The impending end of the school year means it’s time to start reading again.

Saturday, the Clark County Public Library will kick off its annual children’s Summer Reading Program and this year’s “Build a Better World” theme. From 9 a.m. to noon, the library will be bustling with events and activities for children of all ages.

“The library’s Children’s Department will look like a carnival,” said Renee Wallace, head of the youth services department at the library. “They can have their face painted. There will be animal balloons, games and contests.”

More importantly, children can sign up for their own purple library card to participate in this year’s program; teens will get a red card.

Signing up for the program will allow readers the opportunity to earn new books simply by recording what they read, she said. It even works for infants and toddlers who can’t read on their own, but have parents who will read to them.

“When they sign up, they get a Summer Reading Program bag and inside is everything they need,” Wallace said. There will be a calendar of events happening throughout the summer along with reading cards to record how much time they spend reading.

Three days a week, the SRP store will be open at the library. Readers can turn in their completed reading cards and buy new books, she said.

Every participant gets one chance to win one of six themed gift baskets at the end of the summer, she said. Basket themes include one centered on Legos and another for a family entertainment night, she said.

Also in the SRP bag are building block cards with fun things to do around Winchester, Wallace said. Logging nine earns another chance at the grand prizes.

Entering its 15th year, Wallace said she expects 1,300 to 1,500 children to participate in the Summer Reading Program and that 300 to 400 people will attend the kick-off Saturday morning.

The goal is to create and encourage readers.

“The thing we’re most proud of is each kid has the chance to win up to five new books by keeping track of their reading,” Wallace said.

For more information, call the library at 744-5661.