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READING SERVICES
Summer Reading
2024 Summer Reading Program:
Adventure Begins at your Library!
Summer Reading for Everyone!
June 22 - August 3
Each summer the Library offers programs and activities for adults, teens, and children to encourage reading and excite curiosity. This year we are using Beanstack to help you log your reading and activities, and win prizes!
REGISTER HERE: Beanstack Summer Reading
Download the Beanstack App to log your reading and activities on the go!
Have questions? See the Beanstack FAQ
CALENDAR OF EVENTS: June | July | August
For information about the Summer Reading Program by age group:
The Summer Reading Program is generously supported by the Friends of the Maplewood Library.
You can become a Friend of the Library and continue to support library programming by clicking here.
KIDS
How It Works:
Register on Beanstack (SOMSD student email addresses won’t work here, so please use another email address)
Join the Children’s Summer Reading Challenge
READ and WRITE to earn badges, a free book, Adventure Pieces, and to enter weekly raffle drawings for gift cards to local businesses!
Ways to Participate & Be Eligible for Prizes in Beanstack:
Log the AMOUNT OF TIME (minutes) that you spend reading and writing this summer in Beanstack
Prizes
Weekly Prizes: Earn an Adventure Piece and a Badge for every hour that you read, or every 30 minutes that you spend writing. For your first hour of reading, you will win a free book! (Kids’ Badges are earned for every 1 hour up to 10 hours, then every 5 hours from 11-50 hours, then every 10 hours from 51-99 hours, then every 25 hours from 100 - 200 hours.)
The more you read & write, the more Badges you will earn, and the greater your chances to win the WEEKLY RAFFLE PRIZE for a $5 gift certificate to a local business. Weekly Raffle Prizes include gift certificates to The Able Baker, Roman Gourmet Pizza, Honey & Hive Ice Cream, and Dippy Sippy Ice Cream
Grand Prize: The 10 top readers (the kids who spend the most time reading and writing over the summer) will be chosen by raffle drawing from all the entries submitted over the course of the program to win a $25 gift card to a Maplewood business of your choice!
Events
See our Calendar of Children’s Summer Events here!
Registration is required for Chef Jesse (July 11th) & for the Turtle Back Zoo programs (July 12th & 19th). Registration links can be found on our events calendar.
Reading Lists
2024 Grades K-2 Suggested Reading List
Catalog version (easiest way to request items and see all the formats available)
2024 Grades 3-5 Suggested Reading List
Catalog version (easiest way to request items and see all the formats available)
Contact the Children’s Department:
Any questions? Please email us at kids@maplewoodlibrary.org or call 973-762-1688 ext. 2 (or press extension 5101)
Thank you to the Friends of the Library for making this program possible!
You can become a Friend of the Library and continue to support library programming here.
TEENS
EVENTS
Click here to view and register for Teen Summer Reading events, which will take place on Mondays at 3:30 pm at Hilton Branch
Beanstack
This year, the Maplewood Library is using Beanstack to facilitate our summer reading challenge. To join, click here, and register using a personal, non-school district email address. A family member’s email address is fine if you don’t have one of your own. Under “Challenges,” select the “2024 Teen Summer Reading Challenge.” Here’s how the challenge works:
You’ll earn badges for the time you spend reading, the book reviews you write, and the events you attend. There’s even a badge just for registering!
Each badge is associated with a certain number of raffle tickets. More advanced badges earn more tickets.
You can put the raffle tickets you earn towards prizes. Every Saturday of the summer reading program after the kickoff, there will be a prize drawing, and the winner will be notified. See the prizes below:
Reading Lists
2024 Middle School Suggested Reading List
Catalog version (easiest way to request items and see all the formats available)
2024 High School Suggested Reading List
Catalog version (easiest way to request items and see all the formats available)
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the teen librarian via email.
ADULTS
How It Works:
Join the Adult Summer Reading Challenge
Participate to enter weekly raffle drawings for gift card prizes to local businesses!
Ways to Participate & Be Eligible for Prizes in Beanstack:
Log the books you read this summer
Write book reviews
Attend library programs
Complete adult Take & Make projects (pick these up from our Adult Services branch at 129 Boyden Ave every week!)
Prizes
Weekly Prizes: participate in one or more of the ways above to be entered into a weekly prize drawing for a $25 gift card to a Maplewood business of your choice. The more activities you complete each week, the greater your chances will be to win – each activity you complete will count as a separate prize entry.
Grand Prize: one winner will be chosen by raffle drawing from all the cumulative entries submitted over the course of the program to win a $50 gift card to a Maplewood business of your choice!
Thank you to the Friends of the Library for making this program possible!
You can become a Friend of the Library and continue to support library programming here.