Halloween book initiative inspires Calgary kids to read
Posted Oct 26, 2022 5:53 pm.
Last Updated Oct 26, 2022 10:13 pm.
A Calgary initiative is on a mission to help children understand the characters behind their Halloween costumes through reading.
Little Red Reading House, which is located in Inglewood, started “The Spooky Reading Tree” inside Southcentre Mall, and says it will offer multiple fairytales in its storytime, including Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Wizard of Oz.
Steacy Pinney, the CEO of Calgary Reads and Little Red Reading House, says they are lucky to have volunteers who run these sessions.
The tree hosts have storytime at 10 a.m. in the mall three days a week, and Pinney says the kids are “reading great stories.”
“There is a sort of medium-sized free library. It’s not a tiny little library, but people are being encouraged to bring a book — take a book, just like free libraries, and that is happening all the time,” Pinney said.
“Most of the time I think the tree is really just something for children to explore. It’s quite magical, [and] the intent is to feel like you are opening a book and you are walking onto the page.”
With Halloween happening on a Monday, excitement is in the air for the costumes kids will wear, but the group wants to help kids learn more about the characters behind the costumes.
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Pinney says the group wants to instill book reading habits in children to improve literacy at a young age.
“We know that 25 per cent of children do not have books in their homes. So it’s the job of Little Red Reading House to inspire children to want to read, but then give them access to books.”
She says they give out between 50,000 and 75,000 books with the Little Red Reading Van, which travels from its “Book Bank” to Little Free Libraries around the city.
Little Red Reading House was established in 2018, and created by Calgary Reads, which is a Calgary-based non-profit that has “advocated for early literacy and book ownership for 22 years.”
The front of the Little Red Reading House in Inglewood in Calgary on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. (Henna Saeed, CityNews photo)
The Spooky Reading Tree runs at Southcentre Mall until Oct. 31 at 8 p.m.
Families can learn more about booking reading sessions at the Little Red Reading House by visiting its website.
