We are pleased to open registration for our yearly Summer Reading Program on Monday, May 24, 2021. We have worked hard to deliver quality programming for all ages, keeping the health and safety of our patrons and staff in mind for this year’s program. So grab your furry, feathery, or scaly best friend and sit down with a good book! Our theme for this year’s Summer Reading Program is a celebration of animal stories: Tails and Tales.

The Summer Reading Program for adults, teens and children will begin on Monday, June 7 and conclude with an all-ages outdoor Summer Reading Finale event on July, 24. *Any changes to this date, time or location due to weather or safety will be announced on our social media sites and website event calendar*

Summer Reading for Adults

Welcome to this year’s Adult Summer Reading Program! We are so happy to bring provide multiple reading challenges, virtual programs, classes and prizes for you this year! The Reading Program will be point based, meaning that you do not have to be an avid reader in order to participate. You can earn points by completing miscellaneous challenges, attending any of our virtual programs and classes, and interacting with our social media!

How It Works
1) Register: If you have not yet created an account on Beanstack, we recommend you do. Once you have created your account, or if you already have one, join the “Adult Summer Reading 2021” and you will be registered!
2) Log Your Reading: Log the number of pages you read on Beanstack. There are several milestone badges you can earn that will reward you with raffle tickets.
3) Participate in Activity Challenges: You can earn even more raffle tickets by completing extra challenges! To find them and more information about these, click on “Activity Badges” in Beanstack under the “Adult Summer Reading 2021” banner.
4) Write Book Reviews: Earn additional tickets when you tell us about the book(s) you just read!
5) Enter Raffle Drawings: We have three raffles you can allocate your tickets to. You can enter as many tickets as you like (that you have earned) to any/all drawings. Drawings include a $20.00 Tennessee Tails Pet Boutique gift card, a $25.00 Visa gift card and a Tilted Tavern Animal Sanctuary t-shirt and decal.

PageTurners: A Blind Date with a Book
We have brought back our popular PageTurners blind date with a book service! You will be able to request a “dating” application from our Circulation Desk or via Curbside Service. Just fill out the application with the genre(s) you would like to read and turn it back in. Our Staff will pick out books based on those genres to help you find a new favorite book to discover!

Adult Storytime
This year we have added some great video series for adults that you can watch on our Facebook and YouTube channels, including Fractured Tales and Tails every Monday, Curious Cryptids every Wednesday, and Sanctuary Bliss every other Friday. Our friends at WREN and Tilted Tavern will be giving us amazing presentations about working with animals and more about our wildlife companions every Saturday.

Take and Make Craft Kits
Every other week, we will give out Take & Make kits you can pick up at either library location or request via Curbside Service. Each month will feature kits for DIY pet toys or pet grass growing kits. Supplies are limited and will be available on a first come, first serve basis.

Summer Reading for Teens

We encourage any rising 6th – 12th Graders to participate in our Teen Summer Reading Program! You’ll compete in our annual Battle for the Library, earning points for your House as well as badges for yourself as you submit reading logs, review books and participate in events!

How It Works
1) Register: If you have not yet created an account on Beanstack, we recommend you do. Once you have created your account, or if you already have one, join the “Teen Summer Reading Program 2021” and you will be registered! If you do not have a computer/phone, you can fill out a registration card at our Circulation Desks or request one via Curbside Service. You will receive a welcoming email within a few days of joining the TSRP with in-depth information about the Program and your House assignment.
2) House Assignment: After registering, you will be sorted into one of three Houses/teams: Changewind, Deepcurrent, or Steelflame. If you have a preference for which House you want to be in, you MUST request it as soon as possible using THIS FORM. If you do not request a specific House, you will be sorted randomly.
3) Log Your Reading: Log the pages you read on Beanstack (preferred) or with a paper log. Points will be awarded based on the number of pages in the books you read. Even after you have earned all available badges for Reading Logs, keep submitting them as you will still be earning points for your House and competing for Top Reader awards!
4) Write Reviews: Review books on Beanstack or with a paper form. Reviews should be books you read this summer. Points are earned based on the length and detail of the review. Even after you have earned all available badges for Book Reviews, keep submitting them as you will still be earning points for your House and competing for Top Reader awards!
5) Participate in Programs: Participate in events, including packets for pickup at the Library, in-person outdoor activities, Facebook Live videos, and live programs on our Teen Discord Server. At virtual each program, we will give you a secret code to submit under the relevant Activity Badge on Beanstack or via your paper form to earn your badge. For in-person events, we ask that participants wear masks and maintain social distancing during the program.

Battle for the Library
Throughout the summer, you will earn points for your House by submitting reading logs, reviews and participating in programs. These points will help your House conquer the five provinces of the Land of Libraria. The provinces include four for books and reviews depending on genre (Fiction, Nonfiction, Biographies, and Graphic Novels) and one for programs and events. The House that controls the most provinces at the end of the summer will win the Battle and members of that House will get special prizes. More information and rules for the Battle of the Library can be found HERE.

Summer Reading for Children

This summer, we challenge our little readers from Birth – 5th Grade to read (or be read to) at least 20 minutes every day to complete the challenge! Earn brag tags and earn tickets to win special prizes at the end of the Program!

How It Works
1) Register: If you have not yet created an account on Beanstack, we recommend you do. Once you have created your account, or if you already have one, join the “Children’s Summer Reading 2021” and you will be registered!
2) Log Your Reading: Log the time spent reading on Beanstack to earn badges marking your milestones and earn raffle tickets. At the end of the program, you will receive a printable certificate for your progress!
3) Participate in Activity Challenges: You can earn even more raffle tickets by participating in our programming! This includes watching our online programming on Facebook Live and YouTube for secret codes that can be entered to earn extra points or joining us at our Drive-In Storytimes. To find more information about these, click on “Activity Badges” in Beanstack under the “Childrens Summer Reading 2021” banner.
4) Enter Raffle Drawings: We have four raffles you can allocate your tickets to. You can enter as many tickets as you like (that you have earned) to any/all drawings. Drawings include a $25.00 Barnes and Noble gift card, a $25.00 Books-A-Million gift certificate, a copy of “Becoming a Good Creature” by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by Rebecca Green, or a Tails and Tales Swag Bag.

Reading Buddies
Nobody to read to? Want to practice reading out loud? Adopt a stuffed Reading Buddy from either Library location! Each Buddy comes with a certificate of adoption! While supplies last.

Storywalk
Eager to get out of the house this summer? Visit our brand-new Storywalk at our Jonesborough Library garden.

Drive-In Storytime
We are excited to bring you a new way to experience Storytime! We will have Drive-In Storytime twice each month during Summer Reading, once at Jonesborough and once at Gray Branch.

1000 Books Before Kindergarten
During this challenge, Beanstack will automatically count any reading logged towards the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program as well! So be sure your little ones are also registered for that with just a click of a button in Beanstack in your child’s account.