FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 10, 2008

CONTACT: Diane Nevill, 623-930-3554, Public Information Officer

GLENDALE, Ariz.– It is not officially summer yet, but the outdoor temperatures have already started heating up. The school year is ending, and it will not be long before parents hear “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do!” Parents just need to look to the library for ideas of summer fun for their youngsters and themselves.

Glendale Public Library is offering a reading program for every member of the family, from babes in arms to seniors. Beginning Tuesday, May 27, materials for the free programs can be picked up at any of our 3 libraries. The reading-incentive programs end on July 26 for children and teens, and on July 27 for adults.

The Arizona Diamondbacks and “The Arizona Republic” are sponsoring “Extra! Extra! Read Your Way to the Ballpark! 2008 Summer Reading Program.” Designed for infants through age 18 in Maricopa County, the program is open to any child who knows how to read or has someone read to him/her. Youths just pick up a reading game folder and start reading. Every 20 minutes, 50 pages or one book of reading or listening advances the reader one space on the game board. Fun prizes are given out for each seven spaces advanced. At the finish line, children receive a free ticket to a Diamondbacks game, plus a chance to attend an Arizona Republic Baseball Kids’ Clinic. In addition to the baseball ticket, youths receive an interactive sticker, rubber ducky, horse puzzle and a barrel of monkeys.

Glendale teens will enjoy the Teen Summer Reading 2008 program. This year’s theme is music, with artwork and prizes that reflect that topic. Sonic, Chipotle and Harkins Theatres are providing the motivation prizes.

Incentives are tied to reading by hours or number of pages. Teenagers receive a packet of prizes for the first six hours or the first 600 pages read. At each 6 hour or 600 page mark, another set of prizes is awarded. They will reach the end of the program after 24 hours or 2,400 pages read. When the reading record is completed, teens are entered into the grand prize drawing for an iPod and an iTunes gift card

Teens can also enter bonus drawings by writing brief reviews of the books they read. Each review enters them into a genre prize pack drawing for a mystery/horror, science fiction/fantasy, romance, realistic fiction, comics/manga or good reads prize pack. There are no limits to how many reviews a teen can write.

The theme of this year’s adult summer reading program is “Reading Alfresco.” The adult program offers reading and picnic-related prizes, which will be given away in drawings. Participants enter weekly drawings for each book read; after finishing six books, readers are entered into a grand prize drawing, which will take place at each Glendale library. This year’s grand prize is a picnic basket and gift card to Trader Joe’s. Everyone who completes the program receives a small lunch cooler.

Weekdays will be filled with special programming for youngsters. Besides the regular storytimes, children will enjoy a variety of programs for all interests. A calendar is available with specific dates and times, but look for an assortment of entertainment: The Great Arizona Puppet Theater, yo-yo magician Michael Steele, puppeteer and storyteller Glenda Bonin, Gary Sprague and his horse Dusty, Dana Smith and his dog Lacey, Folklorico Lindo y Querido, Reptile Adventures, Ronald MacDonald, master ventriloquist Jerry Layne and Company, Juggles James Reid, Japanese Taiko Drumming with Eileen Morgan, Mother Goose (Jan Sandwich), plus other equally enjoyable performers and programs .

Teens will have a wide variety of choices: volunteering at the library, summer shape up classes (including jiu-jitsu, yoga and capoeria), Battle of the Bands: Digital DJ, video game tournaments, book groups, crafts (decorated flip flops, silkscreen printed t-shirts, felt animal mascots, Japanese silk braiding bracelets), journal writing, mastering smoothies and other fun and challenging activities.

For adults, Foothills Branch Library will bring back season three of its immensely popular film discussion series, screening award-winning movies from across the decades. Always a crowd-pleaser, “The Unexplained” series will be held at the Main Library from June-August. Book discussion groups, business programs, assorted musical programs and lectures will also be offered for adults over the summer months.

For more information, call your closest library:

• Glendale Main Library, 623-930-3537
• Foothills Branch Library, 623-930-3837
• Velma Teague Branch Library, 623-930-3437