Preventing the Summer Slump_​ ​LIS 725_ Townhouse_SLMP Roundtable 1 

Preventing the Summer Slump: The Importance of Vacation Reading 

Bridging the Summer Reading Gap. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2019, from 

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/bridging-

summer-reading-gap/​ A highly recommended journal article focusing on 

the impact reading loss has on achievement, and the role school libraries 

play in the summer setback. This article is important because research 

shows that when children read books about characters they love, they 

not only develop, but sustain extensive engagement in voluntary reading 

later.  

Fiore, C. D. (2005). ​Fiore's summer library reading program handbook.​ New York:  

Neal-Schuman Publ. A comprehensive handbook for exploring and 

designing the learning values, objectives, goals, and threats to summer 

reading programs across the country. Though an older text and geared 

more towards public librarianship, Fiore’s research is important because 

she poses useful ideas for all libraries to enrich summer reading materials 

and activities, such as programming ideas, incentivization, bridging 

towards communities, as well as research-backed data that advocates 

for all types of vacation programming in the long-term.  

 
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Miller, D., & Anderson, J. (2011). ​The book whisperer: Awakening the inner reader  

in every child​. New York, NY: Scholastic. A supportive text, written in a 

conversational, relaxed tone with librarians, educators, and parents in 

mind, and meant to embrace the concept of individual choice as the 

path to success all year round. Miller’s work is crucial to the lens of summer 

setbacks because she advocates for students to have their own 

self-concepts of what their reading lives could look like, seeking more 

ownership, for “reading belongs to readers, not schools, and not 

teachers.”  

Small, R. V., Arnone, M. P., & Bennett, E. (2017). A Hook and a Book. Children  

& Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 

15(1), 7–15. ​https://doi.org/10.5860/cal.15n1.07​ An impactful, relevant 

journal article detailing the value of intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic 

motivation as contributing factors for summer reading participation. The 

authors found that incentives attracted readership, with rewards ranging 

from pencils, small toys, and cancellation of penalties (fines), but that just 

because participants read more, it doesn’t necessarily mean they read 

better; conversely, prizes, when geared towards reading, such as a free 

book, book marks, certificates, recognition, or public library card were 

deemed more meaningful than trinkets that had little to not connection to 

book characters. In the end, the authors found that the strongest reward 
Preventing the Summer Slump_​ ​LIS 725_ Townhouse_SLMP Roundtable 3 

came when school librarians collaborate with public libraries in creating 

seamless links between the school year and summer activities, such as 

following an ongoing series.  

The Achievement Gap is Really a Summer Gap. (2018, April 20). Retrieved May  

10, 2019, from 

https://readcharlotte.org/blog-post/the-achievement-gap-is-really-a-sum

mer-gap/​ Citing Malcolm Gladwell’s research based solely on summer 

achievement gaps, this solution-driven article draws on the notion that 

parents simply “had​ never heard of summer learning loss.​ They don’t know 

that their children experience a “summer slide” [nor do they know] that 

teachers spend the first several weeks of school re-teaching material from 

the previous school year. This article deserves to be in the canon of cited 

literature on the topic of summer reading because studies of children’s 

motivation to read shows that before 3rd and 4th grade, children are 

especially motivated to read to please the adults in their lives. Letting 

children know you want them to read—and talking with them about what 

they read – is an incredibly powerful incentive for summer reading. 

Making time to read with kids also helps.” 

 
Preventing the Summer Slump_​ ​LIS 725_ Townhouse_SLMP Roundtable 4 

Yorio, K. (2018). Diversity in Summer Reading Lists. ​School Library Journal,1

​ -5.  

https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=creating-diverse-summer-reading-list​ An 

in-depth journal article presenting ways in which schools can evolve by 

shifting away from conventional novels on summer reading lists by 

including graphic novels, poetry, plays, and essays to incite newness.  

This was a fascinating article in the sense that it offered teachers’ 

perspectives and what little say they have in the politics behind putting a 

summer reading list together. These voices are rarely heard, and the 

article addresses tension for teachers who fear that classic staples are 

more reliable than trendy novels, which remains an ongoing conversation.  

  

 
Preventing the Summer Slump_​ ​LIS 725_ Townhouse_SLMP Roundtable 5 

Preventing the Summer Slump  

Fun Fact: 

The first summer reading list was said to be compiled in 1894 at The Boston Public Library 

(everything happened there first, including the building).  

Introduction: 

Summer vacation disrupts the reading rhythms of learners, which then requires 4-6 

weeks of catch-up for teachers in the fall. The “Faucet Theory” (Entwistle, Alexander, 

Olson, 2000) posits that when school libraries close for summer, the faucet flow of 

literacy too gets shut off, yet hopeful ​studies show that children who read as few as six 

books over the summer maintained the same reading level they measured at during 

the school year, and that meaningless prizes awarded at the end of a summer reading 

program (toys that have little to do with literacy) only offer short-term motivation. 

Reading lists are also shifting away from classic staples to include graphic novels, 

poetry, plays, and essays, but tensions exist for teachers that trendy novels display easily 

forgettable plots, which isn’t helpful for learning.  

Key Concepts: 

Summer slide as metaphor/”Faucet Theory”/academic backslide/incentives and 

prizes/voluntary reading/diverse lists  

Must-Note: ​Single-parent households, low-income families, access, priviledge, boys’ 

literacy rates, distance to neighborhood libraries (structural impediments) existing fines 

socioeconomic status, achievement gap, ELL/limited opportunities to practice English 

from home, diversifying book lists, lack of role models to read with.  

 
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“Teachers plan in the fall and harvest in the spring” - Gary Schmidt, ​The 

Wednesday Wars ​… (but what do they do in the summer?) 

Discussion questions: 

What can you tell me about your own experiences with summer reading? Do 

you remember any incentives or prizes? If so, what were they? Do you think 

incentivizing summer reading is a positive or outdated approach to getting kids 

to learn over the summer?  

Do you find summer reading programs to be more competitive or recreational 

(zipping through books to claim a prize, social recognition vs. comprehension, 

fast-food coupons, dishonesty).   

How can school libraries reconcile issues of weeding and space and collection 

development when summer reading requires multiple copies?  

Should teachers be required to participate in summer reading?  

Do pre-selected titles and curriculum-related material squelsh children’s 

motivations and independent interests? 

 
Preventing the Summer Slump_​ ​LIS 725_ Townhouse_SLMP Roundtable 7 

Ashley. (2018, April 16). Preventing the Summer Slide. Retrieved from  

http://justreedblog.com/preventing-the-summer-slide/​ An eye-opening 

infographic presenting summer reading research in a digestible way, the “Just 

Reed” blog is a quick way to think about statistics, but offers no real solutions for 

combating these figues.   

 
Preventing the Summer Slump_​ ​LIS 725_ Townhouse_SLMP Roundtable 8