Summer Reading Club 2023: "Expedition Summer"

Summer Reading Club is back at the Cochrane Public Library! Our theme this year is “Expedition Summer”, an exploration of adventure books across genres! In the spirit of exploration, Cochrane Public Library wants to take our SRC readers on a trip around the world… through reading, of course!

Your child will have the opportunity to participate in crafts, activities, games, and more, all while encouraging and inspiring them to keep reading during the summer months! They’ll also receive a free reading logbook where they will be able to track their time spent reading. Their SRC leaders will convert their tracked reading time into kilometres “travelled”, and our goal is to have our whole program reach 400.75 hours of reading (or 40,075 kilometres) – enough to circumnavigate the globe! Your child will also have the opportunity to win prizes at the end of the program, drawn for at our "Expedition Summer" wrap up on August 18!

We are excited to offer six registered Summer Reading Club sessions running from July 3-August 17 for ages 6-12, as well as drop-in stations on Friday afternoons from 1pm-4pm, all completely free! Readers ages 12 and under will have the chance to track their reading independently and win prizes in the take home Summer Reading Badge Challenge, and we'll also be hosting a kick off event for all of SRC at the library on June 30 with exciting events and activities!

Parents or guardians can register their child below. If you have a young reader in your family who’s excited about exploration, we hope they’ll join us for “Expedition Summer”!

This program is made possible by the generous support of Cochrane Kiwanis!

Register now for

Voyagers (ages 6-8, M/W) Explorers (ages 6-8, M/W) Wayfarers (ages 9-12, M/W) 

Wanderers (ages 6-8, T/Th) Globetrotters (ages 6-8, T/Th) Argonauts (ages 9-12, T/Th)

Summer Reading Club offers your child the chance to practice literacy skills during their time off from school and help them avoid summer learning loss. Our activities are designed to exercise these skills while still being engaging and interesting, covering a variety of genres and subjects. Summer Reading Club is also a great way for your child to interact with their peers, learn more about services at the library, and registration is completely free!

When your child has enrolled in “Expedition Summer” sessions, they will receive a Summer Reading logbook where they can track how much time they spend reading every day. For every 15 minutes spent reading, readers will earn 25 kilometres to be added to our program-wide goal of circumnavigating the globe! If every reader tracks 10 minutes a day, we will be well on our way to our destination, but whether it’s an hour or five minutes, we encourage you to write it down! Every little bit helps us get closer to our goal of 40,075 kilometres (or 400.75 hours of reading!)!

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should my child be reading? Does it have to be 10-15 minutes every day?

Every reader has different needs and interests, and what may be a lot of reading for one person may not be for another! For this reason, we encourage families to track any and all reading done by or with their reader – whether it’s an hour, or five minutes, all reading is good reading!

Does my child have to be reading by themselves every day?

We want to encourage all types of reading, whether it’s done completely independently or with another person! Whether you’re reading with your child, to your child, or your child is listening to an audiobook, we want to make sure that readers are interacting with stories and characters that excite them!

When will my reader’s minutes be tallied up?

We ask SRC readers to bring their logbooks to their sessions twice a week where one of the facilitators will add their minutes to the group tally. We realize that sometimes a reader may forget their logbook at home – we encourage them to bring it the next time and their reading will be added to the rest of the group’s then!

The Cochrane Public Library is also excited to offer a drop-in component to Summer Reading Club for families who may not be able to attend regular registered sessions! Families can come for the whole three hours, or just drop in for a few minutes! This will also be where readers participating in the Summer Reading Badge Challenge will be able to redeem their badges and enter to win prizes to be drawn on August 18.

Parents and guardians of readers ages 8 and under are encouraged to join their children for these drop-in sessions, however we are always happy to see whole families participating in library programs!

In tandem with our registered “Expedition Summer” sessions, the Cochrane Public Library is also offering a take-home reading challenge for all readers under the age of 12 to participate in from July 3 to August 18! Readers will have the chance to earn reading buttons every week, participate in drop-in activities, as well as enter to win draw prizes at the end of the program!

How to Participate:
  1. Beginning June 23, readers can pick up a Summer Reading Badge Challenge Reading Log from the library or print it off at home from our website! (When printing at home, make sure your reading log is printed at 5.5" x 8.5" sizing so your child's button templates are the correct size!) 
  2. In collaboration with parents/guardians, each reader will pick a daily goal to try and meet.
  3. Every day your reader meets their reading goal, they’ll be able to colour in the appropriate space in their reading log.
  4. If your reader successfully meets their reading goal 5 out of the 7 days in a week, they’ll be able to design a badge in one of the spaces provided at the back of their reading log. Families are then invited to join us in the library on Friday afternoons from 1-4pm to have their child's design turned into a unique reading challenge button, as well as join in on some drop-in activities!
  5. Every button redeemed by a participant will earn them a raffle ticket to be added to a prize draw at the end of our program on August 18! Additionally, for every hour a participant spends reading, they’ll earn a raffle ticket to be added into the draw for our grand prize!
Frequently Asked Questions

My child is attending “Expedition Summer” sessions – can they also participate in the Summer Reading Badge Challenge?

Yes! If your child is excited about reading and would like to take part in both reading challenges, we would love to have them participate! Readers participating in both the “Read Me Around the World” Challenge and the Summer Reading Badge Challenge may bank their minutes towards both programs, however we encourage participants to read as much as they get the opportunity to!  

How does my child earn a badge?

We encourage participants to read a little every day! Once they’ve completed their reading for the day, your reader can colour in the space provided on their reading sheet! Participants who successfully track reading for 5 out of the 7 days in a week can then design a button in one of the circles provided and bring it in on Fridays to be turned into their own unique reading badge!

How much should my child be reading every day?

Every reader has different needs and interests, and what may be a lot of reading for one person may not be for another! For this reason, we encourage families to track any and all reading done by or with their reader – whether it’s an hour, or five minutes, all reading is good reading!

Does my child have to be reading by themselves every day?

We want to encourage all types of reading, whether it’s done completely independently or with another person! Whether you’re reading with your child, to your child, or your child is listening to an audiobook, we want to make sure that readers are interacting with stories and characters that excite them!

How many badges can my reader earn?

Participants in the Summer Reading Badge Challenge can earn up to seven badges – one for each successful week of reading!

How does my reader get their badge?

On Fridays from 1:00-4:00pm, the Cochrane Public Library will be hosting Summer Reading Badge Challenge drop-in activities. This is when we invite you to come and join us to redeem your badges, as well as to partake in some of the stations we’ll have set up!

Please note that badges cannot be redeemed outside of this time, but if you are unable to attend on a particular Friday, all outstanding badges can be redeemed at another drop-in session!

Can my reader join in partway through the program?

Yes, absolutely! If you have a reader who missed the first part of the challenge but would still like to participate, they are able to pick up a challenge sheet at any point and redeem badges for the remaining weeks by taking a challenge sheet from one of the displays in the library.

How can my reader win a prize?

Every time your reader comes in to redeem a button, they will be able to add their name to be drawn for prizes at the end of the Summer Reading Badge Challenge. For every hour that readers track, they will also receive a ticket to be drawn for the grand prize. The names of winning participants will be drawn during the Summer Reading Club Finale on Friday, August 18.

Can’t attend the finale, but still want to enter for a prize? No worries! Winning participants will be contacted through the email provided on their entry slip!

June 23, 2023: Participants in the Summer Reading Badge Challenge will be able to pick up a reading log from the library or download it from our website to begin tracking on July 3!

June 30, 2023: Official launch of “Expedition Summer” at the Cochrane Public Library! Stop by the library for games, activities, and more!

July 3-August 17, 2023: “Expedition Summer” sessions run twice a week from Monday-Thursday, with drop-in sessions happening on Friday afternoons from 1-4pm. Readers can join in the Summer Reading Badge Challenge at any point throughout the duration of the program!

August 18, 2023: Summer Reading Club wrap-up event! Visit the library to celebrate our readers and to see the draw for our SRC grand prize!

Teens are invited to join the Marigold Teen Summer Reading Challenge.

Participate in challenges to earn points and be entered into the grand prize draws at the end of summer.

By participating in the challenges, you have the chance to win prizes including a Nintendo Switch!

Participants must be between 12 and 17 years old and have a current TRAC Library Card.

This Year's Prizes:

  • A Nintendo Switch, Tears of the Kingdom edition - game included. 
  • A Hotec Karaoke boombox with two microphones. 
  • A Mini Video Projector, Bluetooth and wired connection options. 

Find out more and register at: Teen Summer Reading Challenge