Library Offers Trick-Or-Treating For Reading Challenge, Oct.

Newton, NC – Reading challenges are a library mainstay, and this month, the Catawba County Library is launching a kid-friendly one with a full dose of Halloween fun. The Trick-or-Treating for Reading challenge invites young people to boost their reading experience by offering them incentives to meet the weekly reading goals.

The program began on October 3 and runs through October 31 and asks participants to log 120 minutes, or 2 hours, of reading time each week in October. After successfully completing the weekly goal, kids can earn a virtual badge and pick up a prize bag at their local library branch. Each participant can earn up to four badges (one per week) during the month-long challenge and take home up to four mystery bags. Since the challenge resets each Saturday, kids can join in at the beginning or during any week in October.

Trick-or-Treating for Reading can also serve as a complement to local schools’ own reading programs. The library’s goals encourage slightly more reading time, but if students are logging their minutes for school, they can also apply that time toward the library’s challenge and its prizes. Any book is eligible for the program.

Tracking reading time is easy for families, thanks to a convenient, online portal called Beanstack, which verifies badges earned and notes prizes that a participant can claim. Beanstack provides an interactive, personalized experience and is available on the web and as a cell phone app from the Apple and Google Play stores. It is the same tool that the library uses for its annual Summer Learning program.

People can register for Trick-or-Treating for Reading by clicking on the ‘reading challenges’ gear on the library’s home page (www.catawbacountync.gov/library) or by visiting https://catawbacountync.beanstack.org/reader365. Registration is open to participants ranging from birth to age 20.

For more information about the Catawba County Library, visit www.catawbacountync.gov/library, call 828.465.8664, email [email protected], or visit www.facebook.com/catawbacountylibrarysystem.