It’s that time of year again when the County of Lennox & Addington Libraries launches the always popular TD Summer Reading Club. The purpose of this Canada-wide program is threefold: to encourage early literacy, to stave off “summer learning loss”, and perhaps most importantly, to celebrate the role recreational reading plays in lifelong learning.

For those who want to get their reading challenge off on the right foot, the following are some suggestions for popular, brand-new kid’s books that you can borrow this summer from the library.

Big, bold and colourful, Hello Hello by Brendan Wenzel is aimed at a Kinder-aged audience. In simple text a set of animals, each one linked to the previous one by some trait of shape, color, or pattern, greet and interact with one another. It delivers a message about conservation and the fragility of life on Earth, but does so in a fun, joyful way.

The Word Collector by Peter H Reynolds is a picture book aimed at grades 1-3. It follows a little boy named Jerome who enjoys collecting words, and discovers the magic of the words when he shares his collection with others.

I Walk with Vanessa is a picture book without words, but its images speak volumes. This story follows Vanessa, the nervous new kid in school, who is treated unkindly on her walk home. Another child notices the bullying and decides to befriend Vanessa the very next day. This small act of kindness will go on to move an entire community. It’s perfect for readers from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 3.

Baby Monkey, Private Eye, a humorous book for Kinder-aged kids, follows a baby monkey who investigates stolen jewels, missing pizzas, and other mysteries--if he can manage to figure out how to put his pants on.

Bad Kitty is a popular series for kids in Grades 2-4. In the latest installment Bad Kitty: Camp Daze, Bad Kitty kicks her water bowl in frustration, gets hit in the head and ends up thinking she is a dog.

For kid’s in grades 4-7 looking for something a bit more serious, there’s Raymie Nightingale by Kate DeCamillo. It’s described as an emotionally intense historical fiction. Hoping that if she wins a local beauty pageant her father will come home, Raymie practices twirling a baton and performing good deeds as she is drawn into an unlikely friendship with a drama queen and a saboteur.

You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly is a thoughtful story aimed at Grades 4-6. Charlotte, twelve, and Ben, eleven, are highly-skilled competitors at online Scrabble and that connection helps both as they face family issues and the turmoil of middle school.

Sci-fi for Grades 3-6, The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown is the sequel to The Wild Robot. After being captured by the Recons and returned to civilization for reprogramming, Roz (a robot) is sent to Hilltop Farm where she befriends her owner's family and animals, but pines for her son, Brightbill.

Nothing but Trouble by Jacqueline Davies is aimed at Grades 5-8. It’s an amusing, attention-grabbing story about two smart girls in one small town who use their combined genius to liven up their world--one prank at a time.

You can place a hold on any of these titles at your branch of the County Libraries. We hope to see you out and about at our TD Summer Reading Club programs and events throughout the next few months. Participants can visit their local branch to pick up their TD Summer Reading Club kit starting June 23rd. You are invited to attend a family storytime at all branches at 10:30am on this day.  All programs, events and the TD Summer Reading kit itself is entirely free. This is an excellent opportunity for your child to enjoy some great books, start making positive associations with reading, and have fun with other kids at the library.

For full program details, including a full event listing, visit our website at CountyLibrary.ca.

This article was originally published in the Napanee Beaver.