There were dark clouds over Yankee Stadium on August 25, 2011 and a steady downpour was soaking the field. Frankly, it seemed like an ideal day to stay inside and read a good book, not play baseball. But for those intrepid individuals who had logged the most library materials as participants in Summer Reading, it was not a day to be inside but a day to see themselves on the Jumbotron.

Soon after the rain delay ended and the tarp was removed from the baseball diamond, The New York Public Library’s lion logo appeared on the massive stadium screen for all to see. As the image faded, it was replaced by the proud faces of this year's top Summer Reading participants. It was an all star reading team, featuring a stellar starting line-up of genuine sluggers with impressive numbers of Library Materials Batted In. From the Bronx: Michael with 262 library materials logged, and Khadija with a staggering 827 library materials logged. From Manhattan: Christian with 264 library materials logged, Susan with 348 library materials logged, and Devlynn with 154 library materials logged. From Staten Island: Grace with 73 library materials logged, and Jessica with 87 library materials logged.

These Summer Reading all stars were greeted on the field by Yankees’ centerfielder Curtis Granderson who signed baseballs, posed for photos, and discussed the importance of reading with these heavy hitters. It is undeniable that the participants in Summer Reading 2011 truly hit a home run, and perhaps it was their fantastic performance that inspired the Yankees to make history on August 25 by becoming the first team to hit three grand slams in a single game. Granderson was one of the players to hit a grand slam, and furthermore, he became the first player in baseball’s history to score three points from three grand slams in one game. Coincidence? Unlikely.

Though it was only the top readers who were able to take to the field on August 25, with them in spirit were the hundreds of thousands of individuals who helped make Summer Reading 2011 a rousing success! With summer at an end, it may seem premature to already be thinking of Summer Reading 2012, but who knows? Maybe next summer it will be you on the Jumbotron!

• Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective edited by Mark Vancil and Alfred Santasiere III
  A loving look back at the 85-year history of “The House That Ruth Built.” An account of the Yankees filled with photographs and firsthand accounts from fans, famous players, politicians, and more.
• The House that Ruth Built: A New Stadium, the First Yankees Championship, and the Redemption of 1923 by Robert Weintraub
  1923 was the year of the Yankees first World Series, it was also a year that saw the Yankees clashing for the hearts and minds of New Yorkers with the New York Giants. Weintraub weaves an excellent and exciting history of this pivotal moment in Yankees history that will appeal equally to die-hard Yankees fans and those interested in social history.
• Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City by Jonathan Mahler
  1977 was a year that saw New York City rife with conflict: Yankee Reggie Jackson battled team manager Billy Martin, while Mario Cuomo and Ed Koch battled for the position of Mayor. A pivotal year in New York history that also saw a famous blackout, the birth of punk rock, and the murderer Son of Sam.
• Born in the Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip-Hop edited by Johan Kugelberg
  Before hip hop exploded into the mainstream it was alive in the clubs and the neighborhoods of New York City. Using flyers for shows, lyrics, forgotten photographs, and testimonials this book documents the forgotten history of hip hop.
• Bella Abzug: How One Tough Broad from the Bronx Fought Jim Crow and Joe McCarthy, Pissed Off Jimmy Carter, Battled for the Rights of Women and Workers, Rallied Against War and for the Planet and Shook Up Politics Along the Way: An Oral History by Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom
  The title is all the description you need! Told through the tales of Abzug’s friends and foes this biography presents the story of a girl from the Bronx who played a prominent role in decades of political struggle.
• Summerland by Michael Chabon
  Ethan Feld is not the world’s best baseball player, but somehow he finds himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout who needs Ethan’s help desperately. A tall tale that mixes fantasy and folk tales with a healthy mix of baseball.
• Heat by MIke Lupica
  At only 12 years of age, Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that can throw with some serious heat, but his pitching talent is bringing him attention he is wary of receiving. Michael may be a pitching prodigy but he’s also undocumented and living with his older brother in New York City, fighting to get ahead and knowing all too well the dangers of striking out.