Junior Friends Second Annual "Celebration of Books"

Junior Friends of the Library Second Annual “Celebration of Books” a huge success with guest New York Giants Kevin Boothe

The Junior Friends of the Library, a branch of the Friends of the Hasbrouck Heights Library, had a huge turnout for the Second Annual “Celebration of Books” on Wednesday July 17th. The “Celebration of Books” is a program the Juniors run to promote the Hasbrouck Heights Library’s Summer Reading Program. This year the Juniors invited New York Giants Offensive Lineman and Guard, Kevin Boothe, to be our guest reader. It was a big thrill for members of the Summer Reading Program, Friends and Junior Friends members and the local sports community. Over a hundred people attended the event to hear the reading and participate in the Q & A.

“We had a tremendous success last year with the 40th Anniversary of the book, “Freaky Friday” and had a nice turnout from the community as well when author and screenwriter, Mary Rodgers, attended our first event. The Juniors felt that the tradition should continue and in our Annual Meeting in March, members were asked who they wanted to see this year and a sports figure was high on the list,” said Justin Watrel, Chairman of the Junior Friends. “It was very nice of Kevin Boothe to take time out of his busy schedule to attend the event since the players will be going back into practice on July 26th.”

The Junior Friends started the event with a warm welcome to the crowd and thanked them for their support of library programming. We then introduced Mr. Boothe to the audience with a very supportive applause. “Hasbrouck Heights is a huge supporter of the local teams and there are many Giants fans in town. They came out with their Giants jerseys on to support the team,” said Watrel.

Mr. Boothe read the inspirational book, “Everyone can learn to ride a Bike” by Christopher Raschka with the help of Children’s Librarian and a true friend to the Friends of the Library, Marie Joyce. Mrs. Joyce chose the book for its inspirational theme on never giving up and facing challenges. After the reading, there was a question and answer session.

Mr. Boothe talked about his career, what made him successful and some of the challenges he had overcome in life. The audience, made up of many thrilled fans were engaged and involved in his answers. To many wide-eyed fans, it was a thrill to meet one of the players.

After the Q & A, Mayor Rose Heck presented Mr. Boothe with a proclamation of his many accomplishments and proclaimed July 17th “Kevin Boothe Day” in Hasbrouck Heights, which met with a sounding applause. After the reading ended, Mr. Boothe took a group picture with all the pre-teens and teens who participated in the event. Many smiles were on patrons’ faces as they posed with their hero.

In a separate ceremony before Mr. Boothe parted for the afternoon, the Junior Friends gathered its members to present to Mr. Boothe an ‘Honorary Membership” plaque to the Junior Friends and then presented him with a Juniors tee-shirt to welcome him to the group. The Juniors then had a private picture taking session with Mr. Boothe before he and members of the Giants press left for the afternoon. Members joined the rest of the crowd in a reception in honoring Mr. Boothe. The Junior Friends want to thank everyone who helped make the Second Annual “Celebration of Books” a huge success.