Children participating in the Waukegan Public Library’s summer reading program are eligible to win prizes and earn a free book.
Ely Aguilera, an Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School second grader, will partake twice — reading for herself and to her baby brother Miguel.
“I like reading, and I like reading to him,” she said. “I’ve already read three books.”
Maggie Kutsuni, the library’s youth and teen services manager, said children not yet old enough to read take part in the program and earn prizes when someone reads to them. When the child is an older sibling, Kutsuni said they qualify for rewards, too.
“I’m all for it,” Kutsuni said. “I like to see it happen.”
Ely, Miguel and their mother, Teresa Fabila, were among more than 80 people who saw a bubble show and registered for Unearth A Story, the library’s children’s summer reading program, Saturday at the library with a chance to earn a free book and more through July 31.
While the youngsters and their parents were joining the summer program, the semi-annual used book sale held by the Waukegan Public Library Friends Organization took place on the second floor.
Fabila said she brings her children to the library frequently and likes the idea of the summer program as an activity while Ely is on summer break from school. She also reads to Miguel, both in Spanish and English. She was working on a craft for Miguel while Ely did her own.
Kutsuni said once a child visits the library five times this summer, they earn a free book. They receive a small frisbee after one visit, a fidget on the third, and the book on the fifth. Outside reading of a library book or material from another source is also suggested.
“We also encourage them to read three books at their own comfortable level,” she said.
Open to youngsters up to the age of 18, Kutsuni said continuing to read while they are on summer break from school is important to avoid a decline in reading skills from what is known as the “summer slide.”
“Kids’ or anyone’s reading skills have to be used continually,” she said. “If you don’t use it, you lose it. We want to encourage reading so they maintain their reading skills as they enter the next grade level. We encourage them to come to the library to keep their skills sharp.”
Children are welcome at the library Mondays through Fridays, from noon to 1 p.m., for a free lunch and a show on a big screen while they dine. Kutsuni said it is done in conjunction with the Waukegan Public Schools.
Summer reading is not only for children. Kutsuni said adults who visit the library are eligible to enter a drawing for raffle prizes. They earn one raffle ticket for each visit up to five.
Jennyfer Cordova, the library’s manager of communications and outreach, said raffle ticket prizes include gift cards, gift baskets, free books and garden planters with seeds.
Taking place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the semi-annual used book sale offered a variety of books, games, puzzles and videos. Cordova said money raised from the sale funds programs like the summer concert series on Fridays and a number of other programs and needs.
Cordova said many of the books are donated by individuals, and others are books the library no longer loans.
Sandy Sherwood, the president of the Friends organization and a retired library staffer who spent 50 years working there, said the used book sale is more than 60 years old. When people move or a loved one dies, they often donate their books to the library. Some are valuable.
“When we see a valuable book like a first edition from the 1920s or one signed by the author, we let (the donor) know,” Sherwood said, “They usually still donate it. We are very lucky to have people who are rich in their generosity.”
For the past three years, Sherwood said, books that are valued at $15 or more have been sold on Amazon. Between $300 and $500 is made through the outlet.
Sherwood said this spring’s book sale netted $2,500.
