Summer Starts at EPL
Popular Questions:
Summer Starts - FAQs
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Entering the contest is easy!
Every Monday, read the clues that we post to guess where (or who) she’s visiting. Once you think you know her location, enter your guess. You can guess as many times as you want. Correct guesses will be entered into a draw for a free book – we'll have five winners every week!
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There are two ways you can enter to win a prize:
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- Read! For every week that you enter your reading minutes, you’ll get one entry into our grand prize draw. Enter your reading minutes.
- Find clues! Our mascot, Turtle Swift, will be travelling around Edmonton every week. Use the clues that we post every Monday to guess where (or who) she’s visiting. You can guess as many times as you want. Correct guesses will be entered into a draw for a free book – we'll have five winners every week! Enter your guess.
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You can read whatever you want: books, recipes, websites, magazines, graphic novels, even the text on video games—it all counts as reading. You can also listen to audiobooks or have someone read to you.
EPL participates in the TD Summer Reading Club, Canada’s biggest, bilingual summer reading program for kids. Enter your reading minutes by Sunday of each week to enter the grand prize draw. View contest rules. Remember: every week you submit your reading minutes is another chance to win!
Do you like reading books? Graphic novels? Recipes? It all counts as reading!
Want to track your minutes as you go? Download our weekly reading log.
Recommended Reads
Summer Starts - Check Out
Summer Starts - Reading Inspiration
Learn something new, create a masterpiece or simply have fun! We've got new videos every week, plus a handful of live events too.
Latest Video
Upcoming Live Event
Summer Starts - Featured Event
Even More Great Videos
Summer Starts - Live Events
Poll
Summer Starts - Poll
If you could only play one video game for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
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Animal Crossing0
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Fortnite0
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Mario Kart0
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Roblox0
If you could only play one video game for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
50+ people have taken this poll!
Thank you for taking the poll!
Last week's poll winner: Most of you chose last year's mascot, Dwayne the Rock, as your favourite!
Spotlight On: Canada
Looking for Canadian reads? Check out these EPL staff picks:
Activities and More
Summer Starts - Explore
Weekly Contest
Every week, the Summer Starts mascot, Turtle Swift, will be visiting a popular landmark in Edmonton, not an EPL branch. Can you figure out her location?
Read the clues below then guess correctly by Sunday of each week to enter the weekly book prize draw. View contest rules.
Clues for the Week of July 13:
Turtle Swift is good friends with Wayne Gretzky, who got his start on this Edmonton team. This team played their first season in 1980, and have been to the playoffs 21 times, trying to win a giant silver cup. They’ve won the cup five times! When Turtle Swift visited, she wore an orange and blue t-shirt to show her support.
Where is Turtle Swift visiting? (Remember: it's not an EPL branch)
Where (or who) was Turtle Swift visiting last week?
Last week's book prize winners:
Kalyna S., Isaac C., Syenne K., Ellie B. and Lucy M.
Join children’s author and Capital City Press Featured Writer Alison Hughes as we create a story together. She's provided the first line below and then it's up to you! Submit one line to continue the story by Sunday of each week and Alison will choose the best one. Watch for a Zoom Q&A with Alison halfway through summer.
After 11 weeks, who knows what we'll create?
Our Story So Far:
The huge, mysterious square stone had sat for hundreds of years in the special room in the old house. As Annie watched it crack and wobble, she realized with shock that it wasn’t a stone at all – it was an egg.
Winning line for week of June 15, submitted by Yahvi: Curious, Annie crouched down onto her knees, reached out a cautious hand and gently picked up this turquoise egg that was speckled with black dots, letting it balance into the scoop of her palm.
Winning line for week of June 22, submitted by Mya: As she stared in wonder at the cryptic egg, it splintered and a small hole appeared; a beak, no larger than her pinky finger, broke through the thin surface.
Winning line for week of June 29, submitted by Matthew: Suddenly, the egg exploded in a blizzard of egg shards, and out of curiosity, Annie glanced at the now broken egg with a million questions in her head; but she now realized what the egg had held for centuries, and screamed.
Winning line for week of July 6, submitted by Helen: There peeked out a dragon with slitted eyes that seemed like they glowed, a clear goo covering its body, dark blue scales dappled with white like the night sky, and the teeth–they were knives, sharp and glistening, and dangerous... very dangerous.
Hey parents! Here's what you can expect each week of the program. Help your children make the most of summer—get them to enter their reading minutes, mascot contest entry and suggested story line every week!
Clues for the weekly Find the Mascot contest are released!
Watch the latest video for a new fun activity to try at home.
It's a good day to catch up on some reading.
Check out our second video of the week.
Encourage your child to suggest the next line in our story.
Check out the EPL newsletter for a roundup of this week's fun.
Last call to enter your child's weekly submissions.
Looking for a summer reading club for adults?
Resources for Parents
Summer Starts - Resources for Parents
8 Tips Get Kids Reading (In Summer and All the Time!)
Help Kids Understand Anti-Racism and Diversity Through Books
Moving, Sitting and Sleeping for Healthy Young People
