There is still time to participate in the Prince George Public Library's summer reading program but youngsters will need to move quickly and start cracking open the books.
A wrap-up party for the six-week program is set for next Friday but in the meantime, branches are continuing to accept newcomers and verify the number of books those already taking part have read.
The centrepiece is a Books for Bees campaign. For every 10 books a participant reads, a picture of a bee is taped to a display in the children and youth section of the Bob Harkins branch and the library donates $10 to the purchase of a beekeeping kit for a family in Ghana.
The goal is 55 bees and as of Tuesday there were 47 on the wall.
In past years, similar campaigns were held to raise money for a well in Uganda and purchase book boxes that were shipped to Haiti in the name of global awareness, said program co-ordinator Ruth Buehler.
Beekeeping kits were selected this year to keep with the overall Up, Up and Away theme public libraries across the province are following this summer.
About 200 youth, mostly aged five to nine - although it is open to kids as old as 12 - have enrolled in the Books for Bees campaign.
"We'll quite likely always have a global awareness part of our summer reading program because this generation gets it and they're enthusiastic about doing it," Buehler said.
Several other summer reading programs are also continuing to run at the Harkins and Nechako branches. For more information go to www.lib.pg.bc.ca and click on the Up, Up and Away icon on the right side.
