(NC)-Summer is the perfect time of year for new adventures and challenges and with so many ways to expend energy during the summer months, there's no shortage of creative ways for kids to exercise their bodies and imaginations. To help parents keep kids excited about reading this summer, Indigo, Chapters and Coles offer the following tips:

• Take weekly family trips to your nearest bookstore or library and go for a family picnic with your selections. It's a great way to spend quality time together and enjoy the fresh air too.
• Lead by example: When perusing the newspaper in the morning, read a couple of interesting stories aloud to inform your kids. Then have them read a few pages from the kids section of the newspaper to you.
• Have every member of the family write a short story about their own summer adventures – share them with each other by reading them aloud.
• Find a selection of books dealing with summer activities, such as family trips, camp and sports. Choosing timely topics with familiar subject matter will keep kids interested in connecting with books and inspire a love of reading to last a lifetime!
• Read between the books: If your family is heading for the open road this summer, make reading a memorable part of your vacation. Encourage kids to read road signs, bumper stickers, funny names of passing towns, and menus when you stop for a quick bite as a family.
• When planning your summer vacation, provide your kids with a stack of brochures highlighting potential stops on the trip. Allowing them to help plan the trip by reviewing the brochures will get them excited about the vacation and brush up on their reading at the same time.
• Encourage the kids to keep a journal or a scrapbook and fill it with all of their summer memories – great for their first back-to-school projects about "What I did during Summer vacation"

Kids between the ages of 10 – 16 can enter Indigo's 2nd annual Junior Booklover contest. All they have to do is write and submit a short book review on one of the titles listed in Indigo's Summer Book Scene for a chance at fame and fortune as the next Booklover apprentice. For complete contest details and tips on writing a review, visit your local Indigo, Chapters or Coles store or log on to www.juniorbooklover.ca. – News Canada