2017 Summer Reading Program

Activities for children of all ages!

Join the Northeast Regional Library and our 13 branches this summer as we “Build a Better World” during our 2017 Summer Reading Program. We’ll learn about construction and building houses, famous architectural sites and even how to be a better person in our community. SRP is a great way to help children combat the dreaded “Summer Slide,” where they lose during the summer months some of the valuable skills they’ve learned the previous year at school. You know what they say – “If you don’t use it, you’ll use it!” SRP also allows librarians and dedicated library volunteers to show children how fun libraries, books and reading are. And Summer Reading Program activity days are also a great way for you and your kids to get out of the house, socialize and make new friends.

Our Summer Reading Program has two separate parts. The reading component encourages children to read and keep track of their progress through special reading records and giveaways. In addition to reading, libraries will also have weekly activity programs featuring puppet shows, craft projects, story times and lots of fun activities, with each one being as unique as each of our public libraries. And while some libraries may have an age recommendation for their special activity days, all readers are welcome as babies and toddlers who can’t read yet can be read to by someone who can.

Many of our branches, such as the libraries at Baldwyn, Tishomingo, Ripley, Walnut and Burnsville, are planning crafts activities and programs to talk about different ways to make the world a better place to live in, such as recycling and planting flowers and trees to help the environment. Myrtle the Turtle from the Mississippi Department of Transportation will even make visits at both the Belmont and Tishomingo libraries! And Debora Waz, a biologist from the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson, will be visiting the Booneville and Iuka libraries to talk about animals and how they build their habitats – and she just might have a few animal friends with her!

We’ll have a performance from acclaimed children’s music recording artist Mr. Richard at the George E. Allen library in Booneville and special visitors at the Burnsville and Ripley libraries will have construction equipment on-site for children to see. The Baldwyn and Burnsville libraries will have presentations about preventing bullying, while the Belmont, Ripley and Tishomingo libraries will have programs on increasing self-esteem.

At the Iuka and Ripley libraries, children will play a giant Jenga game as they learn about building towers and other structures, while at the Blue Mountain and Walnut libraries, children will learn about constructing bridges, castles and famous architectural structures such as the world’s tallest buildings, the Great Wall of China, the Egyptian Pyramids and Victorian houses in our home state. At the Rienzi library, children will be able to learn about recording, editing and mixing audio tracks, 3D printing and how batteries work.

To view more information about the Summer Reading Program at your local branch and to see a full list of their events, please click on a library below:

Baldwyn | Belmont | BlueMountain | Booneville | Burnsville