It's fall break for Knox County Schools and the perfect time to stop by a library and sign up for the final step of the Read the City 2024 challenge. This time the theme is “Build Your Own Adventure”. This challenge is about exploring new ideas, trying new resources, learning new skills, discovering new stories, creating new dreams and imagining new adventures. All you need is a library card!
To participate in the challenge, stop by any library to pick up a game board or register on Pile of beans. The quest involves literary assignments, creativity, participation in programs and, of course, reading. Every five missions completed, you earn a trip to the loot box!
We started the year with Read the adventure of life as we met renowned explorers from frontier times to the present day. Davy Crockett, Amelia Earhart, Jacques Cousteau, Matthew Henson, Neil Armstrong and Sophia Danenburg have explored everything from the ocean floor to the North Pole, from the tallest mountains to the sky and beyond. This summer we went epic with fantasy and science fiction. Now we are building our own personal adventures.
The Read City Challenge is the brainchild of Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, who started the program with the goal of encouraging students, families, communities and businesses to make reading a priority and help Knox County Schools increase third-grade reading rates.
This year's schedule has shifted from logging reading hours to completing literary assignments. Based on a game model, participants had to complete missions such as reading under the covers with a flashlight or visiting a storybook trail. So far we have completed over 110,000 missions. Learn more on the impact of the program with the participation of thousands of children and adolescents.
Mary Pom Claiborne is assistant director of marketing, communications and development for the Knox County Public Library.
