The St. Louis Ram Reader Team program kicks off this month at nearly 100 St. Louis area libraries. Rams players are offering suggestions for kids' books from pre-school to high school.

Kids taking part in the program can "read" their way to prizes ranging up to Rams game tickets or a special party at the Rams Park practice facility in Earth City.

In addition, many local libraries have special events planned at the branches during the fall. The program starts October 14 and runs through December, 14.

If you sign up at your local library, you are eligible to earn incentives when you complete the reading of books. The Level 1 incentive (for reading one book) is a Rams poster. The Level 2 incentive (reading two books) gives you a chance to win tickets for the Dec. 30 game against San Francisco.

The Level 3 incentive (reading three books) is a chance to attend a party at Rams Park.

Last year, thousands of area kids participated in the Ram Reader Team program. This is an effort by the NFL team to encourage literacy and book reading.

This year, 55 Rams players along with Coach Mike Martz and club owner Georgia Frontiere, have offered recommendations for their favorite kids' books.

However, there might not be too many takers for the suggestions by starting offensive guard Tom Nutten. He grew up in Germany so many of his favorite books are written in German. One such pick is "Pittje Puck."

If you can't handle that, there are plenty of others. Some of this year's suggestions are repeats from last year's list. (Young Saint Louis.com provided coverage last year in the December, 2001, edition. To review that story, just click here.)

This year's St. Louis Rams team has a number of new players. YSL.com has focused this story on book suggestions by new players and those who have increased their playing time.

Punter Mitch Berger

Punter Mitch Berger is the former Vikings' kicker who is new to the Rams. But, his suggestions have a familiar ring. He's a fan of Scottish author J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series. The four books in the series so far have sold over 140 million copies.

Another new Ram is running back Lamar Gordon. His book selection is Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations." This book is suggestion for middle school kids. It tells the story of an orphan, Pip, who fights hard against big odds to live a full life.

Running back Chris Hetherington's suggestions is an old favorite, Earnest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea." This middle school suggestion tells the story of a long battle between a poor fisherman and a giant marlin fish.

Defensive tackle Damione Lewis

Defensive tackle Damione Lewis isn't a new Ram. But, because of injuries, he missed all of his rookie season last year. He's only now getting back into playing shape.

Lewis' suggestion is Wilson Rawls' "Where the Red Fern Grows." This story is about a young boy in the Ozarks who wants to teach his two dogs to be champion hunters.

Wide receiver Yo Murphy was with the team last year but is getting more playing time this year. His favorite book is "Wind in the Willows," by Kenneth Grahame. This classical children's story about a mole, rat, badger and toad tells about the joys of friendship.

Offensive tackle John St. Clair

Offensive tackle John St. Clair also was with the Rams last year. But, this season, he's moved into the starting lineup. His favorite book is a classic, "The Scarlet Letter," by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This is a book rated for high school readers.

Wide receiver Terrence Wilkins is a new Ram this year. His book recommendation is "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," by Roald Dahl. This tour of Willie Wonka's top-secret chocolate factory is recommended for elementary school kids.

For a complete list of the Ram Reader Team book selections, you can go to the St. Louis Rams website at www.stlouisrams.com.

For complete listings of the Ram Reader Team events at your local library, call your city or community library or go to their website. For instance, you can review events at St. Louis County branch libraries by going to www.slcl.lib.mo.us/kids/index.html.

Libraries on the Illinois side of the river also are participating in the Ram Reader Team program.