Photo courtesy of Hoover Public Library.
Two runners near the end of the inaugural Book It! 5K held by the Friends of the Hoover Library at Veterans Park in 2016. This year’s run is scheduled for May 20.
You’re heard of reading, writing and ’rithmetic, but how about reading and running?
The Hoover Public Library is kicking off its 2017 summer reading program with a Book It! 5K at Veterans Park on May 20.
The 3.2-mile run, sponsored by the Friends of the Hoover Library for adults and children alike, starts at 8 a.m. and will be followed by a “story stroll” around the lake at 9 a.m. The “story stroll” will allow children to read pages of a book at different stations as they walk around the lake.
From 10 a.m. to noon, the library is holding its summer reading kickoff party for kids of all ages, with inflatables, crafts, games, a petting zoo, balloon artist, airbrush tattoo artist, snacks and drinks, said Jeremy Davis, coordinator of the library’s children’s department.
Activities will be centered around this year’s theme for the summer reading program: Build a Better World.
Children will be allowed to plant a seed, build with Legos and participate in a collaborative art project by filling in the outline of the world with their thumbprints, Davis said.
May 20 will be the first day children are allowed to sign up for the summer reading program, in which children track the books they read over the summer and receive rewards for reaching various levels of pages read.
This year, for the first time, kids will be able to track their reading on their phones or computers at hooverlibrary.beanstack.org/reader365. The library also will continue to offer the option of tracking reading on paper, Davis said.
The goal of the summer reading program is to encourage kids to continue reading and learning while they are out of school on summer break. This helps reduce the “summer slide” — a term describing how children lose portions of what they were taught the previous school year over the summer break.
In addition to providing rewards for reaching different levels of reading, the library offers more than 60 summer programs that bring children to the library for activities for preschoolers through teenagers, Davis said.
Usually, about 5,000 children and about 1,500 teens sign up for the summer reading program, he said. There also is an adult summer reading program that last year drew 815 participants, he said.
The summer programs go through the end of July, and participants can collect prizes through Aug. 2.
People can register for the Book It! 5K at hooverlibrary.org/bookit. The cost is $20 for ages 14 and younger and $30 for ages 15 and older from April 23 through May 19; and $25 for ages 14 and younger and $25 for ages 15 and older on race day. The story stroll is $3.
Proceeds go to the Friends of the Hoover Library, which donates money to support a variety of library programs and to buy additional library materials.
