By Jillian Kurtz
To encourage young people to develop an enjoyment for reading, the Carmel Clay Public Library is challenging students to read 100 books.
The program is offered separately for middle and high school students with groups for “100 books before high school” and “100 books before graduation.” Students can enroll in the first challenge after they have completed fifth grade. For the other challenge, students can enroll when they have completed eighth grade.
“A lot of teens read for school and then stop when they don’t have to,” CCPL Young Adult Services Dept. Manager Jamie Beckman said. “We want to start as young as possible to encourage middle and high schoolers to read books for fun and help them find books they enjoy.”
To help launch the program, which began in January, CCPL has suggested books for each age category to give readers a kick-start and begin discovering what types of books they enjoy reading. The lists are available on the CCPL website.
Readers can track their progress online. The challenge includes audiobooks and e-books and traditional paperback and hardcover books.
“We will probably do another big push in the summer to remind people to sign up and that summer is a great time to do some recreational reading,” Beckman said.
As students reach benchmarks on their way to 100 books, they are eligible for the following prizes:
- At 25 books, students receive a laptop sticker and bookmark
- At 50 books, students receive a $15 Bookshop.org gift card
- At 100 books, students receive the Ultimate Reader’s Gift Basket and a certificate of completion
To sign up or learn about CCPL’s other reading programs, visit carmel.beanstack.com/reader365.
