Summer Reading Challenge Roadshows in Manchester Parks

To celebrate this year’s outdoor themed Summer Reading Challenge, Story Garden, Read Manchester and Manchester libraries visited parks around the city with a ‘Summer Reading Challenge Roadshow’! 

Read Manchester/Libraries staff, supported by Literacy Champion volunteers, attended events at five parks:

• At Alexandra Park we took part in the launch of Love Parks week.
• At Wythenshawe Park, we joined in the annual Wythenshawe Games.
• At Platt Fields we celebrated National Play Day.
• At Ladybarn Park we worked with Friends of Ladybarn Park to celebrate their wonderful nature trail and storytelling space. 
• At Chorlton Park we joined Unity Arts for a Parktastic event. 

At each of our events we spoke to families about reading for pleasure and signed up children to Manchester Libraries and the Summer Reading Challenge. We also gifted hundreds of free books, ran ‘Look for a Book’ treasure hunts, and held some brilliantly fun nature-themed story times featuring birds, trees, rainbows and bees!

Across these events we:

• Spoke to over 1000 people
• Gifted 856 free books
• Joined 51 new children to Manchester libraries
• Signed up 151 children to the Summer Reading Challenge. 

The Summer Reading Challenge is key to maintaining children’s reading levels over the summer break. It also encourages children to read for fun rather than just for school work, helping to nurture a love of stories that lasts beyond their time in education. At Alexandra Park, the parent of Dawson, Year 3, told us:

“Joining the challenge last year is what got him into reading”

This enthusiasm had lasted the year and he was excited to join the challenge a second time. Simple incentives like certificates and medals, and a loose structure with low pressure and lots of encouragement can be just what some children need. 

At Wythenshawe Park we spoke to a boy who told us he didn’t like reading. He was reluctant to talk at first, but we asked him about his interests and spoke about some of the different books we had brought, encouraging him to look at blurbs and flick through the pages. He found a short fantasy book that caught his interest and ended up signing up for a library card and joining the Summer Reading Challenge.  

It was fantastic to have the opportunity to speak to children and families about reading outside of a library setting. At Chorlton Park, we spent some time with one girl flicking through a book of nature poetry, talking about the illustrations, which animals she recognised and which poems she felt drawn to. We hope that events like this can help to engage with families in the wider community and encourage them to take advantage of the full library service.

About Read Manchester

Read Manchester is a partnership between Manchester City Council and the National Literacy Trust, which aims to share a love of stories and reading throughout the city of Manchester through community events, book gifting and work with partner organisations. Click here for more information, and follow us on Facebook here.