Life at the Bermuda Youth Library was anything but quiet this summer, as young people joined in the World Cup mania through the library's summer reading and activities programme.

The goal was to read a total of 32 books, pamphlets, newspaper articles and instruction manuals on a variety of subjects, with a 'half-time' prize after the 16th book. The 17 young people who completed the reading log were then eligible for the grand prize draw and invited to the end-of-summer celebration. Namrata Bisht was the overall winner and received a Kindle.

But it wasn't just about the solitary occupation of having your nose in a book. There were a story and craft on Monday mornings, and Wednesday movies. On other days throughout July and into August kids could learn skills like African dance techniques or basic Salsa steps and football control, airbrushing, cooking and beekeeping.

Games afternoons encouraged the youngsters to share their favourite board games and make new friends while a scavenger hunt at Fort Hamilton had them looking at the familiar from an entirely new perspective.

Each Friday there was a 'visit' to a World Cup country, including South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Germany. Children met the 'locals', learned something of the culture and cuisine and listened to the music.

For the Wong brothers Kyle (11 going on 12) and Ritz (seven years going eight), learning new things was the primary motive for participating.

'The Meanest Doll in the World' by Ann Martin and Laura Godwin was Kyle's favourite summer read. Though he enjoyed the activities, especially the trip to Mexico, it was the reading he liked best. "When I read," he explained, "it just takes me to a different place, creates an image of another world I feel like I want to be there."

Kyle, who attends Whitney Institute, has been involved in the summer programme for three years and insists, "The library activities are fun to do. They may seem boring [at first glance] because the kids don't really know what they're about, but once they try them, they really like them; they see they're really nice and say 'oh gosh!' - like the Mexico activities."

Ritz didn't complete the programme, "Because I spent too much time reading other books than the ones on the checklist." His favourite book was 'Improve your soccer' which helped him learn more about soccer and different ways to kick the ball, and the best activity was the scavenger hunt because "I got to learn more about World Cup football."

12-year-old Aulia Lodge, who lives in Pembroke and is home schooled, followed the programme, "So I won't be bored in the summer and to improve my reading skills."

This year was her second year participating, and she learned about different things that she didn't learn last year. Jennifer Holm's 'Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf' was her favourite read because "It was really funny," and her favourite movie was 'The Spy Next Door'.

Though she enjoys swimming at Shelly Bay and cooking, particularly cookies, Aulia loves reading because, "There are so much fun things in a book. TV is like a book because it has a story, but in a book you learn things too."

Bermuda High School student, Ella Burt, was encouraged to join by her mum, and particularly enjoyed "the experience of just coming and getting books that I didn't even know were around."

She learned a lot, recalling in particular a book about the process water goes through before it comes out of the tap of an American home.

She also enjoyed participating in the activities. "I knew some people and met some new people, and that was nice," she explained. For Ella, the cooking was particularly enjoyable, as she learned how to make new food. She has since tried some of the recipes at home, and the Fruit Parfait was especially tasty. Summing up the experience, Ella noted, "It's a good experience to meet new kids. You can learn more from books and read more. It's nice."