I absolutely adore activities that encourage a love of reading.  My six-year-old daughter joined her reading club through school, where she earned a free ticket to Six Flags amusement park, among other things.  We’re planning to take her soon, and being the daredevil girl that she is, she can’t wait to ride all the rollercoasters for the first time.  She’s all about the goals and rewards, so reading programs with incentives really inspire her like nothing else.

This summer, both of my daughters joined the reading club at our local library.  They each have their own book charts, and they get to color in circles for every book read (in the case of my three-year-old’s “Read to Me” program) and for every fifteen minutes of independent reading (for my six-year-old).  They get to earn prizes each week for completing certain age-appropriate activities that familiarize them with the library.  My six-year-old walks in the door and immediately heads to the section where the Junie B. Jones chapter books are located, and she now knows how to find graphic novels for her reading level.  She also likes to head to the youth nonfiction section to browse for books about sharks, lions, or poisonous snakes.  She told me last week, “I like all the dangerous predators.”  Some of the activities for the weekly prizes thus far have included:

• Checking out a book about fish
• Checking out a fantasy book
• Checking out a book that has won an award
• Checking out an audio book
• Identifying which fairy tales are painted on the walls of the children’s section

My girls beg to go the library every few days, and they are both developing a true love of reading, which thrills me down to my toes!

Borders bookstores are also offering a summer reading program for kids.  You can pick up a chart from any Borders bookstore.  Once kids have independently read ten books on their own and written them on the chart, they can bring the chart in and redeem it for a free book.