For 10-year-old Morgan Ulrich, bugs are anything but gross.

"They are kind of cool," Morgan said.

As part of the statewide "Catch the Reading Bug at Your Library" program, local libraries have prepared numerous insect-themed activities and reading groups for children of all ages.

From balloon art storytelling to ladybug purses and magic shows, the July programs have proven to be a hit.

Morgan has found many of the programs at Cresskill Public Library very entertaining.

"We came to one event where a lady brought in a scorpion," she said. "She held it and showed it to all of us, which was really cool to see."

Cresskill children’s librarian Susan Kelpin holds programs for kids ages four through sixth grade. When registration ended June 27, the library had about 180 kids signed up.

"The summer reading program has been very successful in the past and this year there is a good representation of children from each age group."

Northvale Public Library has also had readers swarming to take part in the different bug programs. About 85 pre-K through eighth-graders have already signed up and children can continue to join any time throughout the summer.

Northvale children’s librarian Eileen Sprague said the children keep coming back for more.

"The kids are really enjoying the theme this year," Sprague said. "We encourage them to take books out that we put on display about different bug topics. Many of them like that, and it really gets them reading.

States join together to pick theme

The "Catch the Reading Bug" slogan was chosen after much discussion among children’s librarians from many different states.

Sharon Rawlins, the Youth Services Consultant for the New Jersey State Library said the Collaborative Summer Library Program is a consortium of participating state libraries and library systems working together. Its goal is to provide high-quality summer reading program materials for children at the lowest cost possible for their public libraries.

"The Collaborative is a national non-profit organization comprised of 46 member states," said Rawlins. "There is a yearly membership meeting attended by representatives from each state, where we vote on the themes and slogans for the next couple of years."

Once the theme is picked, the Statewide Summer Reading Committee holds informational workshops to help the libraries come up with different ideas on how to use the theme.

The workshops are held for children and teen librarians in the northern, southern and central parts of the state. "We tell them what the Collaborative is, how it works and we give them booklists and programs associated with the theme that they may be interested in," Rawlins said.

A summer reading manual, along with hundreds of bookmarks, a large banner and two posters are sent for free to all New Jersey libraries to entice them to take part in the program. According to Rawlins, approximately 90-95 percent of libraries in the state are participating.