The American Library in Paris is teaming up with Message Paris, a community support organisation for English-speaking families in the Paris area, to invite all of Île-de-France’s under 18s to participate in a “Read-a-Thon.”

This marks the seventh year the Library has held the “Read-a-Thon” in order to encourage kids to spend more of their summer vacation reading, and to raise funds to support the Library, which is the largest English-language lending library in continental Europe.

From May 1st – 7th, participants will be encouraged to read as much as possible, and to try to raise donations based on the number of minutes that they read.

Winners will receive gift cards and prizes from places like Shakespeare And Co, the Red Wheelbarrow, Smith & Son, The American Children’s Theatre (ACT) and Breakfast in America. 

The American Library in Paris has been a cultural centre for English-speakers since 1920, when it first began as a way to lend reading material to United States armed forces personnel serving their allies in World War I. Today, the Library is a non-profit that relies on donations to continue to provide programmes, books and services for the English-language community in Paris. 

You can get more details via these links: Message Paris Event Calendar and American Library Signup Page.