Local youths can pick up books on Wednesdays the rest of the month at Tonganoxie Water Park, Chieftain Park and the TES library.

Students can write book reviews on titles they’ve read and submit them to The Mirror. Reviews can be emailed to news editor Shawn Linenberger at slinenberger@theworldco.info or dropped off at The Mirror office, 520 E. Fourth St. in downtown Tonganoxie. A photo of the book reviewer is welcomed and also can be emailed to Linenberger. Reviews also can be dropped off with the Book Buggy teachers.

Students should include their name, school, year in school they’ll be entering next month and the book title, as well as a contact number.

TES teachers Chris Baska, Reann French and Janet Falk have been stopping on Wednesdays throughout Tonganoxie at popular spots with a van full of books for children to read. The Book Buggy stops at 9 a.m. at Tonganoxie Water Park and 10:30 a.m. at Chieftain Park. From the park, the teachers make their way through neighborhoods with the books.

And from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, teachers are at the TES library to offer books. Students can enter the school through the northeast entrance near the north gymnasium.

The reading teachers noted it’s preferred that the children bring back the books, but if they don’t all make it back, that’s not an issue. Encouraging summer reading is the key, they say.

National statistics show that students not reading between school years can fall behind by as many as two to three grade levels in reading proficiency by junior high.

Baska said she’s had students who make progress through the course of a school year, but then when that “summer slide” hits and they’re no longer reading, some students have fallen back to the reading level at the previous school year’s start when they return for a new school year in August.

Some books have been donated for the TES Book Buggy, while others were purchased through a grant. The Tonganoxie Elementary School Parent Teacher Club also has donated books — and more are welcome. Books may be dropped off at The Mirror office or at the various Wednesday stops.

Falk said teachers are keeping track of which students are picking up books. In May, students did benchmark testing for reading assessment. When students return for the 2014-15 school year next month, students will take those tests again. From there, teachers can determine how successful the summer program is.