Shropshire children invited to take part in the ‘Marvellous Makers’ Summer Reading Challenge 2024
Children aged from 4 to 11 across Shropshire are being encouraged to join in the fun and games of this year’s Summer Reading Challenge happening across all libraries in the county.
Summer Reading Challenge 2024 – Marvellous Makers
Shropshire Council’s libraries service will be running the Summer Reading Challenge activities and events at all its branches from Saturday 20 July until 7 September 2024.
In partnership with Create, a leading arts charity, and public libraries, this year’s Challenge celebrates kids’ creativity and storytelling abilities.
Children will be encouraged to explore new books and stories while taking part in free activities, from arts and crafts to music, dance, and more.
The Summer Reading Challenge aims to prevent the “summer dip” learning loss many children experience over the holidays when they aren’t in school. With libraries’ support, it provides a free, fun way to keep young minds active. In 2023, over 685,000 children across the UK participated.
The bespoke Challenge artwork is illustrated by celebrated artist Natelle Quek, bringing the ‘Marvellous Makers’ theme vibrantly to life. By reading books and following the reading challenge at their local library, young readers can foster their creative thinking skills over the summer break.
Councillor Robert Macey, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for culture and digital, said:-
“Our libraries are a fantastic resource for people looking of ways to keep children entertained, especially during the school holidays.
“This summer, children aged 4-11 can visit libraries in Shropshire to join the ‘Marvellous Makers’ Summer Reading Challenge, firing up their imaginations through the power of reading and creative expression.
“The Summer Reading Challenge is a great way for children to continue reading through the school holidays. So many children love taking part in the Challenge and I am sure this year’s will be as fun and exciting as ever with its celebration of Marvellous Makers, crafts and creativity.”
Alongside the Summer Reading Challenge, Shropshire libraries staff and volunteers will be running family-friendly activities throughout the summer. To find out how you can get involved or visit: https://shropshire.gov.uk/libraries/library-events/
Visit www.shropshire.gov.uk/libraries to discover all the family activities on offer.
For all enquiries, please contact: libraries@shropshire.gov.uk
Further information
About The Summer Reading Challenge:
The Summer Reading Challenge has been running since 1999 and helps to prevent the summer reading ‘dip’ that many young people experience during their summer holidays while schools are closed. With delivery through public libraries, the Summer Reading Challenge is accessible to all and provides a fun, free activity for children. In 2023, the Summer Reading Challenge reached 685,821 children and families across the UK, with 635,115 children taking part through their local library service. The Challenge also drove 133,697 new children’s library memberships which is 42% higher than the 2019 pre-pandemic total.
About The Reading Agency
The Reading Agency is a UK charity with a mission to empower people of all ages to read. Evidence shows that reading improves health and wellbeing, life chances and social connections. The Reading Agency champions access to the proven power of reading by providing activities for all ages. Working with public libraries, prisons, hospitals and other community settings, we reach over two million people a year. But with a UK population of over 67 million that’s not nearly enough. We want to get more people fired up about reading because everything changes when you read.
About Create
Create is a multi-award-winning charity empowering lives, reducing isolation and enhancing wellbeing through the creative arts. Since it was established in 2003, the charity has been guided by the knowledge that people need to create. A national charity that champions local priorities, Create partners with local community organisations to run high-quality creative projects for their service users. Spanning 16 different artforms, these projects are led by professional artists who deliver visual arts to filmmaking, jewellery-making to music, and most recently, circus arts! createarts.org.uk | @createcharity
