You Inspire the Joy of Reading in Pittsburgh Kids!

Summer Reading is made possible by kind and caring donors like you. Your contributions help children foster their love of reading and the Library!

When Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s READ-A-PALOOZA BOOK BOWL 2024 Summer Reading Program rolled around in the early days of June, four-year-old Pim Neill had a decision to make.

She had closed out the previous year’s program with 373 titles read. And, she was already leaving the “1000 Books Before Kindergarten” challenge in the dust by reading over 2,600 books. Pim read books in the bathtub, books in the morning, books at bedtime and books on the bus ride to the Library with her dad, Luke.

“This summer, I asked her what she wanted her goal to be. She decided that since she was four years old, 400 was a good amount. When she hit 400, she didn’t want to stop,” Luke says. So, she didn’t. By the time the program ended in August, Pim had read 467 books for the West End Wombats. It was more than anyone at the West End branch had
read, an Olympic-sized achievement that also landed her name on the Library’s list of Top 10 Readers citywide this summer.

From the start, it seemed like Pim was born to become a voracious reader. When the invitations to her baby shower were sent out in 2019, they included one simple request. “We asked everyone, instead of cards, to bring a book and write Pim a note,” says Luke. “(She) was definitely blessed at the baby shower, before anyone knew anything about her—her gender, what she would like, etc.— with a love for books.”

Within the first two weeks of her being born, her parents started reading a chapter a night from the book The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of fairy tales by author J.K. Rowling. By the time Pim was five months old, Luke was reading her stories during tummy time every night after dinner. Mornings began with Pim’s parents, Luke and Don, listening in on the baby monitor as she lay in bed, playing with toys, repeating words over and over again.

“I would read to her constantly. There were waterproof books from the Dollar Store in her bath, books in every room of the house and we read stories all the time,” Luke adds. “Pim always had a huge vocabulary. When other kids were struggling to say mama and dada, she was saying ‘helicopter’ and ‘hippopotamus.’ None of her central adults were ‘baby talkers,’ so I think being around grownups who simply talked to her and read to her as if she was an older child really molded early learning for her and made a huge difference in her abilities to comprehend words and sentence structure. At eight months old, she was in a store with us and she pointed to a gift bag…and (said): ‘That says happy.’ The words (on the gift bag) were HAPPY BIRTHDAY.”

Pete the Cat, Barbie, Daniel Tiger and Curious George are among her favorite page-turners these days as well as books with texture; things she can touch and feel. “She wants to be a doctor, so she checks out some wild books and we have a fifth-grade science textbook she asks us to read about how x-rays work,” says Luke.

They’re also introducing her to age-appropriate books about racial, social and gender issues and read through the Library’s curated list of Black History Month books recommended for preschoolers to second-grade readers.

Reading is so important for young children. It helps their brain develop, builds new language skills and lets them explore the world around them through books. And thanks to you, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is the place families can rely on for carefully curated book collections that inspire imagination and exploration. 

Along with Pim, more than 6,600 Pittsburghers participated in this year’s Summer Reading Program, reading a collective total of a whopping 67,398 books, a 42 percent increase over last year. The showdown ended in August with an Olympic-inspired Extravaganza at CLP – Main that included a closing ceremony parade led by the Allderdice Marching Band and the debut of a rare, limited-edition Library card in partnership with the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation.

“I love how (Pim) gets excited for Library trips, and I love that we can do so much,” Luke adds. “We are a low-income family and libraries are free, fun, safe, exciting and well worth the visit. If we can inspire parents to bring home more books and to make reading a regular part of everyday life, we will have a stronger generation to come. Our future world leaders and community helpers are Pim’s age and older. If we can get them the access to learning more about their surroundings, they will care more about our world, and we will have an amazing future on our planet.”

Reading isn’t only for the summer. Your gifts to the Library support young readers all year round. Thank you for being a champion of reading for Pittsburgh kids!