About the library > News > News in brief > Summer Reading hits the 50,000 mark
Summer Reading hits the 50,000 mark
September 15, 2005
For the ninth consecutive year in a row, Summer Reading participation increased, making the library’s annual youth program one of the largest and most popular in the U.S. In 2005, over 50,000 babies, kids and teens joined in the Summer Reading game to develop reading skills and ensure school success.
“Research has shown that reading is the single summer activity most strongly and consistently related to summer learning," says the library’s Reading Promotions Coordinator, Katie O'Dell. "Children who read books over the summer gain more in reading achievement than children who do not and the number of books read during the summer is consistently related to academic gains.”
Over 600 volunteers from age 6 to 80 helped make Summer Reading a success. Thanks also go to The Library Foundation, presenting sponsor Comcast, and many other community businesses and organizations for providing the funding and incentives that make Summer Reading such a success.
Four lucky Summer Reading participants won major prizes in a special drawing. The grand prize, a trip to Disneyland, went to four year old Wynter, who attends pre-kindergarten at Boise-Eliot school. The runner up prize, a new bicycle from The Bike Gallery, went to Meredith, a first-grader at Laurelhurst School. Both Wynter and Meredith played the Summer Reading game at Hollywood Library. The winner of the teen prize is Carolyn, a Lincoln High School freshman and Central Library user. She received a $250 shopping spree at Pioneer Place. Hayden, another Hollywood Library reader, won the preschool prize of a party at Peanut Butter and Ellie's.
