Summer Reading a Great Success

We are pleased to share some highlights of the recently completed children’s and teen Summer Reading programs.
1,316 readers: 1,163 children (K-Grade 5) and 153 teens (Grades 6-12)
38,585 books read: Children 34,856; Teens 3,729

Laid end to end, these books would stretch nearly 4.5 miles – that’s down the street, out Route 116, past the high school and across the New York state line!

The average number of books per reader was 29.32 – in just 6.5 weeks!

• 115 teens read at least 10 books, to earn a certificate for pizza from Piccolo.
• 752 children and 77 teens read at least 20 books, to earn a certificate for ice cream from Deborah Ann’s.
• 53 teens read at least 30 books, to earn movie tickets from The Ridgefield Playhouse.
• 465 youngsters read at least 40 books, to earn a special water shooter, courtesy of the Friends of the Library, and a pass to either Martin Park or the pool at Parks and Rec.
• 368 children read a whopping 50 books, to earn a gift certificate to the Toy Chest.

Many thanks to all these sponsors, especially the Friends of the Library, who also funded posters, the wall of readers’ pictures and more than a dozen special performances and programs.

Enjoy the Last of Summer @ the Library

Summer is not quite over at the Library! There’s still a little time left to take advantage of some vacation-time activities before the leaves start to fall.

·         Take an inexpensive family day trip, with our Museum Pass program, generously made possible by the Friends of the Library. Offerings range from the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum to the Beardsley Zoo (please note that Stepping Stones Museum is closed until November for the installation of a new exhibit). Inquire in Children’s Services or check our website at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org for details.

·         Have a family film festival, with a full season of one of your favorite TV series.  We are just completing the task of re-processing our series DVDs so that an entire season or set is included in one package – no more frustration of not being able to view episodes in proper sequence.

·         Read one last bestselling “beach book.”  To find out about the newest releases, check the Reader’s Resources section of our website, where you can sign up for BookLetters.  These e-mail newsletters deliver to your inbox periodic alerts about upcoming releases, and include a link to our catalog so you can reserve them even before our copies arrive.

Preview of Fall Library Happenings

Summer Reading is over, and here at the Ridgefield Library we are turning our attention to the fall. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more information about these and many other upcoming events. Sign up now at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org to get our weekly email newsletter so you don’t miss a thing.

Sign-up for pre-registered storytimes and after school programs will take place Tuesday, September 7th through Sunday the 12th. Pick up a fall calendar at the Library or check online for details. Most of these programs begin the week of September 28th.

Sunday hours 1:00 to 5:00 PM resume September 12th, bringing our total open hours to 58 per week, also including Saturdays and Tuesday and Thursday evenings until 9:00 PM.

September 11th is the date for our “Fall in Love with the Library” event, when Curious George will be on hand to help preschoolers and their families get library cards and enjoy games and goodies.

Scrabble returns! This popular program for Grades 4-8 returns on Tuesday evenings starting September 7th.

Finally, The Big Read is coming to Ridgefield this fall, featuring John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.” Check our website for an ever-growing schedule of book discussions and other activities and events for all ages.

Ridgefield Readers' Summer Favorites

What are you reading this summer?  Here are the top picks of participants in our 2010 Summer Reading programs.

Series books rule for kids.  Rick Riordan is the runaway favorite author for younger readers, with his “The Red Pyramid” (first of The Kane Chronicles series) and the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (which began with “The Lightning Thief,” also a recent movie release).

Teens crave futuristic and fantastical settings, alternate dimensions of time and space, and action-packed adventure, such as they find in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, James Patterson’s Maximum Ride books and the Pendragon series by D.J. McHale.

For the second year in a row, Kathryn Stockett’s “The Help,” a Civil Rights era story about black servants and the white families they serve, has been a top choice of adult Summer Readers. Also popular has been “A Reliable Wife,” a gothic tale from first-time novelist Robert Goolrick. Finally, Ridgefielders are as enthralled as the rest of the world with the runaway thriller “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson.