• Ontario
• Greater Toronto Area
• Durham
• Clarington

TD Summer Reading Club at Clarington Public Library!

On Monday, August 8, Clarington Public Library welcomed Zoo to You to the Bowmanville Branch as part of a TD Summer Reading Club Epic Experience!

Waiting for the show to start! What’s in the boxes?

Over 160 children were thrilled to meet and interact with a wide variety of animals, including a sugar gilder, chinchilla, tree frog, hedgehog, scorpion, tarantula, caiman, gecko, snapping turtle, tortoise, and even an alligator and 9' python! Browse through our Flickr album at https://www.flickr.com/gp/claringtonpubliclibrary/WorFh8 for more photos and video!

Treekah the red eyed tree frog saying hello!

The next Epic Experience is Wild Wheels on Wednesday, August 17 from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. at the Courtice Branch, where families can get up close and personal with all sorts of machines and wheels, including a fire truck, ambulance, police car, dump truck, military vehicle, and farm equipment!

Earle the alligator snapping turtle looks hungry!

Clarington Public Library and the TD Summer Reading Club support parents, caregivers, and teachers in combating “summer brain drain” and "summer slip” by encouraging children to read, learn, discover, and explore over the summer months. The Library is hosting weekly drop in programs at all branches, and special Epic Experiences each week!

Not quite sure about her new head gear, Fergie the chinchilla.

Studies have shown that on average, students lose between one to two months of learning skills and knowledge each summer, making September a stressful time of playing catch up. This effect is cumulative, resulting in approximately a year of learning lost by the time the student graduates. Children who read over the summer and attend literacy enriched programs not only maintain their literacy and numeracy skills, but see academic gain and increased engagement and confidence the following school year.

Ginger the dwarf reticulated python made a new friend!

Another benefit of joining the TD Summer Reading Club for children is being able to turn their Library cards into transit passes. Club members can ride Durham Region Transit (DRT) for free during July and August as part of Ride to Read, a Durham Region public libraries partnership with DRT.

For more information and full program details about the Club, please drop in to any of Clarington Public Library’s four branches, or visit us online at www.clarington-library.on.ca/src.

The TD Summer Reading Club is made possible for all public libraries across Canada thanks to the joint initiative between TD Bank Financial Group, Library and Archives Canada, and the Toronto Public Library.