Pop-up festival promotes reading
Rising sixth grader Farrell Hammond chats with some of his favorite authors during the Scholastic Summer Reading Road Trip last week
It is estimated that each summer, children without a regular reading routine can lose one to three months of the reading skills they learned during the previous school year.
In an attempt to remediate this issue in Forsyth County, for the past three years Bookmarks has partnered with Scholastic to host the Summer Reading Road Trip, a pop-up reading festival for children and families designed to promote summer reading.
This year’s festival on Tuesday, July 17, gave young readers the opportunity to interact with some of their favorite characters, play games and enjoy several activities, including reading giveaways and a prize wheel. Children’s authors Derrick Barnes, author of the “Ruby and The Booker Boys” series; Jonathan Fenske, author/illustrator of “Barnacle is Bored,” and Allan Woodrow, author of “Class Dismissed” were also in attendance, signing copies of their books.
“It’s amazing to be considered and recognized as one of the 27 cities that gets to host the festival,” said Ashley Bryan, Bookmarks youth and schools coordinator.
“This provides a way for students to be engaged with other readers. I think seeing the authors and the characters really bring it to life and makes reading more participatory.”
After meeting Geronimo Stilton, the main character in Scholastic’s book series “Geronimo Stilton World,” rising sixth-grader Farrell Hammond said what he enjoys most about the series is the adventures.
In the series, by Italian Author Edizioni Piemme, Stilton, a journalist and editor for the Rodent’s Gazette, chronicles his various adventures, solving mysteries in various parts of the world.
“Meeting Geronimo Stilton, the greatest mystery solver I’ve ever known, was a great honor. I’ve admired his work for years,” said Hammond. “I like every single book I’ve read from his works and I’ve loved every adventure I’ve read about.”
Students can still join in the fun and sharpen their reading skills before the start of the new school year with the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, a free online reading program designed to rectify summer reading loss. Bookmarks is also hosting a free, Summer Reading Program that includes several activities at the bookstore located on West Fourth Street and other places in the community.
For more information visit bookmarksnc.org.
