Tag Archives: Summer Reading

Thank You for Participating in Summer Reading 2026!

To all the patrons of Clark Memorial Library, THANK YOU to every single one of you who took part in any of this year’s Summer Reading Programs – and a huge CONGRATULATIONS to all of our raffle winners! Each year, we look forward to seeing how the Summer Reading theme will transform the Library… and between the Summer Reading Flowers downstairs and the Summer Reading Tree upstairs, you did not disappoint! We saw record numbers of participants, hours read, beads distributed, and flowers created, and a great turnout for the new Summer Reading Challenge, a program specially tailored to our Teens & Tweens, which was offered for the first time this year. We hope everyone enjoyed participating, and found a new favorite book, author, or genre along the way.

We look forward to summer of next year, and hope you do as well!

Tuesday through Friday | August 18 – August 28 | 3:00 – 4:00 PM | All Ages

During the last two weeks of August, we will be hosting Reading Sprints from 3:00 – 4:00 PM in the Teens & Tweens area upstairs to help everyone reach their Summer Reading goals. Bring in a book (or pick one up at the Library), focus in on finishing your reading, and get a treat for each 20 minute “Sprint” you complete!

Clark Memorial Library’s Summer Reading Programs (Read & Bead and Summer Reading Flowers, Challenge, & Raffle) will be ending this month. We will stop accepting registrations on August 15, and Summer Reading participants will have until Saturday, August 29 to submit handouts and raffle entries, collect reading rewards, etc.

Raffle winners will be selected and declared in early September, once the wrap-up process is complete. Be sure to double check the rules for whichever Program you or your child are registered for, and don’t miss the deadline!

Arcade and restaurant Dave & Buster’s has generously provided the Library with tickets that provide 60 minutes of unlimited gameplay at participating locations! In addition to the various Summer Reading prizes and rewards that patrons can already receive through our Summer Reading Programs, we will be raffling off 12 pairs of tickets at the end of the summer. Patrons who have participated in any of our Summer Reading Programs – of any age, and whether you’ve gone through dozens of books this summer or only read for a few hours – will be included in the drawing. And there’s still time to sign up if you haven’t already, so stop by as soon as you get the chance and join in the fun!

We will contact raffle winners in early September. Please note that ticket use is limited to one per person, per visit.

Have you seen our Nutmeg Book Displays?

Right now, Clark Memorial Library’s Children’s Room and Teens & Tweens Area both have Nutmeg Book Award displays featuring the 2027 Nutmeg Nominees, as well as the 2026 Nutmeg Winners! Whether you’re just looking for a good summer reading book or plan to vote on which of the Nominees will become next year’s winner(s) in April, you’re sure to find something you’ll enjoy. Every Nominee has been selected from hundreds of submissions from children’s and school librarians – not to mention kids themselves! – from across the state, so you know they’re the best of the best!

If you don’t see a physical copy of the book you’re looking for, remember that many Nutmeg books are also available in ebook or audiobook format via the Library’s apps – Libby, Palace, and Hoopla. Palace even has a curated Nutmeg booklist featured on its homepage!

Planting Seeds to Read!

6 Week Summer Reading Program – Thursdays, July 9 – August 13
Drop In 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Come join us as we dig into plant-themed books and crafts this summer!
Planting Seeds to Read is a follow-up to last summer’s wildly successful Fractured Fairy Tales program – this time matching the “Plant a Seed, Read” theme of the Summer Reading Program. Each session will include the reading of a book, and then an associated craft. This is a drop-in program for ages 12 and under, and will take place in the Children’s Room. Caregivers must remain in the Library for the duration of the program.

Lunch Bunch Book Club

Wednesdays 1:00 – 2:00 | July 1, July 8, & July 15
Grades K – 2. Sign-up required.

Come join us at the Library for a summer book club designed to help our earliest readers, children grades K – 2, maintain and strengthen their reading skills during the summer break. Each week a new book will be discussed – the first meeting will have a read-along, and participants will pick up the book for the following week at the ends of the first two sessions. There will be light snacks provided for all participants, but you are free to bring your own as well!

Registration is required – the number of books available is limited. Call the Library at (203) 393-2103 or email us at clarkmain@bethanylibrary.org to sign up. Caregivers must remain in the Library while the program is in progress.

Rock Painting

As part of our Summer Reading Kickoff on Saturday, June 13, the Library will be hosting a Rock Painting activity starting at 2:00 PM where visitors will be able to paint custom rocks to add to Rocky the Rock Snake. There will be a table set up outside, to the right of the Library’s main entrance; Rocky is back on display in the garden to the left of the entrance, and after the Kickoff he’ll be bigger and better than ever!

While you’re outside, be sure to check out the Children’s Guide to the Founding Fathers Storywalk on the Library’s front lawn – then head inside to see the rest of our America 250 Celebration displays and sign up for one of the Summer Reading Programs!

Summer Reading Flowers

This program is for children under 10, and will run alongside our Read & Bead program – so your reading times count towards both! When you sign up, you’ll receive a flower head that you can add a colorful petal to for every 20 minutes you read over the summer – and once your flower has fully “bloomed”, it will be added to our Summer Reading Garden in the Children’s Room! You’ll also earn a ladybug or bee to add to the Garden for every 200 minutes you read, and a butterfly for every 500 minutes. By the end of summer, we hope that the Summer Reading Garden will be bustling with life.

The Library’s 2026 Summer Reading Kickoff is Saturday, June 13! Early sign-ups start Tuesday, June 9, but we encourage you to stop by during the Kickoff even if you’ve signed up already. Take part in fun crafts and activities – and while you’re here, check out our displays for the state-wide America 250 Celebration as well!

Read & Bead

This Summer Reading Program is for children under 10. Create a custom necklace over the course of the summer – you’ll earn a bead for every 20 minutes you read, and a charm for every 100 minutes. Participants receive a book log to track their reading time in when they sign up, as well as a necklace chain and a red, white, or blue starter bead in honor of the America 250 Celebration!