The Reading Buddies program at St Albans Library has wrapped up for the year, with its amazing young participants reading more than 1,000 books and chapters.
This included a massive effort by a six-year-old who read 95 books! From February to September, 84 children and their families plus 12 student volunteers from St Albans Secondary College participated in the program.
This popular literacy program has been running for over a decade and helps support young children in their reading skills, encouraging them to grow their confidence and enjoyment of reading.
Student volunteers ‘buddy up’ with the young readers to help them choose a book, listen to them read, help them keep track of the books or chapters they’ve read and hand out rewards along the way.
Weekly attendance bounced back after the COVID-19 lockdowns, with up to 18 children attending each session.
The program has been especially valuable to the St Albans community where a large number of community members speak English as an additional language.
