POULSBO — “Dream Big, Read!” Kitsap Regional Library’s Summer Reading Program, kicks off June 9 at all nine branches of the library system and on the Bookmobile.

The Summer Reading Program targets the library’s mission of supporting early literacy and helping to create life-long reading habits among the community’s young people. The program enrolls pre-school and elementary-aged children, tweens and teens.

The goal is simple: Either read, or be read to, for at least 10 hours during the summer. Educational research shows that when students read for as little as 10 hours between the end of the one school year and the beginning of the next, they maintain or enhance their reading levels. On the other hand, students who do not read during the summer, tend to lose reading proficiency and start the next school year at a lower reading level than they were when they left school in spring.

Participants (or their parents) sign up for the program at any of KRL’s branch libraries, the Bookmobile or online at www.KRL.org. They are enrolled and receive a reading tracker on which they can record their hours of reading. Complete at least 10 hours during the summer and the child is eligible to receive a free book, paid for by the Kitsap Regional Library Foundation and Friends of the Library, and a free ticket to the Kitsap County Fair, courtesy of our co-sponsor, Kitsap County. Program participants who read at least 100 hours get an additional special prize while supplies last.

Each branch library has scheduled a special Summer Reading Program Kickoff event. Little Boston Library: 9 a.m., 31980 Little Boston Road NE. Poulsbo Library: 10 a.m., 700 NE Lincoln Road. Kingston Library: 1 p.m., 11212 State Hwy 104.

KRL is scheduling a series of special events to encourage summer reading, featuring different performers. This year: singer Caspar Babypants; Eric Haines One Man Band; musician Johnny Bregar; One World Taiko Drummers; steel drummer Ian Dobson; juggler Linda Severt; magician Jeff Evans and toymaker Rick Hartman.

KRL also sponsors a special teen writing contest during the summer. Students this year will create short stories based on a photo taken by a Kitsap County teen. Entries will be judged by KRL Librarians and the winners will be featured in videos to be posted on the KRL web site at the end of the summer.

In the past few years, more than 8,000 children and teens each year have participated in the KRL Summer Reading Program and more than half of that number completed the program.