Staff Writer

With a quick tug of her headscarf, Sam Cote revealed her bright purple hair to a group of cheering children.

Next to her, McArthur Public Library Children’s Librarian Deanna Gouzie showed off her turquoise, black and hot pink-striped hairstyle and Hilary Lariviere debuted her “wild red” tips. The colorful transformation was a reward for the enthusiastic participation of hundreds of young readers in the summer reading program.

The Biddeford librarians have earned a reputation over the past few years for coming up with zany antics to motivate young readers to log reading hours and earn prizes such as bowling, pizza and ice cream. The summer reading program culminates with a party where librarians reveal colorful hairstyles, stage a rock concert, camp on the library roof or plunge into dunk tanks.

Gouzie said the truth-or-dare-themed program this year attracted 535 readers younger than 18. About 380 children read enough hours to earn the highest prize. Prizes were donated by T.J.’s Pizza and Dairy Queen of Biddeford and Vacationland Bowling of Saco.

The program included 93 young adults who read 554 hours, said Young Adult Librarian Brooke Faulkner, who now has bright red hair. The library for the first time hosted an adult summer reading program, which drew 150 participants. 

At the celebration Friday afternoon, young readers helped library staff stage a flash mob to “Let the Sun Shine In” from the musical “Hair,” sampled roasted crickets, made bookmarks and went on an interactive book walk.

The previous afternoon, Gouzie, Cote and Lariviere slipped away to Charisma Salon on Washington Street to transform their naturally colored hair into something else entirely with bright and permanent colors. Salon Owner Mary Makos said she and her staff were happy to donate their time for a fun and educational activity for local children.

“I didn’t think much about this until yesterday,” Cote said as two stylists bleached her hair. “You can’t really hide purple.”

Gouzie said dying her hair was better than a dip in a dunk tank, even if she’s sporting crazy stripes for the foreseeable future. Encouraging children to continue to read during summer vacation is worth it, she said.

“If they don’t read over the summer, they lose a lot of the information they learned in school the year before,” she said. “This helps them get excited about it. Kids like to see adults play.”

Lariviere said she participated in the summer reading program when she was younger and recalled being surprised when librarians followed through with their end-of-summer stunts. She thought it would be fun to get into the spirit of the program this year and chose red hair dye in honor of Northeastern University where she attends school. 

Cote said she most looked forward to hearing from children after they saw her hair for the first time.

“I think they’ll be pretty excited,” she said. “There have been some skeptics.”

Assistant Director Sally Leahey dyed her hair “blue mayhem,” the second time she has sported an unnatural color to get children to read.

“I think kids appreciate when librarians are willing to humiliate themselves to promote reading,” she said. “You’ll be in the grocery line and people will say ‘what have you done to your hair?’ It’s a chance to talk about the library.”

During the party on the front lawn of the library, children giggled when the librarians finally revealed their hair. Many children said they wanted to dye their own hair green, pink or purple. They also said they enjoyed spending the summer reading new books.

“I love to do reading and I though it would be fun to win prizes,” said Donald Norris Jr., 15.

Norris, who enjoys horror and adventure books, said he liked that the librarians followed through on their promise to dye their hair.

“I think it’s pretty cool because they come up with their own ideas,” he said.

Noah Derrow, 12, said he joined the reading program for the second time to show younger children it is fun to read. He logged 18 hours reading “good novels” and didn’t hesitate to snack on a cricket during the party.

“I think this whole thing is a really good idea,” he said. “It’s fun.”

The program included families with readers of all ages. The Hovasse family – including Andrew, 10; Eric, 6; and Jenna, 5 – logged 52 summer reading hours.

“They all like to read anyway, so this was something to keep them active for the summer,” said their mother, Kris Hovasse. “The incentives the library offered were good and helped them stay excited.”

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.