Happy first day of summer vacation!

As children look ahead to three months of fun in the sun, we want to remind you to register for the 2017 Summer Reading Program: Build a Better World. You can register online or in-person at the Children's Room.

We have 10 weeks of fun planned, with programs and events designed to educate and entertain young readers. Participating in the Summer Reading Program also is an excellent way to fight the Summer Slide. The Summer Slide is what educators call the academic learning loss students experience over summer break.

Children can combat the summer slide by picking up a book this summer. According to United We Serve: Let’s Read, Let’s Move, reading just five books can help prevent summer learning loss, while also improving students’ fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

Here are some tips to make reading part of your summer routine:

Let children pick books they're excited to read. Kids say they're more likely to finish a book they picked out themselves!

Set goals. Use our Summer Reading Program gamecards to get started.

Make it fun. We created a brochure that lists ALL Children's Summer Reading programs and events. Pick one up in the Children's Room or print a copy at home. We dare your children to say they're bored after they flip through it.

Make visiting the Library a priority. Bike, bus, walk, or drive over for summer fun and learning. It's all free!

Stories in the Park, our summertime outdoor reading series, begins June 5 and continues through August 4.

Stories in the Park will be held from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the following locations:

• Mondays at Willow Creek Park, 117 Teg Dr.
• Wednesdays at Wetherby Park, 2400 Taylor Dr.
• Fridays at Mercer Park, 2701 Bradford Dr.

Beginning Wednesday, June 7, the Library’s new Bookmobile will be present at all Stories in the Park dates. Children, parents and caregivers should remember to bring their Library Card in order to check out books and DVDs from the Bookmobile. Anyone who doesn’t have a Library Card can sign up at icpl.org/cards. Bookmobile staff also can issue new Library Cards.

In the event of rain, the Monday and Wednesday storytimes will be held at the Library and the Friday storytimes will be cancelled. However, the Bookmobile will still travel to the parks, rain or shine, so visitors can check out items.

An Iowa City Public Library card is your child’s ticket to ride an Iowa City Transit bus free this summer.

The Library will provide free bus rides to children through 12th grade, and the adult caregivers who are with them, on any Iowa City Transit bus route traveling to the downtown interchange, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. every weekday beginning June 1. Eligible bus riders should show their Iowa City Public Library card to the bus driver to gain free access to the bus. Children can catch a ride home anytime the same day with a Ride & Read bus pass, which is issued by showing a Library Card at any public service desk at the Library.

Parents, if your child doesn’t have an Iowa City Public Library card, visit www.icpl.org/cards/ for information about how to apply for a card. Complete your application online, then stop by the Help Desk within two weeks to pick up your card. You can also apply in person at the Help Desk any time the Library is open. Adults will need to show photo identification (current driver’s license or passport) and proof of resident address (current driver’s license, mail with a current post mark, current lease) in order to obtain a Library Card.

Photo identification is not required for children under age 14.

The summer bus program ends the week day before the first day of school.