Teen Read Month Winners!
Choctaw Middle School and Lawton Public Library are tops!
Two Oklahoma City teens win the grand prizes!
Oklahoma teens who participated in 2011 Teen Read Month read 663,778 pages during the month of October, setting a record for the three year old program.
Prizes were awarded to the top school and public library, and the top readers from the school and PL categories. Plus, two winners were selected by drawing.
Before we do a run down of this year’s winners, here’s some background…
The promotion is an outgrowth of the national Teen Read Week, sponsored by the American Library Association’s YALSA group. (That stands for Young Adult Library Services Association, if you’re interested.) The problem with the national promotion was that it always conflicted with fall break for many of our state’s schools. Solution? The Oklahoma Department of Libraries decided to stretch out Teen Read over a month-long period, partner with The Oklahoman’s Newspapers in Education Program, and bring in sponsors like the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This year, Sonic, America’s Drive-In, and The Toy and Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley also joined in on the reading fun as sponsors!
This year’s theme was comics and graphic novels, but teens ages 12 to 18 could read whatever they wanted during the month and track it on a reading log. The purpose of the program is to keep teens reading for pleasure during the school year, when much of their reading time is devoted to school work. “Reading just for the joy of it is the best way to develop a lifelong love of reading,” according to Adrienne Butler, Youth Services Librarian at the Department of Libraries.
Now on to the big announcements! Drum roll please…
Top Public Library Reader: Cody Speegle, 17, representing Southern Oaks Public Library, OKC: 39,325 pages read!
Cody Speegle shows off his new Color Nook and Barnes & Noble Gift Certificate, which were provided by Sonic, America's Drive-In. On hand to share the good news were Becky Rickard, Manager of Archives and Administration at Sonic; Adrienne Butler, Youth Services Librarian at the Oklahoma Department of Libraries; John Hilbert, youth librarian, and Cheryll Jones , children's librarian, at Southern Oaks.
Top School Reader: Kelsi Gonzales, senior, representing Putnam City High School, OKC: 22,503 pages read!
Sponsors finally connected with Kelsi Gonzales earlier this week to present her with her grand prize: a Color Nook and Barnes & Noble Gift Certificate courtesy of Sonic, America’s Drive-In. Making the presentation: Becky Rickard of Sonic, Adrienne Butler of the Department of Libraries, and Putnam City High School Librarian Ellen Defehr.
Top Public Library: Lawton Public Library, where 47 teens read a combined total of 148,268 pages! The public library will receive $250 worth of books courtesy of some dedicated teen readers. The library will also host a program by Kevin Stark, currator of the Toy and Action Figure Museum.
Top School: Choctaw Middle School, where 131 students read a total of 163,524 pages! A set of books worth $250, and a special program by Kevin Stark, are heading to the school thanks to these students.
Winners of the drawing were Kahen Kamaherett from Lawton High School and Hanna Powell from Curtis Inge Middle School in Noble. Both teens will receive some free books.
Top Ten Readers:
| Cody Speegle, 17, Southern Oaks Public Library | 39,325 |
| Duncan Fairrington, 13, Kellyville Public Library | 33,840 |
| Michael Reif, Grade 8. Lawton Public Library | 25,594 |
| Kelsi Gonzales, Grade 12, Putnam City High | 22,503 |
| Mitchell Sadler,Grade 7, Lawton Public Library | 20,653 |
| Cole Fullmer, Grade 8, Choctaw Middle School | 14,956 |
| Taylor Allen, Grade 12, Geronimo High School | 12,302 |
| Marci Walker, Grade 11, Lawton Public Library | 11,356 |
| Breana Pascoe, Grade 7, Lawton Public Library | 10,855 |
| Lexey Osborn, Grade 8, Lawton Public Library | 10,724 |
Fun Facts:
- More than 60 schools and public libraries registered to participate
- 447 teens from 17 schools and libraries went the distance, turning in reading logs to compete in the contest
- The 447 teens read 663,778 pages during the month
- Lawton Public Library’s top reader, Michael Reif, received a Nook e-reader courtesy of the Lawton PL
- Putnam City High School has had the top reader in the school category all three years of the contest
- This year’s total beat 2009′s previous record, which was 504,376 pages read.
- Total pages read for the three years of the program: almost 1.4 million pages
Expect Teen Read Month to grow in the coming years! We’re just getting started with this new statewide reading initiative.
Coming Up: We’ll follow this news with some additional posts next week. We’ll give you some insight into what kind of books our winners, Cody and Kelsi, enjoy. Plus, we’ll challenge you on your knowledge of Comics and Graphics Novels. Stay tuned!
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