ALBANY - Right now, a million New York students are hitting the books.
A free statewide summer reading program is in 1,100 libraries and reading centers this year.
Through fun events like concerts and parties, students are drawn into regular visits to the library, where they fill out logs on the books they read.
At Oceanside Public Library in Nassau County, students were starting Monday to log in their books. And it was busy.
In past years, 100 to 150 children had signed up for the program in its first week.
Now there are more than 500.
“It's packed here,” said Barbara Buckley, head of Children's Services at the library. “I'm totally shocked.”
She expects well over 900 students will sign up by the time the program ends. About 60 teenagers help out.
The summer program is in its eighth year and will include creative ways for students to react to books they choose from lists in English and Spanish.
They can paint a picture, create a collage or write an essay on their book.
Entry forms are online (http://www.summerreadingnys.org) and at libraries.
Winners chosen randomly will win a weekend in New York City that will include lunch with illusionist David Blaine.
“A library is truly a magical place,” Blaine told children at the kickoff event in June.
“You can do anything, become anything, and books are the key to your future ... I learned everything about magic in the library near my home in Brooklyn.”
The goal is to make reading enjoyable for students and to strengthen a lifelong commitment to reading, said state Assistant Education Commissioner Janet Welch.
“Each summer more and more children participate in the Statewide Summer Reading Program, and we anticipate the response for the summer of 2006 to be even greater than before,” Welch said.
“Children who read for pleasure strengthen their reading skills and are better prepared to learn when school resumes in the fall,” she said.
Blaine is in public service announcements running on television statewide for the program, which is paid for by a federal grant and corporate sponsors.
Through fun events like concerts and parties, students are drawn into regular visits to the library, where they fill out logs on the books they read.
At Oceanside Public Library in Nassau County, students were starting Monday to log in their books. And it was busy.
In past years, 100 to 150 children had signed up for the program in its first week.
Now there are more than 500.
“It's packed here,” said Barbara Buckley, head of Children's Services at the library. “I'm totally shocked.”
She expects well over 900 students will sign up by the time the program ends. About 60 teenagers help out.
The summer program is in its eighth year and will include creative ways for students to react to books they choose from lists in English and Spanish.
They can paint a picture, create a collage or write an essay on their book.
Entry forms are online (http://www.summerreadingnys.org) and at libraries.
Winners chosen randomly will win a weekend in New York City that will include lunch with illusionist David Blaine.
“A library is truly a magical place,” Blaine told children at the kickoff event in June.
“You can do anything, become anything, and books are the key to your future ... I learned everything about magic in the library near my home in Brooklyn.”
The goal is to make reading enjoyable for students and to strengthen a lifelong commitment to reading, said state Assistant Education Commissioner Janet Welch.
“Each summer more and more children participate in the Statewide Summer Reading Program, and we anticipate the response for the summer of 2006 to be even greater than before,” Welch said.
“Children who read for pleasure strengthen their reading skills and are better prepared to learn when school resumes in the fall,” she said.
Blaine is in public service announcements running on television statewide for the program, which is paid for by a federal grant and corporate sponsors.