Summer Reading Program

2 girls carrying a tray of books and blowing bubble gum, text reads "All Together Now"

2023 All Together Now!

Every bit a child reads makes a difference in their reading skills for the summer and keeps them prepared for returning to school.

Reading for teens and adults keeps the mind sharp and creative!

Summer Library Program facts

  • Summer reading loss is a key factor contributing to the achievement gap between struggling and successful students.
  • Lower-achieving students are less likely to read out of school.
  • Those comfortable reading are more likely to choose recreational reading as a summer activity. 
  • Having access to books, and having books in the home, is essential to building strong readers.
  • Public libraries can break these cycles and get materials into the homes of children who do not have their own books.
  • Children who don’t read over the summer lose 3 months of reading comprehension.
  • The loss is accumulative – by the end of 6th grade these kids are 2 school years behind their peers.
  • Middle school is too late; even with the best remedial classes, these students will remain behind their peers.
  • Reading as few as 4 books keeps kids at their current reading levels.
  • Young children with richer home literacy environments succeed when they begin school.
  • Freedom to select reading materials of their choice results in strengthening reading skills.

Created by Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, 10/06
Research available at:
www.readingrockets.org
www.summerlearning.org



  1. 2023
  2. 2022
  3. 2021
  4. 2020
  5. 2019

This summer, we worked All Together Now to explore adventures in reading!  We hoped everyone had as much fun as we did!

  • 751 patrons of all ages took on our reading challenge. A NEW RECORD OF PARTICIPANTS!
  • Participants included 486 kids and 265 adults!
  • 33.5% of kids finished their 40-day reading challenge and 40.8% of adults finished their 6 book challenge! OUR BEST COMPLETION RATE!
  • Kids read a total of 10,057 minutes and adults read 2,560 days! That is equal to 34.6 years! 
  • The Melissa Public Library provided 56 programs to over 5,000 participants this summer!
  • This year, the library changed to days rather than minutes, to allow for more inclusivity among readers.  Reading evolves imagination and we want kids to have time to play and act on that imagination during summer too.