Summer Reading Kickoff 2015: Superheroes!

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I was excited to attend the system-wide summer reading kickoff on June 4, 2015 at the Mott Haven Library. Since I have been a librarian at NYPL, I have never seen this celebration held at one of our smaller branches. Many staff members, parents and kids, NYPL president Tony Marx, City Council Member Andy King, graphic novelist Nathan Hale and the Mott Haven library staff turned out for this event. Also, many community organizations, such as Bronx Art Space, Free Arts NYC, IDNYC, Reach Out & Read of Greater New York, had tables with information for summer reading participants. It is great to get kids and teens involved in summer reading in order to prevent the "summer slide," in which kids lose their literacy skills over the summer due to not reading. Adults can join summer reading, too!

The celebration began at 10 am on the street outside the Mott Haven Library. Christopher Platt of NYPL introduced Library President Tony Marx. Marx implored kids to read at least 20 minutes per day during the summer. He told kids that they could read as much as they wanted to in June, July and August. There is a book review contest on the summer reading web site, and the winner will get a chance to go to a Yankees game and go out on the field with NYC's sports stars. He thanked the many sponsors that we are lucky to have support summer reading. They include the New York Yankees, HSBC Bank, Bank USA, HBO, the Pine Tree Foundation of New York, and many others, including anonymous funders.

An HSBC Bank employee said that he was thrilled with the Mott Haven Library, which recently won $20K for a NYC Neighborhood Library Award. Last year, 225,000 kids in NYC participated in summer reading. The employee's mother was a teacher (so was mine), and he grew up with three sisters. The first year that he tried summer reading, he failed it because he did not like the books that he was reading. Then, his parents found some books that appealed to him more. As a child, he discovered a trick that he still uses today. He reads a few pages of a book towards the beginning, middle and end in order to determine if he would like to read the entire book. Ever since then, he has read a lot more.

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Graphic novelist Nathan Hale said that he did not like reading books that other people picked out for him. However, he loves reading books that he discovered on his own. He delighted the crowd by putting paper plates up to his face that showed how he felt when reading different genres of books. Then, he tossed the plates out into the audience for the kids to keep. Different characters allow people to enter new worlds.

NYC Council Member Andy King started out his speech with a "Reading's cool!" chant to get everyone energized. He encouraged kids to enjoy summer and learn something new from books, magazines and newspapers. Kids can learn by reading. 

Why Summer Reading is Important

Tony Marx concluded by thanking the teachers, library staff, parents, and funders that make summer reading possible. They are our superheroes. Kids like books with pictures and without pictures. Books help people learn about the world and imagine a different world. Kids can find out what is possible in the future, and they can read under the covers with flashlights. Since kids have much more free time in July and August, it is terrific to use that time for reading. Also, they will have a chance to go to Yankee stadium and hobnob with the stars. All of the community members want kids to read during this summer, and the kids should have a great time.

A guitarist performed, and then 6-year-old Jessiah charmed the crowd with his cello playing. He is featured on the cover of the Summer NOW brochure.

Dancing and Drumming

Dancers and drummers with West African attire wowed the party-goers. The kids were around 10 to 16 years old, and they were good. Audience members could tell that the kids loved what they were doing, and the teacher was fantastic. They were perfectly in sync, and they were energetic and on target. It was a pleasure to watch art in motion.

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Nathan Hale's Presentation

Around 11:30, Nathan Hale entertained summer readers by telling a story while he drew it. He likes to recount American history in his graphic novels, and so he told us the tale which included the Louisiana Purchase. He drew stick figures and dogs and the United States. It was interesting to see a graphic novelist in action. He finished by having the kids help him draw the grossest monster ever.

I really hope that kids read a lot and learn a lot this summer. Happy summer reading!