One Nation, One Book

Join the most humongous reading group ever: the nationwide Big Read featuring Jack London’s classic, The Call of the Wild. Come see actor Michael Oakes portray London at the kick-off event on Saturday, September 27 at 10:30 a.m. at the Friends’ Hall and Garden Terrace at the Huntington Library. Drop by Crowell Public Library’s table during the festivities, which are free and run until 5 p.m.

On Thursday afternoon, October 19, join us for a screening of the 1983 version of the Disney movie Never Cry Wolf, based on true story of a man coming to terms with nature on the tundra. The movie will be shown in Crowell’s Barth Community Room at 2:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Huntington curator Sue Hodson will speak at Crowell on Sunday, October 23 about Jack London’s work as a photojournalist. Hodson will show London’s photos of the Russo-Japanese War, the South Pacific, the cockneys of England, and the Mexican Revolution. This free event will take place in the Barth Community Room at 7 p.m.

For more information about the Big Read, which is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, check out the Huntington Library’s website: http://www.huntington.org/thebigread/index.htm. Or, call Denise Dobbs at Crowell Public Library, (626) 300-0777, extension 541.

Summer Reading Program Wrap-Up 2008

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