Students Keep Cool While Turning The Page At Reed

By Eliza Hallabeck

Staying cool for some students this summer is as simp le as turning a page in a book. Almost 200 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students signed up to participate in the Summer Reading 2008 at Reed program, which allows students to sit down and read in the Reed Intermediate School library.

For Amanda Walsh and her twin brother, Timothy, the library is a daily destination during the week.

“It’s cool and it’s quiet,” said Amanda, who just finished her fourth grade year at Middle Gate School. “The people are very nice, and they help you when you need help.”

She said she has read 16 books since the program started last Monday, June 30. While sitting at a table in the library this past Tuesday, she read Judy Moody Predicts The Future by Megan McDonald, and Amanda had two more books sitting next to her that she plans on reading in the near future. Who Was Ronald Reagan? by Joyce Milton is the next book on Amanda’s list.

The program incorporates Accelerated Reader, which is a computerized database of quizzes created by the Renaissance Learning Company, to help students make a reading goal for the summer and keep track of their progress. The system also stores the students’ progress and keeps track of the students’ growth. After the students read a book, they take a quiz and gain points for the book and the quiz.

Students, with the help of the librarians, set a goal number of books for them to read or listen to on recordings, and every time they finish a book they take the quiz that corresponds with the story. If they pass the test they are given prizes such as bookmarks.

Amanda said she is enjoying Judy Moody Predicts The Future, because she cannot put the book down.

“I think it’s really good,” said Amanda, “because it’s really interesting. It keeps you guessing, and you want to keep reading.”

The book is the fourth book in the Judy Moody series, and in this book the main character, Judy, attempts to predict the future with the help of a mood ring.

 Amanda said she likes to mostly read biographies, because she likes to learn about famous people.

“I connect to them, because sometimes they like the same things I do,” she said. “They sometimes want to help other people, too.”

Amanda said she can remember reading when she was 4 years old. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, by Laura Joffe Numeroff, is the first book she remembers reading, she said.

Amanda’s brother, Timothy, said he has read 12 books since the program started.

“[Reading] is a hobby of mine,” said Timo   eading 2008 at Reed program runs from June 30 to July 30, and the fee for the summer is $35 for each student. Mondays and Tuesdays the program runs from 3 pm until 6 pm, and on Wednesdays through Fridays from 9 am until 12:30 pm.

Ms McMorran said some of the children read books from the Nutmeg Book Award list, which is sponsored by the Connecticut Library Association and the Connecticut Association of Media Specialists. The list shows the top ten books as nominated by Connecticut’s youth, and according to Ms McMorran, many children request books from this list.

“Sometimes kids will get hooked on a series,” said Ms McMorran. Two of the most popular ones she has seen are the Harry Potter series and the Shredderman series.

Rachel Cole, who just finished her sixth grade year at Reed Intermediate School, said this is the third year she has been attending the summer reading program. She said she tries to go as many times during the week as possible. On Tuesday, she sat near a window at the end of book isles.

She said she is currently reading Buddy Is A Stupid Name For A Girl by Willo Davies Roberts. The main character, Buddy, has recently lost her mother and her father has left her and her brother to the care of her aunts. The aunts claim her father abandoned them and their mother took the family fortune, according to Rachel. She said she is enjoying the book so far.

“Every time I finish a good book, it feels like I have been to where the book takes place,” said Rachel. “I like to read.”