Welcome to iREAD. For more than 29 years we have developed successful summer reading programs. Our mission is to provide high quality, low cost resources and products that enable local library staff to motivate children to read. As a coordinated, self-supporting effort between Illinois librarians and the Illinois Library Association every purchase from iREAD supports library advocacy.
2009 Summer Reading Program: Read on the Wild Side!
The 2009 summer reading program theme is Read on the Wild Side, featuring artwork by Patrick Girouard for children and Gene Ha for young adults. The programming, developed by librarians for librarians, is contained in the Resource Guide and CD. It includes activities, games, art, reading lists and much more for children, teens and adults.
The Resource Guide and all of the supporting incentive products are included in the iREAD catalog.
Please note: The .EPS clip art on the 2009 Resource Guide CD was inadvertently saved as Illustrator CS2. If you follow this link, you will be able to download the art as Illustrator 8 files, which should make them accessible for everyone who is using Adobe Illustrator, no matter what version you have.
This does not refer to the .JPG files on the disk, only the "vector" .EPS files
Online Catalog
To shop online for Read on the Wild Side! prizes, incentives, and promotions click below:
Young Adult Art Contest for 2010's Scare Up a Good Book
Thanks to all those that have participated in the 2010 Young Adult Art Contest, both artists and librarians and to everyone that voted. Congratulations to Michaela for winning the poster contest and $1000. Click here to see the 2010 YA Poster Winner!
iREAD showcase at ILA Conference Click here to visit a Flickr page that has images of the crafts from the iREAD showcase at the 2008 ILA Annual Conference.
History of the iREAD Summer Reading Program Click here to download a PDF article "Happy Twenty-fifth Birthday iREAD!"
Contribute to iREAD
Submit
Ideas for the 2010 Guide
If you have ideas or suggestions for the 2010 "Scare Up A Good Book" Resource Guide, submit
them to iREAD. The deadline for the 2010 Guide is January
7, 2009. Submit your ideas now!
Volunteer You can volunteer to be part of the iREAD team. Besides having lots of fun, you'll have the pleasure of knowing that you've helped librarians all across Illinois.
Planning a Summer Reading Program and Research on the Effects on Student Achievement
If you would like to read more about planning a summer reading program and/or studies on the impact of summer reading programs, check out the following:
Fiore, Carole D. Fiore’s Summer Library Reading Program Handbook. New York: Neal-Schumann, 2005.
Kan, Katharine L. Sizzling Summer Reading Programs for Young Adults, Second Edition. Chicago: American Library Association, 2006.
Kim, Jimmy. Summer Book Reading and the Achievement Gap: The Role of Public Libraries. Cambridge, Mass.: Center for Evaluation, Harvard University, 2004.
Krashen, Stephen and Fay Shin. “Summer Reading and the Potential Contribution of the Public Library in Improving Reading for Children of Poverty,” Public Library Quarterly, Vol. 23: 3/4, 2004.
Johnson, Wayne L. and Yvette C. Johnson. Summer Reading Program Fun: Ten Thrilling, Inspiring, Wacky Board Games for Kids. Chicago: American Library Association, 1999.
