19 May Unearth a Story: 2026 Summer Reading for Kids
It’s almost time to Unearth a Story with our Summer Reading Club (SRC)!
SRC Kickoff Party
Kick things off with a party on Tuesday, March 26! Children will celebrate from 4:30-6p in the Children’s Room, where you can sign up for SRC, pick up your reading logs, and participate in fun activities to help you get in the spirit of summer reading.
How to participate
PGTPL’s SRC encourages people of all ages to read or practice early literacy activities, earning raffle tickets and prizes along the way. Raffle tickets are also earned when registered SRC participants attend programs at the library. The tickets can be put toward a chance to win a larger prize like toys, gift cards, and museum passes.
Early Literacy
The youngest participants track reading, writing, talking, singing, and playing – all of which help children be ready to read when they get older! Those activities are adapted based on the age and developmental abilities of each child.
For example, newborns might nap as you read or sing to them and practice “writing” by opening and closing their hands. Toddlers might explore turning the pages of a book to “read” and grasp toys or scribble with crayons to “write.” They’ll earn one raffle ticket each time they complete a round of all 5 of the aforementioned activities.
Independent Readers
Children who are reading independently (and going into fifth grade or lower) track time spent reading, being read to, and/or listening to audio books. Any and all types of reading material count; they don’t have to be books from the library. The reading can happen at home, on vacation, or wherever you are this summer!
They’ll mark off a dinosaur footprint for every 15 minutes, and earn one raffle ticket for every hour. This year children of all ages will also earn small prizes at 3 rounds/hours and 6 rounds/hours, and those who complete their entire reading log (9 rounds/hours) get to choose a free book to take home and keep!
Summer Programs
Programs for children include our regular weekday storytimes from 10-10:30a and weekday lunchtime programs from 12:30-1:30p featuring trivia, music, simple arts and crafts, block building challenges, and movement games. Children ages 18 and under can also grab free lunch from the Plainfield Community School Corporation’s lunch truck, which will be providing lunches from 11:45a-12:30p on weekdays from June 1 – July 10 (excluding June 19 and July 3).
Then in the afternoon we’ll have dinosaur themed-programs and special parties kids will love, including Roblox in real life, Percy Jackson, American Girl, and I Survived! Check out our calendar of events for the full schedule and all of the details. Our online calendar also includes information about programs for teens and adults.
Summer Reading Completion Party
Things will wrap up with a Children’s Completion Party on Saturday, July 11, from 3-4p featuring an interactive performance by Freddy Fossil. There is no registration for the children’s party, and you don’t need to have finished your whole reading log to join us!
Teens and adults also have their own SRC programs. Details about those are on our website, where you can sign up and get ready to Unearth a Story with us this summer!
