GENERAL INFORMATION (FOR PARENTS)
about the Mark Twain Library's
Read What YOU Want summer reading rewards program

Children paint a picket on their reading record for every book (or specified number of pages/audio discs in a longer book) that they read.

(They will literally paint a picket; we are supplying watercolor wands and are using a sturdy poster-board reading record printed with pickets that will stand up to watercolor paint. The reading records will be kept at the library.)
A child receives a reading reward for each five pickets that he/she paints, up to a total of twenty pickets.
  • first set of five pickets: certificate for ice cream cone/dish at Ferris Acres Creamery
  • second set of five pickets: choice of flying frog or butterfly glider
  • third set of five pickets: bag of marbles
  • fourth set of five pickets: wooden yoyo

HOW MUCH/WHAT KIND OF READING
MUST A CHILD COMPLETE TO BE ABLE TO "PAINT A PICKET"?
There is no restriction on the subject or genre of the books that children can read for the program. Children may read - or listen to - whatever books they choose. (The books do not have to be part of the Mark Twain Library collection.)
However, depending on the grade the child is entering, a child must meet one of the following requirements (related to the reading level or length of a book) to be able to paint one picket.
 
for children entering kindergarten or first grade, read or listen to
  • one fiction or nonfiction picture book, or
  • thirty pages in one longer book, or
  • one disc (or one tape cassette) in an audio book
for children entering second grade, read or listen to
  • one nonfiction book of any length, or
  • one very easy reader (JVE), or
  • one easy reader (JER), or
  • forty pages in one longer book (fiction or nonfiction), or
  • one disc (or one tape cassette) in an audio book

for children entering third, fourth, or fifth grade, read or listen to

  • one nonfiction book of any length (above the preschool level, please), or
  • fifty pages in one longer book (fiction or nonfiction), or
  • two discs (or two tape cassettes) in an audio book