Summer Reading Program

Friends of the Newport Beach Public Library recently gave a $21,000 boost to children?s library programs. The money will be used for such things as buses for library visits by local school children, purchasing books, prizes and other materials for the library?s summer reading program, and providing support for a variety of children?s summer events. ?This gift will enhance the Summer Reading Program that serves over 2,000 children and benefit hundreds of first and fourth graders who will be able to make class visits to the library ,?

For your weekend plans be sure to program a stop at the book sale on Saturday and Sunday at the Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Library, 1855 Park Ave., Costa Mesa. On Saturday, the sale will go from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with most books priced from 50 cents to $1. On Sunday, the sale will continue from noon to 3 p.m. with books priced at a dollar per bag (bags provided). * Summer Reading Program continues The Summer Reading Program for children continues till the end of the month at the Mesa Verde and Costa Mesa Donald Dungan libraries.

Nine or 10 years ago, blues musician Brother Yusef anxiously stepped to the front of the room to perform for his daughter's preschool class. He had never before played for an audience of children. "I wasn't sure how it would go over," recalled the musician, who now regularly performs at Downtown Disney for adult audiences. "But the kids got up and danced, they sang along with me, I did a lot of call and respond. The response was really positive. It showed that music is very accessible to everybody."

The Newport Beach Public Library's Summer Reading Program begins on Saturday and there's going to be plenty of events for the estimated 2,600 children — about the same number as last year — who are expected to participate. The response among parents already has been so high that all of its four branches could not accommodate all the children, said Katherine Mielke, a spokeswoman for the library. Two events have been added to the schedules of the Central and Mariners branches.

Eight-year-old Kathryn Greenberg thinks her school could learn a thing or two from the Summer Reading Program at the Newport Beach Public Library. "I like the program because you get prizes for reading. At school, you just read and you don't get any rewards," Kathryn said. "I'm going to read about 20 books just for the Summer Reading Program." Kathryn was among a group of toddlers, older kids and parents who filled the Friends Meeting Room at the Central Branch on Monday to enjoy a performance of "The Case of the Elephant Trunk," a puppet show presented as part of the library's Summer Reading Program.

Summer is just around the corner. A couple more weeks and it'll be time to relax and unwind as another busy school year comes to an end. It can also be the perfect time to pick up a good book — and read. The Newport Beach Public Library offers Summer Reading Programs for children, teens and adults from June 23 to Aug. 17. "Get a Clue@Your Library" is the theme for this year's Summer Reading Program, and the biggest clue is read ! It's no mystery that developing good reading skills can be a major factor in a child's future success, but retaining those skills with three months away from school can be a challenge.

Ready, set, read! The Newport Beach Public Library is kicking off its annual Summer Reading Program on June 20 with enough games, prizes and events to get any kid excited about reading. This year?s program, ?Be Creative @ Your Library,? will make reading fun with prizes, weekly drawings, crafts and games. ?It?s a good combination of fun, and it gets them to pick out a good variety of books, ? said Debra Walker, branch and Newport Beach?s children?s coordinator. The Summer Reading Program is a statewide program to encourage children to read and is open to everyone ?

The Newport Beach Friends of the Library recently donated $43,050 to the library. “We are happy to be able to continue our support of the library,” said Susan Hirsch, vice president of the Friends of the Library. “Despite the poor economy, business at the Friends’ book store is rolling along. We sell over 1,000 books a day.” The money will be used to offset costs of the library’s Summer Reading Program, Literacy Services, school visits to the library, outreach to middle and high school students, and other programs like the Sunday Musicales and family concerts.

Summer is here and the Newport Beach Public Library is ready to begin its annual Summer Reading Program. As always, there will be special reading programs designed just for children, teens and adults. A change for this year is that each age group will have the same theme of "Dream Big: Read!" The Summer Reading Program begins on June 23 and runs until Aug. 10. Saturday's opening day festivities will include activities and prizes for registration participants at all NBPL locations from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Throughout these seven weeks children, teens and adults who sign up can read books to earn prizes and enter prize drawings.

Nearly 65 students on Wednesday celebrated the final day of Victoria Elementary School's first summer reading program. The six-week program, led by Principal Linda Tenno and the school's staff, urged students to continue reading over summer vacation to keep reading skills consistent from the end of one school year to the beginning of the next. According to Tenno, when students returned to school last year, their reading levels declined due to lack of reading over the summer. "We don't have the opportunity to send students to summer school," she said.

For your weekend plans be sure to program a stop at the book sale on Saturday and Sunday at the Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Library, 1855 Park Ave., Costa Mesa. On Saturday, the sale will go from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with most books priced from 50 cents to $1. On Sunday, the sale will continue from noon to 3 p.m. with books priced at a dollar per bag (bags provided). * Summer Reading Program continues The Summer Reading Program for children continues till the end of the month at the Mesa Verde and Costa Mesa Donald Dungan libraries.

Everybody loves a book sale, and there will be one at the Costa Mesa Donald Dungan Library on July 14 and 15. On July 14, the action will go from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with most books priced from 50 cents to $1. On July 15, the sale will continue from noon till 3 p.m. with books priced at $1 per bag of books. Be there and take advantage of the deals on books of all kinds. * Volunteers Needed Your Friends of the Costa Mesa Libraries, which provides more than $50,000 a year for our three branches of the Orange County Public Libraries system through its bookstores, passport service and photos and membership dues and donations, needs of volunteers to serve on its board.

Summer is here and the Newport Beach Public Library is ready to begin its annual Summer Reading Program. As always, there will be special reading programs designed just for children, teens and adults. A change for this year is that each age group will have the same theme of "Dream Big: Read!" The Summer Reading Program begins on June 23 and runs until Aug. 10. Saturday's opening day festivities will include activities and prizes for registration participants at all NBPL locations from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Throughout these seven weeks children, teens and adults who sign up can read books to earn prizes and enter prize drawings.

If they want to move on, they must learn to give. It is a policy in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, and there's no way around it. Students must complete at least 40 hours of community service during their four years of high school to graduate. How students decide to spend their time varies, and results in ideas that are sometimes routine, sometimes inspired. Newport Harbor High School sophomore Natalie Cernius' idea had its genesis close to home. She started a Friday Night Club at her school in an effort to give her older brother, who is autistic, more opportunities to meet people and have fun. She said participants are special-needs teens, including those with Down syndrome, autism and physical disabilities.

An article this week in the Los Angeles Times reminded me that children's programs in our libraries help keep their skills sharp, especially during the summer when they are not in school. According to the article ("Keeping pupils' skills sharp," LAT Extra, July 7), a new study by the Rand Corporation has documented that children lose two to three months of reading and math skills while on break, and that the problem is particularly acute for lower-income children with limited access to travel, museums, libraries and other enriching experiences.

Editor's note: This is a special edition of Check It Out. Summer is here. That means there's time to relax and enjoy a good book. The staff of the Newport Beach Public Library has been busy, preparing to help you take advantage of summer reading opportunities with the 2011 Summer Reading Program. Beginning Saturday and running through Aug. 12 will be programs for adults, teens, and kids with prizes and activities geared for each age group. Special children's events take place at all four Newport Beach Public Library locations, beginning Tuesday, with a magic show featuring magician Allen Oshiro.

SATURDAY United Nations Assn. The Orange County chapter of the United Nations Assn. hosts guest speaker professor Jim Stanbery of Harbor College at the Irvine Heritage Library, 14361 Yale Ave., Irvine. His presentation is titled "Why the U.N. is Important Now More than Ever" and starts at 11 a.m., with refreshments at 10:30 a.m. For more information, call (949) 733-3439. AAUW Luncheon The American Assn. of University Women's Newport-Mesa-Irvine branch is having its annual installation luncheon at 11:30 a.m. at the North Bluff Club House, 2490 Vista del Oro, Newport Beach.

The Newport Beach Public Library's Summer Reading Program begins on Saturday and there's going to be plenty of events for the estimated 2,600 children — about the same number as last year — who are expected to participate. The response among parents already has been so high that all of its four branches could not accommodate all the children, said Katherine Mielke, a spokeswoman for the library. Two events have been added to the schedules of the Central and Mariners branches.