YOUNG readers are being invited to get reading on a giant scale and join The Big Friendly Read as part of Stockton Libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge.
As part of the celebrations to mark 100 years since the birth of beloved storyteller Roald Dahl, children and young people are being encouraged to read six or more books of their choice from their local library during the school holidays.
Starting from Saturday 16 July, this year’s challenge will feature some of Roald Dahl’s best loved characters and the amazing work of illustrator Sir Quentin Blake.
Fact books, joke books, picture books, audio books and traditional stories all count towards the challenge and those who borrow them will be treated with collectable incentives and rewards – plus a certificate, medal and entry into a prize draw is on offer for anyone that completes the challenge.
It is free to take part and open to all school aged children from ages 4 to 11 and is designed for all reading abilities.
Councillor Norma Wilburn, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Arts, Leisure and Culture, said: “There’s so much choice on offer across all of the libraries in Stockton Borough so I’d recommend this challenge to all of our children. This year’s theme celebrates the works of Roald Dahl and I’m sure that anyone who reads his stories this summer will be left enchanted by the characters and worlds he created.
“The Summer Reading Challenge is a fantastic initiative which builds the confidence of children to read at home and I hope that it will be the start of a lifelong love of literature for everyone who takes part.”
For more information about The Summer Reading Challenge 2016, visitwww.readingagency.org.uk/summerreadingchallenge or contact Lucy Carlton-Walker on 01642 528501 or lucy.carlton-walker@stockton.gov.uk
For more information on libraries in Stockton Borough, visit www.stockton.gov.uk/libraries