TRUCKEE, Calif. and#8212; As I explained back in June, research has shown if your childand#8217;s brain remains stagnant without challenge during the summer months, they could lose, on average, 2.6 months of grade level equivalency in math skills and nearly a whole reading level.

The Truckee Library summer reading program is the perfect antidote to summer brain drain, helping preserve and even enhance reading levels. Many heeded the call and we had another record summer of participation in our summer reading program: 265 children, between the ages of 5 and 12, signed up to participate. One hundred and forty participants collected more than 400 prizes for every five hours of reading they tallied. Collectively, those hours represents much more than 2,000 hours of summer reading! More than 50 participants read the full 25 hours necessary to collect the grand prize, a gift certificate to the Bookshelf at Hooligan Rocks.

There were monthly events during the heart of the summer to help encourage children to keep reading. A magic show kicked off the program in June and a professional storyteller entertained in July. The favorite program by far, for the fifth year running, was the wild animal show, brought to us by Wild Things, Inc., a nonprofit wildlife rescue organization based in Weimar. This year we were visited by an affectionate lemur, a gorgeous porcupine, an orange snake, a beaver with bladder issues, and an alligator with attitude! His saunter back to the animal van after fulfilling his and#8220;petting zooand#8221; duties was a sight to behold. These are animals that either have injuries that keep them from surviving in the wild or animals that individuals have tried to keep as illegal pets. Lucky attendees at this popular program learned about each individual animal, their personal history, as well as its natural history and importance to the environment.

We would like to give an extra-special thank you to the Friends of the Truckee Library for their generous funding for summer reading program materials, prizes and entertainment and to the Bookshelf at Hooligan Rocks for their awesome gift certificates. With our constrained library budget situation, the Friends make the summer reading program possible and the Bookshelf helps make the experience much more rich for its participants.

Truckee Library, 10031 Levon Ave., 582-7846, mynevadacounty.com/library