5 Super Summer Reading Kickoffs

Libraries around the country are already starting their summer reading programs. There's a lot of great ideas for the superhero theme that the Collaborative Summer Library Program selected for this summer. Whether or not you already kicked off your summer, we thought you might like to see what other libraries have done!

Holy Smokes! Batman and his Batmobile at the Library

Howard County Library System invited Batman to attend their Summer Reading Kickoff. Kids wrote a note to sick children for Batman to deliver, took super hero selfies, and flew like a super hero with a green screen! 

Hero Mini Comic-Con

East Bank Regional Library hosted a mini comic-con for their Summer Reading Kickoff. Manga and comic book drawing sessions, costume contest, and a Steampunk exhibit.

Superhero Tee Off

Bull Street Library had a miniature golf around the library with patrons coming in dressed up as superheros. Check out the awesome photos here in a slideshow.

Heroes in the Park

Farmington Public Library invited local hometown heroes to meet at the park for their Summer Reading kickoff.  The police department, fire department, ambulance service, and the conservation department all came out to do presentations for the community about their roles and allowed patrons to check out their automobiles. The event started with the St. Louis Children's Critical Care helicopter making a perfect landing at the park.

Summer Reading Extravaganza

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh holds an annual Summer Reading Extravaganza to get their summer program started. It is an all day affair with community partners that brings about an impressive list of events. We love the variety and the fact that most of these events run multiple times throughout the day, allowing patrons to come and go at their leisure. From interactive adventures to puppet shows to cooking demos and gardening to bilingual storytimes, it looks like a great event!

Doing something different this summer? We'd love to hear about it!

50+ Ideas for Summer Reading Swag That Will Make Your Patrons Dance

It's almost time for Summer Reading! If you're like me, you've had the programs and projects booked and planned for months (who can wait?), but you're just now thinking about prizes. Of course, there are as many ways to award prizes as there are prizes to choose from. Do you do raffle prizes, weekly picks from the Treasure Chest, or a combination of both? Here are some favorite items that have been given out in libraries around the country.

Trinkets

I'm not talking about the Children's Room Treasure Chest (that's later); these toys are more popular with teens or adults. Any of these items can be personalized with your library name or logo, and given out as weekly incentives or door prizes at programs.

• Books of sticky notes; some nicer ones, like these, have a notepad, sticky notes, and sticky flags in a plastic cover.
• Note pads - always useful, especially if they come with a pen
• Flash drives (perhaps in bracelet form, though those are a bit more expensive)
• Screen cleaners that stick to the back of your device (genius!)
• Flashlight keychains
• Travel mugs
• Tumblers or other drinking glasses
• Water bottles - many options available! I used to prefer the aluminum ones to the plastic ones, but lately I'm a bigger fan of these neat collapsible types that take up almost no room at all.
• Tote bags. Never under-estimate the appeal of a good-quality reusable tote bag. I personally can't resist them, and neither can most teens and adults. And you can always go with the theme.
• Laptop bags or tablet cases
• Can koozies
• Headphones or ear buds
• Lip balm. One library reports having great success with this, to the point that people would come in asking for the lip balm and ultimately end up getting a library card.
• Stress balls, especially in unique shapes
• Electronics chargers, like this multi-charger or this portable Power Bank
• These amazing book-themed buttons, sold on Etsy

Treasure Chest Loot

But speaking of the kids, the Treasure Chest is great for the kids who want a prize now. In my library, kids can earn either a Treasure or a raffle ticket to use for a chance at a larger prize. These treasures include:

• Finger puppets
• Super bouncy balls
• Small plastic toys or characters
• Keychains
• Plastic sunglasses
• Bubbles (especially the ones that smell like ice cream)
• Stickers or temporary tattoos
• PEZ dispensers are a big hit, and come in both DC and Marvel
• Art supplies, like crayons or colored pencils

When you want something a bit more substantial as a prize, maybe as a raffle prize, you might want to go a bit bigger. (In some cases, a lot bigger.) You can put together a Bag O' Swag, filled with any of the above items, or you can get something different entirely. There are a few different genres of prizes to choose from.

Unique Items

For the "where did you get that?!" factor, try something a little bit different.

• Giant candy, like this 5 lb. gummy bear
• Or this 1 lb. York Peppermint Patty
• Or this huge Snickers bar
• Or this gigantic Box of Nerds
• One library we spoke with makes their own 3D printed awards - how cool is that?!
• These Water Dancing Speakers are a big hit with teens
• The Create Your Own Superhero Kit is perfect for this year's theme
• Board or card games, like Superfight!, the superhero card game
• Posters, like this awesome one, featuring minimalist superheroes
• Again going with the theme, try action figures, like the ones by FunKo - good for all ages!
• LEGO sets are always popular, and come in countless designs
• For the kids, try something to get them outdoors, like this Plasma Car
• Groups of smaller things work well, too. Try a stuffed Curious George and a couple board books for the smallest library patrons, or some coloring books and Super Heroic Crayons. For some reason, getting a bag of prizes - even if it's all little things - makes it seem more special.
• Signed books
• Cosplay items, such as this Link hat from the Legend of Zelda (bonus points if you get the shield, too!)
• Jewelry from popular manga or anime series
• Anything to do with Minecraft will have a following, like this foam pick-axe

Gift Cards

Money is always good! Local businesses will often donate gift certificate for a prize or two if you ask them nicely. We have gotten coupons for free ice cream cones, free rounds of Mini-Golf, etc. Last year, Chipotle gave us coupons for free burritos! Or you can always go with:

• Amazon.com
• iTunes
• Toys R Us
• Simon Malls (or your local mall)
• Comic book or music stores, like Newbury Comics

Gadgets

Because everyone wants the latest toys. 

• Kindle Fire or other e-reader (why the Fire? Because it's also a tablet, so it's an e-reader, but it's also so much more!)
• Samsung Galaxy or iPad
• One library is raffling off an Apple Watch! That's one way to get noticed.

Experiences

Things are nice, but it's nicer sometimes to have an experience than an item. Whether it's a trip somewhere or a party at your library, these prizes make memories that will last far longer than plastic finger puppets ever will.

• Tickets to movies, aquariums, museums
• Tickets to amusement parks, like Six Flags or Cedar Point
• Games at local arcades, mini-golf courses or bowling alleys
• A pizza party at the library
• An all-night lock-in at the library
• Moving to #1 on the hold list for a book or movie of their choice

Thanks to ALATT, Programming Librarians and Teen Librarians Facebook Groups for your insight and experiences!

What prizes can your library patrons win? Tell us in the comments!

Ready to Go Book Display: Villains

Welcome to our series, "Ready to Go!" Book Display. Once a month, we'll highlight the latest or greatest for every age group (Adults, Teens and Children) that you can promote within your library or order for your collection. 

Here's another list as we continue planning for summer reading 2015! This month I will be focusing on Villains, but be sure to check out our previous lists of Superheroes and Everyday Heroes.

Recommendations for Adults:

The Joker: A Celebration of 75 Years (July 2014)

Collects seventy-five years of comics featuring Batman's greatest enemy, the Joker, from his original arrival in Gotham City to his most recent adventures in "Death of the Family."

DC Comics: Super-Villains: The Complete Visual History by Daniel Wallace (Oct 2014)

Presents a complete list of super-villains in the DC Comics universe, profiling such baddies as the Joker, Doomsday, Black Manta, Lobo, Lex Luther, and Sinestro.

Hitchcock's Villains: Murders, Maniacs, and Mother Issues by Eric San Juan (Aug 2013)

Exploring a number of themes that form the foundation of villainy in Hitchcock's long and acclaimed career, Hitchcock's Villains also provides a detailed look at some of the director's most noteworthy villains and examine how these characters were often central to the enjoyment of the director's best films.

Recommendations for Teens:

V is for Villain by Peter Moore (May 2014)

Brad Baron and his friends discover dangerous secrets about the superheroes running their society.

Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics (Sept 2013)

To coincide with a new documentary from Warner Home Video about the history of DC Comics villains, comes this collection of tales starring DC's most popular villains from some of the biggest names in comics.

Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves, and Other Female Villains by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple

 An introduction to more than two dozen of history's most notorious women invites readers to draw their own conclusions while sharing the stories of such figures as Tituba, Lizzie Borden and Cleopatra.

 Recommendations for Children:

Catwoman Counting by Benjamin Bird

 In this counting board book Batman chases Catwoman through Gotham City.

Archvillain by Barry Lyga (Oct 2010)

Twelve-year-old Kyle Camden develops greater mental agility and superpowers during a plasma storm that also brings Mighty Mike, an alien, to the town of Bouring, but while each does what he thinks is best, Kyle is labeled a villain and Mike a hero. 

Minion by John David Anderson (June 2014)

 Michael Morn is a supervillain-in-training and the adoptive son of the brilliant criminal mastermind whose sense of right and wrong is thrown into question when a new superhero arrives in town.

Learn to Draw Disney Villains (May 2012)

 Presents step-by-step instructions on how to draw famous Disney villains, and includes information on tools, materials and drawing exercises.

Top 10 Worst Vicious Villains by Jim Pope (Jan 2012)

From gun-wielding gangsters to dangerous outlaws of the Wild West, meet the biggest baddies in history and discover how they tortured and terrified their way to the top in Top Ten Worst Vicious Villains. 

H.I.V.E.: Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden (Jan 2008)

Swept away to a hidden academy for training budding evil geniuses, Otto, a brilliant orphan, Wing, a sensitive warrior, Laura, a shy computer specialist, and Shelby, an infamous jewel thief, plot to beat the odds and escape the prison known as H.I.V.E.

Meet the Villains of Villainville by Lucy Rosen (Sept 2010)

Enter Villainville, just across the river from Super Hero City, and meet all the biggest bad guys, from Dr. Doom to Magneto and from Doc Ock to Loki.

Want more Summer Reading recommendations? Check out our previous posts on Superheroes and Everyday Heroes!

  

Ready to Go Book Display: Everyday Heroes

Welcome to our series, "Ready to Go!" Book Display. Once a month, we'll highlight the latest or greatest for every age group (Adults, Teens and Children) that you can promote within your library or order for your collection. 

Here's another list as we continue planning for summer reading 2015! This month I will be focusing on Everyday Heroes but check out last month for Superheroes and stay tuned for Villains in April.

Recommendations for Adults:

Everyday Heroes: 50 American Changing the World One Nonprofit at a Time by Katrina Fried (Oct 2012)

 Profiles the stories and causes of 50 courageous individuals who made significant differences in the lives of those they helped, in a collection of first-person narratives.

Dreamers and Deceivers: True Stories of the Heroes and Villains Who Made America by Glenn Beck (Oct 2014)

 Glenn Beck provides stories of the people who built America and the people who sought to destroy it.

Recommendations for Teens:

I Am Malala by Malala Yoisafzai (Oct 2013)

Describes the life of the young Pakistani student who advocated for women's right and education in the Taliban-controlled Swat Valley, survived an assassination attempt and became the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. (And later won!)

Girls Who Rocked the World by Michelle Roehm McCann (Oct 2012)

This inspiring collection of stories provides 46 illustrated examples of strong, independent female role models, all of whom first impacted the world as teenagers or younger.

 Recommendations for Children:

Hero Dad by Melinda Hardin (Nov 2010)

 A child demonstrates that while Dad differs from a traditional superhero, as an American soldier he is a superhero of a different kind.

Hero Mom by Melinda Hardin (Apr 2013)

A tribute to moms who serve their country in the military reveals their contributions.

Pet Heroes by Nicole Corse (Feb 2011)

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, especially when they are animals!

Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhood by Valerie Pfundstein (Apr 2013)

 A young boy has a school assignment to name every veteran he knows and it turns out that many of his neighbors have served in the military.

Heroes of the Environment by Harriett Rohmer (Aug 2009)

 This inspiring book presents the true stories of 12 people most of them teenagers, from across North America who have done great things for the environment.

Heroes for All Times by Mary Pope Osborne (Jan 2014)
Jack and Annie learn amazing facts about six history-changing individuals.

The United Nations by Katie Marsico (Aug 2014)

Around the world this agency's staff and volunteers are working to provide children with access to medical treatment and education. Find out how this work gets done.

People You Gotta Meet Before You Grow Up by Joe Rhatigan (Feb 2014)

Presents a tribute to the heroes who help keep our neighborhoods safe and provide routine services.

Recommendations for All Ages:



Unlikely Heroes: 37 Inspiring Stories from the Animal Kingdom by Jennifer Holland (Oct 2014)
Stories of acts of animal heroism, including a pod of dolphins that shielded a group of swimmers from a great white shark and a feral male cat who risked everything to protect a kitten in a tornado.

Want more Summer Reading recommendations? Check out last month's post on Superheroes!

Ready to Go Book Display: Superheroes

Welcome to our series, "Ready to Go!" Book Display. Once a month, we'll highlight the latest or greatest for every age group (Adults, Teens and Children) that you can promote within your library or order for your collection. 

It's that time of year! Time to start planning for summer reading 2015! This month I will be focusing on Superheroes but stay tuned for Every Day Heroes in March and Villains in April.

Recommendations for Adults:

 League of Regrettable Superheroes by Jon Morris (June 2015)

For every superhero hitting the big time with a blockbuster movie, there are countless failures, also-rans, and D-listers. This book affectionately presents one hundred of the strangest superheroes ever in print.

Marvel Encyclopedia by Matt Forbeck (March 2014)

The newest edition for of the bestselling encyclopedia is now fully revised, extended and updated.

The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore (Oct 2014)

A cultural history of Wonder Woman traces the character's creation and enduring popularity, drawing on interviews and archival research to reveal the pivotal role of feminism in shaping her seven-decade story.

Superheroes! by Laurence Maslon (Oct 2013)

A tie-in to a PBS documentary series explores the 70-year history of the superheroes who have engaged fans for generations.

75 Years of Marvel Comics by Roy Thomas (Nov 2014)

In celebration of Marvel's 75th anniversary, TASCHEN presents a magnum opus of the most influential comic book publisher today, with a look inside at its celebrated characters and more.

Recommendations for Teens:

The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks (Feb 2013)

Presents the adventures of Superhero Girl, who struggles with her everyday life, battling monsters and aliens, and snarky comments from Skeptical Guy.

The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew (July 2014)

Collects new stories of the Green Turtle, a masked hero in the 1940s whose alter-ego is Chinese-American.

Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson (Oct 2014)

Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City - until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman?

Who is AC? by Hope Larson (April 2013)

When Lin, a teenage girl who is zapped with magical powers through her cell phone, starts to get a handle on her power she realizes she has to go head to head with a villain who spreads his influence through binary code.

Hero by Perry Moore (May 2007)

Thom Creed, son of a disowned superhero, finds that he, too, has special powers and is asked to join the very League that rejected his father, and it is there that Thom finds other misfits whom he can finally trust.

 Recommendations for Children:

Ten Rules of Being a Superhero by Deb Pilutti (Oct 2014)

An instruction manual for aspiring superheroes that follows the adventures of action-figure Captain Magma and his sidekick/owner Lava Boy as they outsmart a villainous dinosaur, evade a bee, and save a worm from certain destruction.

Public School Superhero by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts (March 2015)

Kenny Wright is a kid with a secret identity. In his mind, he's Stainlezz Steel, super-powered defender of the weak. In reality, he's a chess club devotee known as a "Grandma's Boy," a label that makes him an easy target for bullies.

The Story of the Avengers by Thomas Macri (Oct 2013)

Describes how a group of super heroes became the Avengers team.

Superfab Saves the Day by Berengere Delaporte and Jean Leroy (Aug 2014)

With a large superhero costume collection, Superfab is the best-dressed superhero around, but his frequent costume changes often stop him for arriving in time to help people in trouble, until one day, his style sense may just save the day.

A Superhero Cookbook by Sarah L. Schuette (July 2011)

Provides instructions and step-by-step photos for making a variety of simple snacks and drinks with a superhero theme.

The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale & Dale Hale (Oct 2014)

Hiding her secret identity as a monster-fighting superhero, Princess Magnolia interrupts her fancy tea with the unsuspecting Duchess Wigtower to stop a big blue monster from endangering her kingdom's goats.

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (July 2009)

 The school lunch lady is a secret crime fighter who uncovers an evil plot to replace all the popular teachers with robots.