BY KAREN BOSSICK

“Color Our World” is the theme of this year’s Summer Reading Program in the Wood River Valley.

The program invites both children and adults to engage in literary and other activities that explore colorful people, the arts and the literal and metaphorical meaning of color in  human life and the natural world.

Registration for Adult Summer Reads 2025 begins this week with registration remaining open throughout the summer. The program wraps up after Labor Day weekend with an end-of-summer prize drawing at the Community Library in Ketchum, Hailey Public Library and Bellevue Public Library.

The grand prize will be dinner for two readers and a guest of their choice at the Hemingway House in Ketchum.

Adults should stop by the library closest to them to pick up a Passport, which is available in English and Spanish. It will suggest prompts to direct your reading choices, and each page that is completed earns the Passport holder a ticket in the end-of-summer drawing.

Readers may wish to set goals of minutes or number of books. Adults can sign up at:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc2kTWVpVI-TWrfLAewHdxPjQOEDhJsZ7IjM3dnR2VIMyGUQw/viewform

The Community Library in Ketchum will host a kick-off Registration and Snack & Craft event for the youth Summer Reading Program from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Jun 6. Youth can sign up for the summer Reading Program at Hailey and Bellevue libraries beginning this week.

Those involved with the Community Library program who participate and report at least 500 minutes of reading will receive a $10 gift card to Chapter One Bookstore in Ketchum or Iconoclast Books & Gifts in Hailey. Prizes include a LEGO Set, drawing kit, $100 gift card to the Toy Store, a Yoto player and Apple AirPods Pro.

Sixth- through 12th grader will get to take part in Summer Reading Bingo.

The Summer Reading Program is meant to counter the “summer slide” that happens with some students, spurring reading setbacks and lower literary skills. Reading over the summer can be a way of sharpening skills for the coming school year.

To sign up, go to:

https://comlib.org/use-the-library/children-and-young-adult-library/

https://haileypubliclibrary.org/summer-reading-2025/

https://bellevue.lili.org/.

“Summer Reading programs are meant to be fun and educational,” said Pam Parker, director of Library Operations at The Community Library in Ketchum. “Signing up for a summer reading program also sparks your motivation to read. We’ve also looped in some activities like visiting a local museum or taking a hike on a trail you identify in a trail guide from the library.”

Added Lyn Drewien, director of the Hailey Public Library: “Reading is a great way to connect with your friends and family. A visit to the library for all members of a household is a great option these ‘colorful’ summer days.”