Summer reading challenge: Read, repeat, win the treasures!

My daughter told me she had teasingly asked one of her kids if he wouldn’t just like to stay home on the next to last day of the school year. No, Mom, he insisted. He really wanted to go to school!

image: wikimedia commons

OK, maybe it was the longer than usual recess students had been promised that drew him back to the schoolhouse. But consider the possibilities – what if “summer school” only means doing the things we like to do? Maybe even getting fun swag for doing it? That’s the idea behind the Dallas Mayor’s Summer Reading Challenge. This Saturday, June 3, at 1 p.m. Dallas Library branches will open the challenge. My local library branch, Skillman Southwestern, plans to make a party out of the opening, with face painting, balloon animals, snacks and more. Check your local branch to see what's happening, and sign up at the library or online.

Can’t swing by a library branch Saturday? Sign up any time through the challenge’s June 3-August 12 duration (ask a librarian how!) at your local branch or online. But the sooner you accept the challenge, the more chances you’ll have to win prizes.

Kids ages 0-18 can participate by reading (or being read to) at least 20 minutes a day. Ebooks and audiobooks count. (Sorry, video games and website surfing do not.) After logging 10 days of reading, kids earn a free book of their choice, plus a pass or coupon to even more fun summer events and attractions such as Dallas Children’s Theater, Dallas Zoo, Medieval Times, Nasher Sculpture Center, plus eating places and sporting events.

New giveaways are available at every 10-day reading interval. Plus, kids who log at least 50 reading days by August 12 will be entered for grand prizes such as a behind-the-scenes tour of the penguin exhibit at the Dallas Zoo, a family four-pack of tickets to a Dallas Cowboys game, a change to go on the field for a Cowboys game, a tour of the dinosaur/paleontology lab at SMU, and much, much more.

Darn, you say, dear reader. What if I’m over age 18? Don’t fret – age also has its privileges! Track each book you read for weekly and grand prize drawings.

Want extra credit? Post about your reading on social media with the tag @dallaslibrary for weekly drawings to win movie passes from Alamo Drafthouse. Want even more credits, you overachiever you, complete online Learning Tracks – themed activities designed to encourage deeper explorations of chosen topics.

By the way, did I forget to mention that all this is absolutely free? Free!

Oh, no, you say, this is only for Dallas residents. Too true, but similar programs exist at many other libraries. Check with your local librarian to find out.

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Now, I’ll mention something that isn’t on the Dallas Library site. But I know you – you love those extracurricular activities, right?

So, go the next mile (OK, the next meter or so) and post your reading adventures on sites such as Goodreads and Amazon, where you hold the grading pencil and the ability to give writers stars on their work. For even more fun, send me your book review (preferably not more than 300 words) embedded in an email to melissaembry01 at gmail.com, for a chance to see your review featured at this site. Keep it honest and clean (and in English)! I reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.

Dallas Book Festival bigger and better than ever

Last year I was amazed at the huge change for the better in the annual Dallas Book Festival. Dozens of wonderful authors in multiple genres, thousands of enthusiastic readers, even food trucks. My only gripe – I had to leave early because the Dallas festival was scheduled for the same day as the also-fabulous North Texas Teen Book Festival.

This year, the Dallas Book Festival reigns supreme tomorrow, April 29, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the J. Eric Jonsson Central Library (link) , 1515 Young Street. OK, it does share the date with the Dallas Festival of Ideas at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Both events are free. For those who can’t make up their minds which to attend, it’s only a few blocks of walking in between.

I’ll stick with the Book Festival, and I’ve already made a list of which writers/panels I want to hear, which will only require me to clone myself a few times to cover.

Jeff Chang

Headliners listed on the festival site (link), include Jeff Chang (Who We Be), Jeff Guinn (Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson), Greg Iles (Natchez Burning), Eric Litwin (Pete the Cat series), Kristen Radtke (Imagine Only Wanting This), modern quilt designer Denyse Schmidt, Wade Smith (Smitty Tackles Bullying), and Andrew Solomon (Far and Away: Reporting from the Brink of Change).

There will be storytelling, panels featuring dozens of local and Texas authors in all genres, musical and theatrical performances, children's activities, meditation, bookbinding, quilt designing, photography, and more – even baby chicks (along with a discussion of urban chicken keeping appropriate to this Year of the Rooster). Some authors may have books for sale and signing.

Denyse Schmidt

Now about getting there. A limited number of places in the library’s parking garage will be reserved for drivers with disabled placard/license plate only. The rest of the parking garage will not be available to the public. Otherwise, parking is available at surface lots on Harwood, Griffin, Wood and Jackson Streets, as well as parking meters in the area. Parking lot costs vary.

Considering the crowds last year – which I anticipate will be even bigger this year – I recommend, and personally plan to arrive via the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system. The Akard DART light rail station is the closest to the library, at about seven blocks. It’s a lovely walk in fine weather, perhaps not so fine if Saturday’s forecast for rain is fulfilled. 

Wade Smith

Besides bringing umbrellas, a couple of DART vehicle add-ons will help you get closer, drier. The free pink buses of the D-Link system are accessible within a block of the Akard Station, and stop within about a block of the library. D-Links stop at all Dallas bus stops, every 15 minutes, from 11 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Or consider taking light rail to the West End Transfer Station and catching a southbound No. 2 bus to within a block of the library. When you’re ready to leave, a northbound No. 2 will take you from Ervay Street on the library’s east side back to West End. Please note that fares are required to ride both DART and standard buses. A basic all-day local pass good on both buses and DART light rail is $5. See the DART site for information on ticket purchases and discounts.