Read to the Beat
TOBY BULA-EDGE
The ever-popular Summer Reading Challenge returns this month for children aged four to eleven. This year the theme is Read to the Beat and explores the connection between music and storytelling. The Challenge – to read six books during July and August – aims to ignite imagination and creativity. It will also be great preparation for the under-16 social media ban.
The Challenge, organised by The Reading Agency, is backed by Universal Music Group UK. There will be activities in libraries across the county that celebrate the connection between storytelling and sound, including African drumming, making instruments from recycled materials, producing stop-motion animation and soundtracks, and interactive storytelling sessions.
There will also be claymation filmmaking sessions guided by experts from Press Play Films, as well as a chance to take part in set designing.
The Challenge is free to enter. Children taking part can read any library book of their choice, including fiction, non-fiction, picture books, or books they share with parents and carers. If your child struggles to not look at a screen for five seconds, don’t worry, because eBooks, eAudiobooks and CD books – if they know what a CD is! – also count.
Those taking part will receive special stickers and other rewards. Those who complete six books in the timeframe will earn a certificate and a medal.
East Sussex County Council’s Councillor Peter Griffiths says: “I have been an avid reader all my life and there are so many benefits to children being encouraged to read: from building their knowledge and their communication and language skills; to developing self-confidence – not to mention the immense enjoyment that can be experienced whilst getting stuck into a really good book.”
Entry is free. Booking is required for activities running between Saturday 4 July and Saturday 5 September. Children can sign up at their nearest East Sussex library or visit eastsussex.gov.uk/src
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