The top children and teen readers of the New York Public Library’s 2012 Summer Reading program celebrated their accomplishments on August 29th at Yankee Stadium, where they met Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson and stood on the field before a cheering crowd of more than 45,000 baseball fans.

The seven kids—the youngest a first grader, the oldest a high school senior—together logged nearly 3,000 items at NYPL this summer. The readers and their families then settled into the stands to watch Granderson and the Yankees take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Though the Blue Jays beat the Yanks 8-5, our Summer Readers were the real winners of the day.

“This is the first time I’ll ever do anything like this,” proclaimed Decklan Spencer, who logged 512 materials from the Battery Park City Library, just before he stepped onto the field.

Ron Frasier, who logged 127 materials from the Port Richmond Library, had this advice for other inquisitive young minds: “If there’s any kids out there who want to try something new... don’t be too scared to do it, just give it a try.”

Watch the kids experience a truly memorable NYC day—and hear a few more nuggets of wisdom from the young and literary.