RUSSELL, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – While school is out, kids are still being advised to do a little summer reading and, in Russell on Tuesday, some of those young ones got a little sports surprise from Boston to get them motivated.
What’s a good way to remind kids that reading is power? Bring in the mascot of a professional sports team to help. On Tuesday, kids were in for a treat at the Russell Public Library as the Boston Bruins mascot, Blades, dropped by. “Blades goes all over the state,” said Celeste Bruno with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. “Literacy doesn’t know any boundaries, so we want to make sure everyone across the state is reading over the summer.”
The gathering was part of ‘Read with Blades,’ a partnership between the Boston Bruins and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Since 2009, dozens of libraries in the Commonwealth have applied to have the NHL team’s mascot read or, in this case, re-enact a book he likes as a way to motivate kids to do some summer reading and avoid what some call the ‘summer slide.’ Bruno added, “Kids who read just four books over the summer do better academically when they return to school in the fall.”
Librarian Jennifer Waldorf read “Up the Creek” to kids of all ages with Blades acting out. She told Western Mass News that it was an honor for Russell to be among a handful of locations chosen to be part of the reading campaign. “Reading can be one of the best things you can do in the summer because summer is so busy and kids have so many activities, their schedules are packed, but when you read, that’s a chance to just relax, kind of chill out, go somewhere else and just keep up the fun,” she explained.
After the book reading, kids had the opportunity to make bracelets, design fan buttons, and even color their own goalie mask. They were also handed a book list that are favorites of some of the Bruins’ players. Jaxson Petrucci, 8, of Chester told us he will definitely be reading more before school returns and called it a smart thing to do. “It can help you in school in a lot of things and it’s just a good thing to do,” he said. “I like graphic novels and chapter books. Those are more fun books to read.”
The bruins and mblc will be back in western mass next summer.
In the meantime, they urge kids to read some of their favorite books and maybe even take on some new ones…because when you read, you score!
In russell, matt price…western mass news.
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