gov/about/news/?id=3964

The last and most important is the Summer Reading program available at all Pima County Branch Libraries.  The theme for this summer is - Our State, Our Story: Celebrating 100 years of Arizona.  The summer reading program will run from May 24 to July 28 and will be all about Arizona in reading, writing, creating, doing and exploring, according to the Pima County Public Library website, and will encompas all ages of readers.

Readers will be able to pick up their 'reading passports' and Arizona Adventure Pass on May 24 and start their reading adventure.  The idea will be to challenge yourself with a reading goal and mark it down on your passport.  The 'Adventure pass' will be to record your activities (6 chosen from a list of 100).  There will be a reward for all adventures completed successfully by the end of the program.

For more information on the Summer Reading program please visit: http://www.library.pima.gov/about/news/?id=4006

There is also a website that provides a reading list for summer for children of all ages at:  http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/forparents/tp/summer_reading.htm