1. A big shout-out and congratulations go to all our top summer readers from the Bronx, Staten Island and Manhattan. We were thrilled to meet you all today at Yankee Stadium and we hope you enjoyed your visit to home plate and talking with our favorite Yankee, Curtis Granderson. Keep up the good work! 

    A big shout-out and congratulations go to all our top summer readers from the Bronx, Staten Island and Manhattan. We were thrilled to meet you all today at Yankee Stadium and we hope you enjoyed your visit to home plate and talking with our favorite Yankee, Curtis Granderson. Keep up the good work! 

  2. Congrats to six-year-old Isabella Policarpo, the top child summer reader in Staten Island! Isabella read 413 books, most from her local Todt Hill-Westerleigh branch library. She and other top summer readers will get to step on the field at this afternoon’s Yankees game and meet outfielder Curtis Granderson. Hats off to all our summer readers!! Photo courtesy Milena Policarpo and Staten Island Advance.

    Congrats to six-year-old Isabella Policarpo, the top child summer reader in Staten Island! Isabella read 413 books, most from her local Todt Hill-Westerleigh branch library.

    She and other top summer readers will get to step on the field at this afternoon’s Yankees game and meet outfielder Curtis Granderson.

    Hats off to all our summer readers!!

    Photo courtesy Milena Policarpo and Staten Island Advance.

  3. Elizabeth Gilbert’s Summer Reading List

    Elizabeth Gilbert, a former Cullman Center Fellow and author of the New York Times bestseller Eat, Pray, Love, is currently working on a new novel. Following her recent appearance at LIVE from the NYPL (video here), we asked Gilbert for a list of her favorite summer books. Here are her picks:

    1. This is a double-hitter, but definitely Hilary Mantel’s astonishing novels, Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies. Her version of Thomas Cromwell is my favorite literary creation of recent years, and this utterly transporting recounting of the Tudors is as compelling, sexy, and violent as anything you’ll see on “Game of Thrones”.
       
    2. State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett. Never miss an Ann Patchett novel. This one, especially don’t miss.
       
    3. The Children’s Book, by A.S. Byatt. In keeping with my apparent theme of fabulous, rich novels written by great female novelists, this one is an extraordinary epic of love, family, art and ambition in England, right before the first World War. The critics were equally split on this novel. I sided with the smart critics, who loved it, and who (like me) think it is Byatt’s best work.
       
    4. Middlemarch, by George Eliot. You didn’t think I would discuss fabulous, rich novels written by great female novelists and not mention Middlemarch, did you?
       
    5. Hateship, Loveship, Friendship, Courtship, Marriage, by Alice Munro. Let us all bow at Alice Munro’s feet. Each one of these short stories is like a novel in miniature, and the title story is so beautifully heartbreaking and redeeming, I can’t even take it.

    For more recommendations like this, sign up for NYPL News!

  4. Louise Lareau, from the Children's Center at 42nd Street, recommends some books for Summer Reading →

  5. Teen Summer Reading Spotlight: Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol Anya moved from Russia to America years ago, but even though she lost weight and lost her accent, she still has a lot of trouble making friends.  And then one day she has an accident that changes her life.  That’s the day she meets the ghost of a girl named Emily. After Anya falls down a well, she finds a human skeleton and then moments later she sees Emily’s ghost hovering over that skeleton.  Keep in mind — that’s three traumatic incidents in a row!  So is it any wonder that Anya freaks out and starts screaming? But little by little, as Anya and Emily start talking to each other, Anya starts to calm down.  She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to learn that there are both pros and cons to being friends with a ghost.  First I’ll give you a hint about the pros: imagine what it would be like to have a friend who’s invisible!  Now I’ll give you a hint about the cons: imagine what it would be like if your new invisible friend was hiding the truth about how and why she died. Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol is a graphic novel about life, death, friendship, betrayal, and everything in between. Be sure to visit summerreading.org to sign up for the summer reading club where you can keep track of the books you read during the summer, review the stuff you’re reading, create lists, earn badges, and design your own avatar!  Check out the teen summer reading list for even more book recommendations that will make you laugh, make you think, and keep you on the edge of your seat. - Andrea Lipinski, Kingsbridge Library

    Teen Summer Reading Spotlight: Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

    Anya moved from Russia to America years ago, but even though she lost weight and lost her accent, she still has a lot of trouble making friends.  And then one day she has an accident that changes her life.  That’s the day she meets the ghost of a girl named Emily.

    After Anya falls down a well, she finds a human skeleton and then moments later she sees Emily’s ghost hovering over that skeleton.  Keep in mind — that’s three traumatic incidents in a row!  So is it any wonder that Anya freaks out and starts screaming? But little by little, as Anya and Emily start talking to each other, Anya starts to calm down.  She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to learn that there are both pros and cons to being friends with a ghost. 

    First I’ll give you a hint about the pros: imagine what it would be like to have a friend who’s invisible! 

    Now I’ll give you a hint about the cons: imagine what it would be like if your new invisible friend was hiding the truth about how and why she died.

    Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol is a graphic novel about life, death, friendship, betrayal, and everything in between.

    Be sure to visit summerreading.org to sign up for the summer reading club where you can keep track of the books you read during the summer, review the stuff you’re reading, create lists, earn badges, and design your own avatar!  Check out the teen summer reading list for even more book recommendations that will make you laugh, make you think, and keep you on the edge of your seat.

    - Andrea Lipinski, Kingsbridge Library

  6. So, what did you do this summer?  Some of the Library’s top Summer Readers not only have bragging rights to having read hundreds — yes, hundreds — of books when they return to the classroom next week, but they’ll also be able to tell their classmates about meeting the Yankees’ Curtis Granderson and being on the field at Yankees Stadium.  Reading not only makes one smart, but it also opens the door to many places! We’re so proud of our Summer Readers! Above is a video of the top Summer Readers’ day at the ballpark, and here’s a  a blog post written by the Library’s own Zachary Loeb (along with some baseball book recommendations). Congratulations, Summer Readers!

  7. Bronx Children Bring Parents to the Library

    Our librarians in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island are working hard inside the libraries but they’re also going out in their communities and bringing people into the libraries. A story in today’s Daily News tells the uplifting story of Lou Della Elliott at Hunt’s Point Library, the perfect example of a librarian who goes out into her community to spread the word of reading. But she has helpers: after getting a visit from Elliott, pre-K children at La Peninsula’s Head Start program brought their parents - many whom had never been to their local library - to the library. There are over 4,000 Summer Readers at Hunt’s Point. We love it!

  8. We’re all about summer reading. On a beach, in a park, or in an air-conditioned home — books can go everywhere. For school-aged children, summer reading is a serious must; it keeps the mind going and ready for the upcoming school year. But no worries; there are plenty of fun books out there, with great pictures. We’re currently showing off several in our exhibition Children’s Book Illustrators and Authors Come Alive at the Children’s Center at 42nd Street. This illustration by Paul O. Zelinsky is included in the exhibit; it’s titled “But the Gale Nearly Blew Angel Off” and is from the book Dust Devil by Anne Isaacs. Other children’s books highlighted include Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building, Me…Jane (about Jane Goodall), and Henry in Love. Next time you’re on 42nd Street, stop by the Children’s Center and take a look, with or without a young one!

    We’re all about summer reading. On a beach, in a park, or in an air-conditioned home — books can go everywhere. For school-aged children, summer reading is a serious must; it keeps the mind going and ready for the upcoming school year. But no worries; there are plenty of fun books out there, with great pictures. We’re currently showing off several in our exhibition Children’s Book Illustrators and Authors Come Alive at the Children’s Center at 42nd Street.

    This illustration by Paul O. Zelinsky is included in the exhibit; it’s titled “But the Gale Nearly Blew Angel Off” and is from the book Dust Devil by Anne Isaacs. Other children’s books highlighted include Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building, Me…Jane (about Jane Goodall), and Henry in Love. Next time you’re on 42nd Street, stop by the Children’s Center and take a look, with or without a young one!

  9. Summer Reading at the New York Public Library is coming soon!  We’re going to have a fabulous launch on Thursday, June 9 at the Seward Park Library; stay tuned for details!

    Summer Reading at the New York Public Library is coming soon!  We’re going to have a fabulous launch on Thursday, June 9 at the Seward Park Library; stay tuned for details!