The kids of Marion have some reading to do. This year, the students of Sippican School have pledged to read for a collective 2,149,051 minutes as part of the summer reading program.

Sippican School Librarian Jessica Barrett and Elizabeth Taber Library Children’s Librarian Rosemary Grey met monthly all year to create a list of 15 books for each grade.

Grey met with every grade to give the kids an overview of the program and spent time “book talking” with them about the chosen titles.

Barrett said the list isn’t mandatory but gives kids and parents a place to start if they need suggestions.

The list, said Barrett, can help parents encourage their kids to read during the summer and choose age appropriate literature.

Like last year, students can also sign up to volunteer at the town’s library this summer.

Older kids will be able to help with the many events that are part of the reading program.

Barrett said students are especially excited about the July 23 “Build a Mini-Robot Bug” event and the program finale, the ice cream sundae social on July 31.

“One of the most important things is that partnering with the public library shows the kids in the community that we all have the same goal,” said Barrett. “It’s important for them to see that even after school ends there’s still this great resource right outside the door.”

As far as logging their 2 million minutes, the students can go onto the Scholastic’s summer reading challenge online and keep a record of their reading.

This year, the company wants to exceed  its world record of 176,438,473 minutes.

“The goal is to work as a team to read as much as we can and see if we can help to break that record,” said Barrett. “I love the fact that it’s not which student can read the most, it’s can we all be a part of this as a team.”

The students have already logged 95,602 minutes, and the school is ranked 208 on Scholastic’s site.

Above all, Barrett hopes the kids will discover authors, genres and books that will keep them coming back for more.

She said, “Find what you love to read, whatever it might be and read a lot of it.”

The book lists are available at www.elizabethtaberlibrary.org/children.