IMAGINE: 2012 TD Summer Reading Club

Last day of school!  

Yeah!  

Time for camp, family vacations, baseball, swimming, visits to the beach, and reading, reading, reading.  

If reading is part of your summer plans, think about getting to your public library or perhaps another local participant in the TD Summer Reading Club, celebrating its 17th anniversary this year.

This program, an initiative of the Toronto Public Library, TD Bank Group and Library and Archives Canada, encourages young readers this year to IMAGINE and read about epic quests, mythical creatures and magic, all courtesy of in-branch and online programs, offered in both English and French and in alternate formats, such as DAISY format through the CNIB.

Booklists based on theme and age recommendations, activity booklets (preschool and school-age) for use throughout the summer, and stickers with secret codes will surely be a bonus to keep kids reading.  There are games, crafts, contests, puppet shows and more.  And most public library branches offering the program already have numerous special events set up for July and August, so you can plan your family time around these activities.

Dušan Petričić, award-winning Canadian illustrator of popular picture books including Mattland (Hazel Hutchins, 2008), Bagels from Benny (Aubrey Davis, 2003), Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas (Cary Fagan, 2009), and When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew: Tales of Ti-Jean (Jan Andrews, 2011), was selected as this year's illustrator for the TD Summer Reading Club.  All the artwork for the program, and the artwork displayed here, are courtesy of Dušan Petričić and the TD Summer Reading Club.   The small version of Dušan Petričić's poster below does not do justice to the playful details of a summer of imagined fantasy. 

Go to the TD Summer Reading Club website for more details or to one of the following public library sites (just a few across the country) for programs specific to your area:

• Edmonton Public Library
• Calgary Public Library
• Regina Public Library
• Winnipeg Public Library
• Toronto Public Library
• Ottawa Public Library
• Westmount Public Library/Bibliotèque publique de Westmount
• Halifax Public Libraries
• Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries
• Prince Edward Island Public Library Service

 Then, grab your children (if you're a parent) or your friends (if you're 12 and younger) and check out the TD Summer Reading Club at your local public library.  

Just IMAGINE how fantastic it will be!