Even though summer is a wonderful time of unstructured schedules and freedom from school, there’s no reason for Suffolk children to be bored or directionless this summer.

In fact, the children of Suffolk have quite a goal to reach — help the community overall read a total of 14,000 books by Aug. 3.

The Camp SPL Summer Reading Challenge by Suffolk Public Library will launch this Saturday. If members of the community log their books through Beanstack and reach the goal, they will be able to enjoy a special “color blast” at the grand finale carnival on Aug. 3.

In addition to earning raffle tickets for each book logged and potentially earning prizes, readers — children, in particular — will be able to avoid the seasonal learning loss known as the “summer slide.”

A quick internet search will show that thoughts on the summer slide vary widely, and so does the research on it. Some studies show significant summer learning loss that gets worse or better depending on the grade level, the subject, the socioeconomic status of the students’ families, and any number of other factors.

Other studies say that fears about summer learning loss may be overwrought, no matter what.

In any event, it’s a certainty that most young people will benefit physically, mentally, emotionally and, yes, academically if they take time throughout their summer to relax a little bit with a good book.

Thanks to the Friends of the Suffolk Library’s partnership with the Suffolk Public Library, those books may earn them rewards if they log their reading activity as part of the challenge.

The Beanstack app can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play. For more information about the Summer Reading Challenge and other Camp SPL events, visit www.suffolkpubliclibrary.com/CampSPL.