The Summer Reading Program was a great success at the San Marino Public Library. With the opening of the new library, the number of children registered for the "Catch the Reading Bug @ Your Library" program was an astonishing number of 974. The YA program also had a great turn out with over 162 teens participating in the "Metamorphosis" reading program.
The San Marino Public Library would like to congratulate the 245 children who completed the entire program by reading 20 books, a cumulative total of 4,900 books! Those children who finished the program received a special reading award and a gift certificate from the San Marino Toy and Book Shoppe. We would also like to congratulate the 147 children who were able to reach the bonus level by reading 30 books this summer. Those children had the opportunity to spin the prize wheel to win a movie ticket, a Coldstone's gift card, certificate to In-N-Out, a kid's meal to Carls Jr. or a certificate for a free kid's meal at Islands Restaurant. Congratulations to all of our participants!
The annual summer program concluded on Saturday, August 2nd, with a Final Party for all participants who read at least 5 books this summer. Entertainment was provided by Swazzle Puppets. Children and their parents were also treated to a pizza lunch provided by Papa John's, which they were able to enjoy in the San Marino Center next to the library. The winners of various drawing, writing, and creativity contests, held throughout the summer, were also announced. The afternoon festivities concluded with a raffle of "Catch the Reading Bug" themed prizes and books.
We would like to thank all the "ticktockers" from the National Charity League and all other teen volunteers who donated countless hours assisting with the reading program. We also want to thank all the businesses that helped support the Summer Reading Program through their donations of reading incentives and prizes, especially the Friends of the Library, who sponsored all the entertainment and activities throughout the summer, Hows Market, who donated juice boxes for our final party, Ralphs Market for supplies, and Papa John's for helping out with the final party pizzas. Your generosity played a crucial role in the success of the San Marino Public Library's Summer Reading Program. THANK YOU!
We would also like to thank the following judges who devoted their time to make our contest successful - Matt Ballantyne (City Manager), Sue Cobb (Manager of San Marino Recreation Department), Sue Hodgson (Huntington Library), John Penido (Fire Chief), Ann Dallavalle (City Librarian), and Irene McDermott (Reference Librarian). Last but not least, we want to thank the Friends of the San Marino Public Library. Their hard work, dedication, and support make it possible to continue the Summer Reading Program every year.
Name the Character Contest
- Bee: "Queenie the Reading Bee" named by Sierra Dunah (age 7)
- Butterfly: "Zip-Zap" named by Anjali Asthagiri (age 3)
- Cricket: "Davy Crickett" named by Russell Chang (age 11)
- Dragonfly: "Firewings" named by Matthew Tostado (age 7)
Drawing Contest
- 3-5 year olds: Aleena Ma (age 5)
- 6-7 year olds: Ashley Muranaka (age 7)
- 8+ Zoe Chang (age 10)
Writing Contest
- 3-5 year olds: Kayla Weng (age 5)
- 6-7 year olds: John Hutchison (age 7)
- 8+ Karen Weng (age 10)
Create a Bug Contest
- Most Creative - "Shutterbug: The Reading Bug" by Katherine Hui (age 9)
- Best Use of Materials - "Painting Mantis Van Gogh" by Kayla Grimm (age 10)
- Creepiest Bug - "J-Fly" by Jarrod Nguyen (age 9)
- Biggest Pest - "Millie" by Quintin Hollomand (age 5)
- Most Unusual - "Bob the Bee Bug" by Jinnen Masri (age 10)
- Most Realistic - "Megan the Bug" by Noemi Liu (age 4)
- Cutest Bug - "Harry the Lunch Bug" by Jayden Hollomand (age 4)
Weekly Raffle Winners
- Los Angeles Dodgers Tickets - Diego Blanco
- $15 gift card to Jamba Juice - Russell Tsai
- Family 4 pack to Pasadena Ice Skating Rink - Paul Tostado & Abby Metzger
- Los Angeles Sparks Tickets - Jasmyn Tang
- $15 gift certificate to IHOP - Enoch Harnanto
- $15 gift certificate to McDonalds - Elijah Harnanto
- $15 gift card to Baja Fresh - Owen Grannis
- $15 gift card to Blockbuster - Sarah Chin
Businesses and Organizations that Donated Gifts for the Children's Summer Reading Program
| Blockbuster | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Build-A- Bear Workshop | Los Angeles Sparks |
| Carl’s Jr. | Papa John’s |
| Claim Jumper | Pasadena Ice Skating Center |
| Hows Market | Pizza Hut |
| International House of Pancakes | Ralphs Market |
| In-N-Out | San Marino Toy & Book Shoppe |
| Islands Restaurant | Shakey’s Pizza |
| Jump’n Jammin | Teri & Yaki |
| Legoland | Trader Joe’s |
Children Who Read 30+ Books During the Summer Reading Program
| Alex Airitam | Nicole Hui | Isaac Roberts |
| Savanna Airitam | Gabe Huisken | Joshua Rose |
| Sydney Airitam | John Hutchison | Malia Rose |
| Paulina Alonso | Derek Jackson | Mateo Rose |
| Brendan Brody | Juliana Judge | Carolina Ru |
| Brooke Brody | Brian Kam | Matthew Rutzen |
| Clare Carey | Steven Kam | Sarah Rutzen |
| Ella Carey | Danny Khoshnan | Sayvzhdri Sarrafpar |
| Christina Chang | Hoon Ki | Benjamin Schwartz |
| Libby Chang | Sara Koh | Spencer Seid |
| Zoe Chang | Scott Koh | Taylor Seid |
| Baxton Chen | Megan Lan | Anita Shenoi |
| Melody Chen | Stacy Lao | Angela Shi |
| Ken Cheng | Bethany LeBerthon | Priscilla Shi |
| Kellie Chiang | Briana LeBerthon | Skylar Shi |
| Katie Chin | Christina Liao | Caleb Shohfi |
| Sasrah Chin | Tiffany Liao | Sharif Sivad |
| Kathy Choi | Emily Lin | Kylie Spindler |
| Melody Chow | Naomi Lin | Joseph Sullivan |
| Rosaline Chow | Nicole Lin | Jasmyn Tang |
| Sasha Chu | Mason Liu | Curtis Tsa |
| Beto Clavio | Noemi Liu | Russell Tsai |
| Arthur Cribbs | Tommy Long | Angela Wang |
| Jacqueline Dang | Peggy Luk | Jen-yeu Wang |
| Grace Davis | Brandt Lukas | Valerie Wang |
| Jireh Deng | Catherine Maldonado | Karen Weng |
| Mercy Deng | Daphne Mall | Kade Wentz |
| Samantha Dromskey | Hannah Marx | Portia Whiteford |
| Sarah DuNah | Dzelila Maslesa | Lindsey Wong |
| Samantha Fujita | Jinnen Masri | Ryan Wong |
| Mansi Gokani | Katie Metcalfe | Tiffany Wong |
| Adam Hamden | Luke Metcalfe | Timothy Wong |
| Nadine Hamden | Abby Metzger | Nathaniel Woo |
| Enoch Harnanto | Ashley Muranaka | Elsa Woods |
| Ethan Heilman | David Navarro | Jacqueline Yipp |
| Sofia Henson | Grace Navarro | Aston Yong |
| Louis Hess | Gwyneth Ngo | Andy Yoong |
| Madison Hoiby | Caitlin Nguyen | Nicky Yoong |
| Lucy Howell | Nicholas Oo | Samantha Young |
| Elina Huang | Daniel Peinado | Zach Yung |
| Justin Huang | Isadel Peinado | Zoe Yung |
| Justine Huang | Justin Quach | Linda Zhong |
| Katherine Hui | Nicholas Quach |
