Ridgefield Library's Solutions, How to Get Kids Reading

If you have young children or teens, you may notice that their are not as lively or educational as yours were. With Gameboys and Play Stations to board games turned into electronic form, it can be hard to keep kids after school ends.  So, how do you keep them focused and out of a zombielike state over the next couple of months?

was thinking about this before summer had even begun, according to Mary Beth Rassulo, the Ridgefield Library Children’s Librarian. The librarians work with the Ridgefield schools in order to create a positive summer learning experience for children and vice versa.

“We are fortunate to have a relationship with the schools,” Rassulo said.

 The schools provide the library with all of thethat they own to be sure there are enough copies for each child. The library provides programs that keep kids excited about reading.  With the two forces combined, children have access to literary leisure.

“We visit the schools at the end of the year with a jazzy PowerPoint presentation,” Rassulo said.

During this presentation, children are able to see the incentive they will receive for reading a certain number of books as well as the links to the summer reading program.

“All of the materials are online this year.” Rassulo explained. “The reading program is online and we are very excited about that.”

Throughout the summer, students can track their reading list on the Ridgefield Library website. By the end of the summer, they will not only be able to see what they’ve accomplished, but show their teachers what they have been learning as well.

“it’s a green way of going about things,” Rassulo said. “We don’t need to hand them so many forms this year.”

The theme that the Ridgefield Library is using for their summer reading program this summer is ," a theme that will be used throughout many libraries in the United States this year.

“Each library can choose their own theme, but we like to follow the national theme created by the American Library Association,” Rassulo said. “They supply all of the bookmarks and posters we use.”

Each year, the Ridgefield Library tracks their elementary level and teen summer reading program participants. This year, expectations have been exceeded and librarians have been left with their jaws dropped. In the first week alone, 902 elementary level readers and 190 teen readers signed up to partake in the program.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” Rassulo said. “We are thrilled to have one of the most active programs; I think it shows how frequented this library is.”

What is getting so many children excited about the program? Intern, Chelsea Condren thinks she has the answer.

“The programs get the kids excited to read, but it’s not necessarily the prizes they are getting,” Condren said. “I think it’s that the kids feel like they are a part of something that their friends are a part of.”

Condren has created her own touch to the prizes given to the ferocious readers. She along with Diana Messer, a Library Assistant, have created a mural that children can have their picture taken in front of after reading 30 books. The photo is displayed in the “Up & Away” gallery.

“It makes them feel like little stars,” Rassulo said.

Other prizes children can receive for their accomplishments are a summer reading poster, an ice cream gift certificate to , a compass and a map of Ridgefield parks and a $5 gift certificate for the . Teens in grades 6-12 can receive a free slice of pizza from after reading 10 books, a free ice cream cone from Deborah Ann’s Sweet Shoppe after reading 20 books and a free movie ticket from the Ridgefield Playhouse after reading 30 books. For every five books that teens read, they get to enter into a raffle for special drawings. The grand prize is a limo ride to school.

Some popular books that fourth and fifth-graders are checking out are the Harry Potter and Rick Riordan series and the Cane Chronicles. First and second graders are checking out a lot of Magic Tree House  books and the teens are gravitating to The Hunger Games trilogy.

The librarians do their best to make sure children are reading to their full capacity. Rassulo wants to see children reading for quality and level rather than quantity and prizes. With all of the work that the library and schools are doing to keep kids reading, Rassulo encourages parents to be good role models and read around their kids.

“We are always so excited for our summer reading program,” Rassulo said. “We always like to see kids taking advantage of their community resources.”

All of the prizes provided to readers are courtesy of local merchants and the .

To check out the children and teen programs, go to www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.