Teens can earn cool prizes and get the chance to enter a drawing to win a laptop, provided by the Tulsa World, plus iPods, MP3 players, DVD players and other exciting prizes by completing Tulsa City-County Library’s teen summer reading program, which starts May 19 and continues through Aug. 3 at all public libraries in Tulsa County.
The Tulsa Library Trust, Tulsa World, the Peggy V. Helmerich Special Project Fund and NewsChannel 8 are presenting sponsors of the free program. The theme is “Metamorphosis @ Your Library.”
Area libraries also will offer special events this summer to complement the program, including a free concert by Red Alert, 2006 winner of the Tulsa World Satellite Battle of the Bands, from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 28 at the Helmerich Library, 5131 E. 91st St. Battle of the Bands contestant Black Sheep Drive also is scheduled to perform at the summer reading program kickoff at the Tulsa Zoo on May 17 at 4 p.m. Kids and teens who sign up for the reading program at the zoo from 1 to 4 p.m. will receive free admission to the zoo.
You must have completed sixth grade to sign up for the teen program. Once you sign up, you are eligible to win $5 QuikTrip gift cards, given away weekly at your local library. Teens who read six books by Aug. 3 will earn an acrobat pen and coupons for free:
Once you complete the program, you may enter a drawing for exciting prizes, provided by the Tulsa World and the Peggy V. Helmerich Special Project Fund, including:
All summer reading program participants will receive a free ticket to “Library Summer Reading Program Night” at Drillers Stadium on Aug. 8. TTCU Credit Union, NewsChannel 8 and the Tulsa Drillers are providing the free night at the ballpark. The first 1,000 kids age 14 and younger to arrive at the ballpark will receive a free Drillers sling backpack. Please bring school supplies to donate to TTCU’s Project School Supplies.
The summer reading program culminates with the Tulsa Library Trust’s Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature presentation to Louis Sachar, author of the Newbery-winning “Holes.” He will receive the 2008 Zarrow award at 7 p.m. on Aug. 22 at Central Library, Fourth Street and Denver Avenue. On Aug. 23 at 10 a.m. at Central Library, Sachar will present awards to winners of the library’s 2008 Young People’s Creative Writing Contest and talk about his experiences writing award-winning books.
For more information about the teen summer reading program, contact your neighborhood library, call 596-7977 or visit the library’s Web site for teens at http://teens.tulsalibrary.org.