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We’ve issued an Emergency Alert update this week due to the extremely hot weather expected.
These updates are only sent during extreme weather and emergency incidents in the borough, giving you key updates and safety information.
If there’s major disruption due to snow or another emergency, this will be where to get updates from us. If you’re not signed up, register to receive these using the button below.
 Science and innovation at heart of reading challenge
The 2022 Summer Reading Challenge has launched and this year's theme is science and innovation. The annual challenge encourages children aged four to 11 to read six or more books during the summer holidays.
This year's challenge started on Saturday 9 July and it will run until Saturday 27 August. By visiting your local library, you can sign up to the challenge and collect prizes, including a certificate and medal. When you start, you set a personal goal.
You can choose from a selection of books, eBooks and audiobooks and you will receive a Gadgeteer core pack poster once you have read and returned your first book. You can then collect special incentives each time you finish a book.
Alternatively, children can sign up for the challenge online and set personal goals for the summer, unlocking badges and rewards along the way. You will receive book recommendations and tips for accessing books for free at home.
 Get teens excited about reading during the summer
Children aged 12 to 19 are invited to read six books before the end of the summer and join the Wokingham Borough Libraries Teen Reading Challenge.
Pick up a challenge card and write the name of the book you have read, or send a photo with #wbcteenreadingchallenge to libraries@wokingham.gov.uk or hand it into the library.
The challenge runs until Thursday 1 September and there is a prize of £10 in book tokens for five winners.
 Pair reading with science thanks to activity boxes
Head to Lower Earley Library from Monday 25 July and borrow one of our activity boxes to explore the experiments we've put together for you.
Reading Sparks involves lots of fun activities to get children excited about science. Each activity box contains a book and an experiment for families to try. You can choose from four different themes:
- Space
- Machines
- Invisible nature
- Animals boxes
Once you have completed the experiments from each box, just return them to the library with the completed evaluations and you will get a CREST Award.
We also have lots of fun and exciting events running at Lower Earley Library.
Join the Nutty Scientist for his workshop and enjoy making magnetic putty while learning all about magnets and their metal properties. This event is being held on Tuesday 9 August from 10.30am to 11.30am and is suitable for children aged four to nine. You can also attend this workshop at Woodley Library on the same day from 1pm to 2pm. It costs £3 to take part and places must be booked in advance.
Talk about your Summer Reading Challenge books, craft and other fun activities with our Summer Reading Challenge volunteers. Just drop into the library every Thursday from 4 to 25 August from 10.30am to 12 noon.
Visit Lower Earley Library on Tuesday 30 August for a zany and action-packed hour of music, science and space poems from James Carter. He will be giving a lively reading of his new book Once Upon A Big Idea and there will be a chance to take away your very own robot poem. The session runs from 11am to 12 noon and is suitable for children aged four to ten. You can also attend this event at Woodley Library on the same day from 1.30pm to 2.30pm. It costs £3 to take part and places must be booked in advance.
Other highlights for children and young people
Visit your local library and create your own sand art picture to take home. There are events happening at the following locations:
- Wokingham Library, Thursday 28 July, 2pm to 4pm
- Finchampstead Library, Wednesday 3 August, 10am to 12 noon
- Lower Earley Library, Friday 5 August, 2pm to 4pm
- Woodley Library, Tuesday 9 August, 10am to 12 noon
These workshops, which are suitable for children aged three to 10, cost £4 and money must be paid directly to Kids Bee Happy with Maddi on the day.
Enjoy fun songs and rhymes at libraries across the borough with our rhymetime sessions, which are aimed at babies aged 0 to 18 months. We also offer storytime sessions at different libraries, which are for children aged five and under. It is free to take part but registration is required. You must book a space for each adult and child attending. You can find a session near you on our events page.
Explore Learning is hosting two workshops at Wokingham Library on Tuesday 26 July. The first, which runs from 11am to 11.45am, is all about Superhero Shapes and is aimed at children aged four to six. The next session is about telling the time and runs from 12 noon to 12.45pm. This workshop is for children aged five to seven. These are free to attend but places must be booked in advance.
Help others by volunteering for home library service
We are looking for volunteers to join our home library service, which involves delivering books once a month to housebound readers.
As a volunteer, you can choose the number of readers you would like to deliver to and you can claim back your travel costs.
The aim of our home library service is to support our wider community and make sure everyone has access to our services. We provide a free home delivery service for books, including large print and audiobooks.
This service is for any resident who can't visit their local library because of ill health, disability or because they are caring for someone. If you are interested in volunteering, you can email us or call (0118) 974 6263.
Find your next read from list of award winners
The Forward Prizes for Poetry are the most influential awards for new poetry in the UK and Ireland, honouring fresh voices alongside internationally established names.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the awards and you find out more by reading our blog.
American-Canadian author Ruth Ozeki has recently won Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022 with her fourth novel The Book of Form and Emptiness. It is an inventive, bold and humane novel that tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who - after the tragic death of his father - starts to hear the voices of objects speaking to him.
You can find out more about the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022 online. Copies of the winning title, as well as the short and longlisted titles, can be borrowed or reserved from our libraries.
Online resources available at your library
There are lots of online resources available that you may find interesting.
From a library computer, you can use Ancestry.com and research your family history; the British Newspaper Archive, a collection of historic local and national newspapers; and Access to Research, which gives access to publicly-funded academic research.
From the library or from your home, you can access 'Who Else Writes Like…?' and 'Who Next?'. These databases give you suggestions of authors to try based on your current likes and favourite authors.
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