A Race To Keep Philadelphia's Kids Reading Through The Summer

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - There's an important race going on in Philadelphia, starting this week with an August 8th deadline. People of all ages are challenged to join collectively in reading 30 million minutes, toppling last year's record by 2.5 million words.

The Free Library of Philadelphia has organized summer reading programs for more than 20 years and over 50,000 people have participated, supported by research that refers to the "summer slide," skills that are lost when kids don't read over the vacation months. Studies indicate that students who read six or more books over their summer vacation prevent "brain drain" and even make gains in reading levels.

Summer camps, teen book clubs and preschools are welcome to these free programs, tracking reading on a game board for kids through 6th grade, submitting book reviews for online posting on the Library's website and maybe bumping into the Phillie Phanatic at one of the events.

Register at one of the Library's 54 locations and add to the 30 million minutes.