Summer Reading Program

Bright and colorful icons like a rainbox, books, balloon, paintbrushes surrounding Summer Reading Program text

Color our world this summer

May 27 - August 9, 2025

Stay busy this summer reading and attending events!

Available to readers of all ages and abilities, babies through adults. Participants will receive a gamecard to track their summer reading goals.

Prizes available starting Monday, June 9, 2025.

Track your reading online

If you have time for a quick question, let us know how did you hear about the summer reading program?

Resources

Sponsors

A big thank you to the Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation for sponsoring the prizes!

Come read with us!

Upcoming Events

All library patrons, regardless of age or neurodiversity can participate in our Summer Reading Programs. We will be happy to customize reading programs and activities to meet the individual needs of our patrons. Please contact Angela Pilkington for more information.

Upcoming events

adult day camp

Saturday, July 12, 2025 - 10:00am

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C, Meeting Room D

Calling all nostalgic & fun grown-ups! Have you ever wished you could go back to summer camp? Here's your chance! Spend the day at the ICPL Adult Day Camp. Your counselors Beth, Candice, Stacey, and Mac will lead you through a bunch of...

Adults Arts & Crafting
part 4 Writing Game Rules and Designing Game Books. game maker workshop.

Sunday, July 13, 2025 - 12:30pm

Digital Media Lab

For this 4-part series of workshops, we will explore tabletop game design! These are no-experience-required workshops that introduce attendees to making games with cards, dice, tokens, boards, or in the mind with plenty of rules! Part 4: Writing...

Adults Teens Classes & Workshops Gaming & Pop Culture
bl;ack and white and color all over

Monday, July 14, 2025 - 6:30pm

Digital Media Lab

Let’s play with photo coloring in Photoshop! - Try its AI-powered colorizing feature for vintage photos - Learn how to start with a modern color photo and make everything black and white except for the main subject Please bring digital photos you...

Adults Teens Arts & Crafting Classes & Workshops Science & Technology

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 - 1:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Elementary-age kids are invited to join us each Tuesday at 1:00 to learn a little bit about a fun skill or hobby that maybe they haven’t tried before! We have experts from the community here to teach you the basics! Have you ever made ice cream from...

Tweens Kids Families Arts & Crafting

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 - 4:00pm

Storytime Room

Calling all science lovers in 3rd-6th grade! Every Tuesday from June 10 - July 22, join West High students Flora and Tina for hands-on activities about physics, the scientific study of matter and energy. Figure out how gravity works, experiment with...

Tweens Science & Technology

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 - 7:00pm

Zoom

Join us for ICPL's Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book Club! We will meet via Zoom to discuss "Some Desperate Glory" by Emily Tesh. Feel free to join us, whether or not you've finished the book! Borrow a copy of the book from ICPL or place a hold at search.icpl.org...

Adults Book Discussion

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - 1:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Color our world, and celebrate diverse cultures from around the globe! Every Wednesday during our Summer Reading Program, elementary-age kids are invited to join us for a new event where they can explore and experience unique cultures and traditions...

Tweens Kids Families Arts & Crafting

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - 2:30pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Kathy and other volunteers from our local K9 Ambassador program, sponsored by the lowa City Dog Obedience Club, will use handpicked dogs to help teach attendees about dog safety and etiquette. Following an educational presentation, enjoy tricks and...

Adults Teens Tweens Kids Classes & Workshops

Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 10:00am

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Get ready to sing, dance, and rock with St. Louis based children's musician, Celia! Celia's world-famous, one-woman show is a rockin', stomping', hollering good time. Wear your dancing shoes to this all-ages party because Celia...

Tweens Kids Families

Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 1:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Get ready to sing, dance, and rock with St. Louis based children's musician, Celia! !Celia's world-famous, one-woman show is a rockin', stomping', hollering good time. Wear your dancing shoes to this all-ages party because Celia...

Tweens Kids Families

Saturday, July 12, 2025 - 10:00am

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C, Meeting Room D

adult day camp

Calling all nostalgic & fun grown-ups! Have you ever wished you could go back to summer camp? Here's your chance! Spend the day at the ICPL Adult Day Camp. Your counselors Beth, Candice, Stacey, and Mac will lead you through a bunch of...

Sunday, July 13, 2025 - 12:30pm

Digital Media Lab

part 4 Writing Game Rules and Designing Game Books. game maker workshop.

For this 4-part series of workshops, we will explore tabletop game design! These are no-experience-required workshops that introduce attendees to making games with cards, dice, tokens, boards, or in the mind with plenty of rules! Part 4: Writing...

Monday, July 14, 2025 - 6:30pm

Digital Media Lab

bl;ack and white and color all over

Let’s play with photo coloring in Photoshop! - Try its AI-powered colorizing feature for vintage photos - Learn how to start with a modern color photo and make everything black and white except for the main subject Please bring digital photos you...

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 - 1:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Elementary-age kids are invited to join us each Tuesday at 1:00 to learn a little bit about a fun skill or hobby that maybe they haven’t tried before! We have experts from the community here to teach you the basics! Have you ever made ice cream from...

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 - 4:00pm

Storytime Room

Calling all science lovers in 3rd-6th grade! Every Tuesday from June 10 - July 22, join West High students Flora and Tina for hands-on activities about physics, the scientific study of matter and energy. Figure out how gravity works, experiment with...

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 - 7:00pm

Zoom

Join us for ICPL's Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book Club! We will meet via Zoom to discuss "Some Desperate Glory" by Emily Tesh. Feel free to join us, whether or not you've finished the book! Borrow a copy of the book from ICPL or place a hold at search.icpl.org...

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - 1:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Color our world, and celebrate diverse cultures from around the globe! Every Wednesday during our Summer Reading Program, elementary-age kids are invited to join us for a new event where they can explore and experience unique cultures and traditions...

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - 2:30pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Kathy and other volunteers from our local K9 Ambassador program, sponsored by the lowa City Dog Obedience Club, will use handpicked dogs to help teach attendees about dog safety and etiquette. Following an educational presentation, enjoy tricks and...

Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 10:00am

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Get ready to sing, dance, and rock with St. Louis based children's musician, Celia! Celia's world-famous, one-woman show is a rockin', stomping', hollering good time. Wear your dancing shoes to this all-ages party because Celia...

Thursday, July 17, 2025 - 1:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Get ready to sing, dance, and rock with St. Louis based children's musician, Celia! !Celia's world-famous, one-woman show is a rockin', stomping', hollering good time. Wear your dancing shoes to this all-ages party because Celia...

There are no upcoming events.

There are no upcoming events.

Wednesday, July 30, 2025 - 1:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Color our world, and celebrate diverse cultures from around the globe! Every Wednesday during our Summer Reading Program, elementary-age kids are invited to join us for a new event where they can explore and experience unique cultures and traditions...

Wednesday, July 30, 2025 - 2:30pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Create your own unique, colorful bouquet of local blooms when Kara Krapfl of Lovely Bunches Farm teaches us the thoughtful, meditative art of flower arranging. All Abilities Club programs are designed for those who are neurodivergent, or who...

Thursday, July 31, 2025 - 10:00am

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

This is a storytime, a dance class, and dress-up fun all in one! Dance Me a Story ties together ballet performances and the literature that inspires the choreography. Emily Kate from Ballet QC will read a story and explore and teach the dance...

Thursday, July 31, 2025 - 1:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Come learn about some of Iowa's largest birds and even meet a couple! Joan and other volunteers from Raptology will bring some birds of prey and talk about their habitat, diet, size and any other questions you bring about owls, falcons,...

Thursday, July 31, 2025 - 4:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Kathy and other volunteers from the our local K9 Ambassador program, sponsored by the lowa City Dog Obedience Club, will use handpicked dogs to help teach attendees about dog safety and etiquette. Following an educational presentation, enjoy tricks...

Tuesday, August 5, 2025 - 1:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Elementary-age kids are invited to join us each Tuesday at 1:00 to learn a little bit about a fun skill or hobby that maybe they haven’t tried before! We have experts from the community here to teach you the basics! For our last How-To Tuesday of...

Wednesday, August 6, 2025 - 1:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Color our world, and celebrate diverse cultures from around the globe! Every Wednesday during our Summer Reading Program, elementary-age kids are invited to join us for a new event where they can explore and experience unique cultures and traditions...

Wednesday, August 6, 2025 - 2:30pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

We’ll start with a dance party, including following along to “Just Dance” choreography on the big screen; then shift gears way down with some relaxing, sensory craft stations, including play-doh, coloring, and scratch art. All Abilities Club...

Thursday, August 7, 2025 - 4:00pm

Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C

Create a sparkling, mosaic-like keychain by following a pattern to place tiny rhinestones.

There are no upcoming events.