Summer Reading

Children entering Kindergarten and younger may participate in our Pre-K Summer Reading Program. Read every day with a parent or caregiver! Keep track of the days you read and get a sticker or bead for each day read. To log your reading, track it on our Summer Reading Software Beanstack! Readers who cannot use Beanstack can talk to Teen Librarian Eli or Children's Librarian Jen directly to arrange an alternative.

Continuing this year: parents can choose a sticker log OR a Read for Beads necklace for their Pre-K children to get to track their reading. Upon registration, get your choice of a blank Sticker Book or Brag Tag & Necklace. Throughout the summer, come in to redeem either 1 sticker for each day read or 1 bead for each day read.

You can also participate in 1000 Books Before Kindergarten alongside our Pre-K Summer Reading Program! For every 10 books you read, get one sticker! If you read all 1000 books, you get a Completion Certificate and you can get your picture put on our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Wall of Fame! Each and every book you read counts. If you read the same book over and over, it counts each time! To log your reading, enter each title you read on a paper log you pick up from the library, or on Beanstack (the virtual 1000 Books Before Kindergarten will remain up all year round on Beanstack, so you can continue using it in the fall and beyond if you'd like).

Happy Reading!

Children entering Grades 1-5 may participate in our Children's Summer Reading Program. Read as much as you can this summer! 1 hour read = 1 raffle ticket for different prizes! The more you read, the more entries you have to win one of our big prize drawings at the end! Keep track of how much time you read in minutes or hours and log it online through Beanstack, our online Summer Reading program. Each hour you read also gets you an hourly bead with our Read for Beads program!

Hourly Raffle

Once you register for summer reading, keep track of your time reading! Like years past, for every hour you read, you earn one raffle ticket. All raffle tickets submitted into other prizes will then be submitted into our Grand Prize: Four Family Annual Passes to Mystic Aquariaum. All reading and tickets are due by 11:59pm on Friday, August 15, 2025.

This year, Summer Reading will be entirely online on Beanstack, though we will have paper logs you can use to help organize your time before you enter it into Beanstack. Readers who cannot use Beanstack can talk to Teen Librarian Eli or Children's Librarian Jen directly to arrange an alternative.

Prizes:

• $25 Southbury Baking Company Gift Certificate
• $25 Target Gift Card
• $25 Riverview Cinemas Gift Card
• $25 Rich Farm Gift Card
• $25 Scoopin' Gift Card
• $25 Amazon Gift Card
• Lego Prize Box
• Young Artist Prize Box
• Graphic Novel Prize Box (sponsored by the Kistner Family)
• Mystery Box (sponsored by the Meehan Family)
• Grand Prize: Four Family Annual Passes to Mystic Aquarium!

All submitted tickets go into the Grand Prize, Family 4 Pack of Annual Passes to Mystic Aquarium (sponsored by Dr. Leon and Mrs. Ellen Baczeski). 

For our $25 Gift Card Prizes: for every 100 extra tickets submitted, we will buy another of that gift card. 

Read for Beads

We are excited to continue Read for Beads to our participants in Grades 1-5! Once you register, pick up your necklace and Brag Tag from our location in the Heritage Hotel. During summer reading, you can choose a bead for every hour you read. Add them to your necklace and watch your bead collection grow!

Scavenger Hunt

Join in for our 2025 Summer Reading Scavenger Hunt! 12 Board Games are hidden throughout the town of Southbury! Can you find them for a chance to win a $75 Amazon Gift Card? 

Find 1 (or all 12) games hidden throughout Southbury. For every game you find, get a chance to win a $75 Amazon Gift Card! Fill out an entry on Beanstack with the name of the game you found in each location. Find all 12 and get a special compass charm for your Read-for-Beads necklace or keychain! 

How hard the scavenger hunt is will be up to you. Find locations based off of the initial clues alone, or get hints beginning July 1. On July 22, you can get the names to locations (though you'll still have to visit them to find the game there). Hints and location names can be found in the individual Badge on Beanstack for each scavenger hunt entry; the links will update on the appropriate dates.

As a part of our Children & Teen Summer Reading Program, this is open to residents of any town in Grades 1-12! To participate, you have to register for Summer Reading.

Events

See below for our summer reading events for all ages, or click here for a list of just children's summer reading events. All of our programs are in person this year. Unless otherwise noted, registration is required.

Happy Reading!

Tweens and teens entering Grades 6-12 (or Class of 2025 12th Grade graduates) can participate in our Teen Summer Reading Program! You can earn raffle tickets towards gift card prizes with your time read, join us for fun in person events, or participate in our scavenger hunt! 1 hour read = 1 raffle ticket for different prizes! Keep track of how much time you read in minutes or hours and log it online through Beanstack, our online Summer Reading program. Each hour you read also gets you an hourly bead with our Read for Beads program!

Hourly Raffle

Once you register for summer reading, keep track of your time reading! Like years past, for every hour you read, you earn one raffle ticket. New this year: all our prizes will be drawn at the end of Summer Reading rather than every week. All tickets submitted to $25 Gift Card Raffles are entered in for the Grand Prize $125 Visa Gift Card. All reading and tickets are due by 11:59pm on Friday, August 15, 2025.

This year, summer reading will be entirely online through Beanstack, though we will have bookmark trackers that you can use to help keep track of your time read before you enter it into Beanstack. Readers who cannot use Beanstack can talk to Teen Librarian Eli or Children's Librarian Jen directly to arrange an alternative.

Prizes:

• $25 Starbucks Gift Card
• $25 Game Store Gift Card (Winner’s Choice of Playstation, XBox, Steam, or Nintendo eStore)
• $25 Riverview Cinemas Gift Card
• $25 Michaels Gift Card
• $25 Target Gift Card
• $25 TJ Maxx Gift Card
• $25 Ulta Gift Card
• $25 Rich's Farm Gift Card
• $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card
• $25 Amazon Store Gift Card
• Teen Grand Prize: $125 Visa Gift Card

All submitted tickets go into the Grand Prize, a $125 Visa Gift Card. 

For our $25 Gift Card Prizes: for every 100 extra tickets submitted, we will buy another of that gift card. 

Scavenger Hunt

Join in for our 2025 Summer Reading Scavenger Hunt! 12 Board Games are hidden throughout the town of Southbury! Can you find them for a chance to win a $75 Amazon Gift Card? 

Find 1 (or all 12) games hidden throughout Southbury. For every game you find, get a chance to win a $75 Amazon Gift Card! Fill out an entry on Beanstack with the name of the game you found in each location. Find all 12 and get a special compass charm for your Read-for-Beads necklace or keychain! 

How hard the scavenger hunt is will be up to you. Find locations based off of the initial clues alone, or get hints beginning July 1. On July 22, you can get the names to locations (though you'll still have to visit them to find the game there). Hints and location names can be found in the individual Badge on Beanstack for each scavenger hunt entry; the links will update on the appropriate dates.

As a part of our Children & Teen Summer Reading Program, this is open to residents of any town in Grades 1-12! To participate, you have to register for Summer Reading.

Events

See below for our summer reading events for all ages, or click here for a list of just teen summer reading events. All of our programs are in person this year. Unless otherwise noted, registration is required.

From June 7 to August 15, we invite everyone (Adults: Age 18 & Up), regardless of town of residency, to participate in Southbury Public Library's Adult Summer Reading Challenge! This summer's theme, Level Up at Your Library, reminds us that libraries are not just a space for knowledge, they are a space for fun!

Prize Raffle

For each book you read this summer, earn a raffle ticket towards one of several $25 gift cards! All submitted tickets are eligible for this summer's grand prize, a $150 Visa Gift Card! Log your books and submit your raffle tickets virtually in Beanstack. If you cannot submit your raffle tickets digitally, paper raffle tickets and prize boxes are available at our temporary location within the Heritage Hotel. All raffle tickets must be received by Friday, August 15, 2025.

Two winners will be selected for each of the following $25 gift card prizes:

• $25 gift card to Nardelli’s Grinder Shoppe
• $25 gift card to Mercato Italian Kitchen and Bar
• $25 gift card to Riverview Cinemas 8
• $25 gift card to Chatfield True Value
• $25 gift card to Sake Asian Fusion
• $25 gift card to KRU Juice Bar
• $25 gift card to Scoopin' Ice Cream Shop
• $25 gift card to Panera Bread

Grand Prize:

• $150 Visa Gift Card (All submitted tickets are eligible.)

Bookopoly

Our Bookopoly game provides an opportunity to earn additional Adult Summer Reading Challenge raffle tickets. Completed game boards will be automatically entered into a raffle to win a $200 Visa Gift Card! Click here to view the Bookopoly game board on Beanstack and get started!

How to play Bookopoly:

Select books for each theme on the game board’s boardwalk, then, after reading, enter your book titles to earn badges to complete the reading challenge. Books cannot be used for more than one space. Players may eliminate FOUR themes (Author, Cover, Genre, etc.) from the game board. Skip the areas featuring Monopoly imagery.

For each theme you complete on the game board’s boardwalk, you will earn raffle tickets that can be entered into the Adult Summer Reading Challenge's drawing for one of several $25 gift card prizes! Completed game boards will be automatically entered into a raffle to win a $200 Visa Gift Card!

Raffle tickets and completed game boards submitted by August 15, 2025, will be eligible for this summer's prizes. A drawing will occur to decide the winners. If you cannot use the digital version of Bookopoly on Beanstack, please visit the library’s Circulation Desk to request a print version.

Events

Join us for a variety of in person and virtual events for adults this summer! Click here for a list of just adult events, or keep scrolling to see a list of our events for all ages.