May 28 is the official start to the ICPL Summer Reading Program! All ages can register to receive a gamecard to track their summer reading goals, and choose a prize book once completed. Kids under 12 can also earn a Summer Reading t-shirt, and kids 3 and under can earn a dog stuffie!
The summer is the busiest time of year at the library; we offer fun and educational programming for all ages every single day! Be sure to pick up a program guide in June with details about daily programming for kids, teens and adults beginning the week of June 10! Be sure to keep that guide or visit the ICPL calendar to learn more.
In the summertime, we add more programming focus to elementary-age kids, so our Storytime schedule does change. Catch an all-ages storytime at one of our Stories in the Park locations at 10:30 a.m. most days of the week: on Mondays at Willowcreek Park,Wednesdays at Wetherby Park and Fridays at Mercer Park. Requested by many, we will also offer a daily Storytime in the building with rotating librarians, except Thursday mornings when you can catch a special all-ages performance at the library at 10 a.m., with a variety of musicians, magicians, animal programs and more! We will also offer a family Storytime at the building on Saturdays.
Elementary-age kids can find a fun program each day at 1 p.m.
Make-It Mondays: Help us create a kid-friendly magazine, make pins and tiny art, and more!
How-To Tuesdays: Learn a little bit about a fun skill or hobby that maybe you haven’t tried before!
World Wednesdays: Broaden your knowledge of cultures around the world!
Thrilling Thursdays: An encore of the morning’s all-ages performance with musicians, magicians, animals and more!
Friday Flicks: Movies rated either G or PG will be shown! All ages welcome!
Sunday Fun Days will continue all summer from 2-4 p.m. with an all-ages craft!
Totally Tweens will be at 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which are programs aimed at independent learners in grades 3-6.
Saturday, May 11, 10:30 a.m., Storytime Room
Former ICPL staffer, current English Language Learner (ELL) teacher, and now author Raquel MacKay joins us May 11 to share her debut picture book "I Hear a Búho," a rhyming story with text in both English and Spanish. Raquel will lead us in some interactive rhymes and songs featuring Spanish words and phrases.
After Storytime, stay for an owl craft! Sidekick Books will be here with books on hand to purchase. If you would like to preorder a copy from Sidekick Books, visit https://bit.ly/3V3VovZ and select “ICPL Event Day Pick-Up" and your copy will be ready for you at the library event. Raquel will be happy to sign your copy of the book following Storytime!
Saturday, May 11, 3 p.m., Storytime Room
Edith Renfrow Smith, age 110, was the first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, in 1937. Grinnell resident Monique Shore has just published "No One is Better Than You: Edith Renfrow Smith and the Power of a Mother's Words," a picture book biography of Smith, and will visit the Library to share her story!
Learn about Smith's remarkable life and her family's role in Iowa history, including her sister, Iowa City civil rights activist Helen Lemme, who now has a local elementary school named in her honor. After Monique shares her book and the Renfrow family story, we'll get hands-on with a favorite family recipe, making a treat Edith Renfrow Smith has made throughout her life and enjoys gifting to friends.
Tuesday, May 21, 4 p.m., Storytime Room
In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, as well as Japanese Children’s Day in May, we will create and decorate the traditional Koinobori, or carp-shaped windsocks, and take them home to fly in the wind! In Japanese culture, the carp symbolizes courage and strength because of its ability to swim up a waterfall. So bring in your energy and imagination, and be the most spirited fish in our World Club!
Tuesday, May 28, 4 to 5 p.m., Storytime Room
For our last Book to Art Club of the school year, we are reading a book that embraces the spirit of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, "Luli and the Language of Tea," in which kids from all over the world come together with Luli, a Chinese native speaker, to enjoy the shared pastime of tea! We'll celebrate tea time with tea and cookies, and use watercolors to paint beautiful and ornate tea pots from around the world!
Wednesday, May 29 & Thursday, May 30, 10:30 a.m., Meeting Room A
Join us for an interactive, live musical telling of the classic story of “Peter Rabbit.” With an interactive structure and via big-screen animated storybook, we will be singing the Songs of Peter Rabbit by Dudley Glass and reading the classic Beatrix Potter story. Come by to see and hear Peter Rabbit like never before, followed by some cute rabbit crafts! Choose either Wednesday or Thursday morning to attend.
