Gordon-Booth Teams Up with Area Schools to Encourage Reading

PEORIA, Ill. – Area students who choose to read eight additional books on their own this fall semester will be in line to receive a free treat courtesy of state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, as part of her Fall Book Club initiative “Get Booked Up with Rep. JGB.”

“Particularly in the wake of COVID-19, which impacted a lot of students and limited their ability to traditionally learn, we want to encourage our kids to proactively read more this semester,” Gordon-Booth said. “Similar to the old ‘Book It’ program, we want to motivate our children to visit local libraries, expose themselves to different subjects and develop a new love for reading.”

Gordon-Booth’s office is connecting with local public and private schools to share information about the program, which will be open for students from kindergarten through fourth grades and will run until Dec. 10, 2022. Participating students will be required to keep track of the names of each of the eight books they read, with a parent or guardian asked to verify that their child completed reading.

Parents who are interested can also contact Gordon-Booth’s office at 309-681-1992 or RepJGordon@gmail.com to learn more.

“Expanding your reading horizons at a young age plays an incredibly positive role in development and has lifelong benefits,” Gordon-Booth said. “I know there’s a lot of distractions in this era, but it’s critical that we do what we can as a community to come together and support reading.”