As part of the "Color Our World" Summer Reading Program, the UI Stanley Museum of Art will be hosting a special version of their Blue Tour just for Adult Summer Reading Program participants. Surveys have shown that blue is the world's favorite...
Summer Reading Program
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. Children's prizes include gift certificates for Blank Park Zoo and the Iowa Children's Museum as well as a free book! Adults and teens can get a coupon for a free book at The Book End bookstore and be entered into the grand prize drawings for a downtown gift card.
If you have time for a quick question, let us know how did you hear about the summer reading program?
Downloads
Resources
- Watch past programs on The Library Channel
- Learn how to log books with Beanstack's mobile app
Sponsors
A big thank you to the Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation for sponsoring the prizes!
Color your world!
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
Sunday, June 29, 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 3: Game boards...
Monday, June 30, 2025 - 10:30am
Storytime Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
Monday, June 30, 2025 - 1:00pm
Meeting Room A
Every Monday in the summer we will be hosting games and activities! Join us today to test your Disney knowledge! 暑期周一活动日：迪斯尼知识问答
Monday, June 30, 2025 - 6:30pm
Digital Media Lab
Bring in a couple of your paperback books with misleading or unpleasant cover designs, and we'll create custom book jackets! After measuring your book, we'll use Canva to make a template you can fill with their clip art, background images you find...
Tuesday, July 1, 2025 - 10:30am
Storytime Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
Tuesday, July 1, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
All supplies will be provided to create a firework painting just in time for Independence Day.
Tuesday, July 1, 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! Mark Capron, recent inductee into...
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - 10:30am
Storytime Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
Wednesday, July 2, 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...
- 1 of 12
- next ›
Saturday, June 28, 2025 - 10:00am
Other
As part of the "Color Our World" Summer Reading Program, the UI Stanley Museum of Art will be hosting a special version of their Blue Tour just for Adult Summer Reading Program participants. Surveys have shown that blue is the world's favorite...
Sunday, June 29, 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 3: Game boards...
Monday, June 30, 2025 - 10:30am
Storytime Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
Monday, June 30, 2025 - 1:00pm
Meeting Room A
Every Monday in the summer we will be hosting games and activities! Join us today to test your Disney knowledge! 暑期周一活动日：迪斯尼知识问答
Monday, June 30, 2025 - 6:30pm
Digital Media Lab
Bring in a couple of your paperback books with misleading or unpleasant cover designs, and we'll create custom book jackets! After measuring your book, we'll use Canva to make a template you can fill with their clip art, background images you find...
Tuesday, July 1, 2025 - 10:30am
Storytime Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
Tuesday, July 1, 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! Mark Capron, recent inductee into...
Tuesday, July 1, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
All supplies will be provided to create a firework painting just in time for Independence Day.
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - 10:30am
Storytime Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
Johnson County Ambulance will have qualified staff to cover ‘hands only’ CPR, AED instruction, stop the bleed, Narcan administration and an overview of the PulsePoint app. This will not result in certification. This program is a repeat of the June...
- 1 of 12
- next ›
Saturday, June 28, 2025 - 10:00am
Other
As part of the "Color Our World" Summer Reading Program, the UI Stanley Museum of Art will be hosting a special version of their Blue Tour just for Adult Summer Reading Program participants. Surveys have shown that blue is the world's favorite...
Sunday, June 29, 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 3: Game boards...
Monday, June 30, 2025 - 6:30pm
Digital Media Lab
Bring in a couple of your paperback books with misleading or unpleasant cover designs, and we'll create custom book jackets! After measuring your book, we'll use Canva to make a template you can fill with their clip art, background images you find...
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Known for her vibrant paintings of landscapes, plants, and animals, Maud Lewis' iconic folk art is celebrated around the world. In addition to creating paintings for sale, Lewis also covered the inside of her 100-square-foot tiny home with...
Tuesday, July 8, 2025 - 7:00pm
Zoom
Book clubs come in all shapes and sizes. Groups that meet online (like Let's Talk Books) are all the rage, especially with celebrities. From Oprah's almost 30 year old book club, to Reese Witherspoon, Emma Watson, Sara Jessica Parker, or...
Wednesday, July 9, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Casey leads ukulele music, singing, instruments, and movement. All Abilities Club programs are designed for those who are neurodivergent, or who experience intellectual or developmental disabilities, offering an inclusive, lower-stimulation, and...
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, and Stacey will lead you through a bunch of fun...
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: Telling a...
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...
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...
- 1 of 3
- next ›
Sunday, June 29, 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 3: Game boards...
Monday, June 30, 2025 - 6:30pm
Digital Media Lab
Bring in a couple of your paperback books with misleading or unpleasant cover designs, and we'll create custom book jackets! After measuring your book, we'll use Canva to make a template you can fill with their clip art, background images you find...
Tuesday, July 1, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
All supplies will be provided to create a firework painting just in time for Independence Day.
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
Johnson County Ambulance will have qualified staff to cover ‘hands only’ CPR, AED instruction, stop the bleed, Narcan administration and an overview of the PulsePoint app. This will not result in certification. This program is a repeat of the June...
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Known for her vibrant paintings of landscapes, plants, and animals, Maud Lewis' iconic folk art is celebrated around the world. In addition to creating paintings for sale, Lewis also covered the inside of her 100-square-foot tiny home with...
Thursday, July 3, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
Add some flair to your room or a community space. This simple build will allows you to showcase 3D objects to wow your friends.
Monday, July 7, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
Calling all puzzle lovers! If you love putting together puzzles in a more competitive way, this is for you. Get teamed up to compete for bragging rights and a cool prize- a puzzle!
Tuesday, July 8, 2025 - 3:00pm
Teen Center
What is bad can be good? Especially when it comes to art, beauty and talent may be subjective, but we’re purposely going for bad! We’ll share some prompts to get you going but you’ll ultimately be creating a true monsterpiece.
Wednesday, July 9, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
As part of our partnership with Bur Oak, Next Gen Land Stewards are invited to learn about pollinators and the importance of keeping them hydrated during the hottest summer months. Then, assemble a bee drinking fountain.
Wednesday, July 9, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Casey leads ukulele music, singing, instruments, and movement. All Abilities Club programs are designed for those who are neurodivergent, or who experience intellectual or developmental disabilities, offering an inclusive, lower-stimulation, and...
- 1 of 3
- next ›
Tuesday, July 1, 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! Mark Capron, recent inductee into...
Wednesday, July 2, 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 2, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Known for her vibrant paintings of landscapes, plants, and animals, Maud Lewis' iconic folk art is celebrated around the world. In addition to creating paintings for sale, Lewis also covered the inside of her 100-square-foot tiny home with...
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - 4:00pm
Storytime Room
Calling all science lovers in 3rd-6th grade! Every Wednesday from June 11 - July 16, 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...
Thursday, July 3, 2025 - 10:00am
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Join Mike Schneider as he takes you on a musical, magical, and humorous journey around the world! Uncle Mike's music will have all ages singing, clapping, and dancing along to such polka-fied classics. But this program is so much more than just...
Thursday, July 3, 2025 - 1:00pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Join Mike Schneider as he takes you on a musical, magical, and humorous journey around the world! Uncle Mike's music will have all ages singing, clapping, and dancing along to such polka-fied classics. But this program is so much more than just...
Thursday, July 3, 2025 - 4:00pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Celebrate Disability Pride Month by learning about the life of Judith Scott, a renowned fiber sculptor who was Deaf and had Down Syndrome, then making a variety of fiber art pieces. We'll weave and wrap, cut and twist to create stunning art...
Tuesday, July 8, 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 wanted to tell a...
Wednesday, July 9, 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 9, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Casey leads ukulele music, singing, instruments, and movement. All Abilities Club programs are designed for those who are neurodivergent, or who experience intellectual or developmental disabilities, offering an inclusive, lower-stimulation, and...
- 1 of 5
- next ›
Monday, June 30, 2025 - 10:30am
Storytime Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
Monday, June 30, 2025 - 1:00pm
Meeting Room A
Every Monday in the summer we will be hosting games and activities! Join us today to test your Disney knowledge! 暑期周一活动日：迪斯尼知识问答
Tuesday, July 1, 2025 - 10:30am
Storytime Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
Tuesday, July 1, 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! Mark Capron, recent inductee into...
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - 10:30am
Storytime Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
Wednesday, July 2, 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 2, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Known for her vibrant paintings of landscapes, plants, and animals, Maud Lewis' iconic folk art is celebrated around the world. In addition to creating paintings for sale, Lewis also covered the inside of her 100-square-foot tiny home with...
Thursday, July 3, 2025 - 10:00am
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Join Mike Schneider as he takes you on a musical, magical, and humorous journey around the world! Uncle Mike's music will have all ages singing, clapping, and dancing along to such polka-fied classics. But this program is so much more than just...
Thursday, July 3, 2025 - 1:00pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Join Mike Schneider as he takes you on a musical, magical, and humorous journey around the world! Uncle Mike's music will have all ages singing, clapping, and dancing along to such polka-fied classics. But this program is so much more than just...
Monday, July 7, 2025 - 10:30am
Children's Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
- 1 of 8
- next ›
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Known for her vibrant paintings of landscapes, plants, and animals, Maud Lewis' iconic folk art is celebrated around the world. In addition to creating paintings for sale, Lewis also covered the inside of her 100-square-foot tiny home with...
Wednesday, July 9, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Casey leads ukulele music, singing, instruments, and movement. All Abilities Club programs are designed for those who are neurodivergent, or who experience intellectual or developmental disabilities, offering an inclusive, lower-stimulation, and...
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...
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Get hands-on with exciting science experiments led by the UI Science Booster Club! All Abilities Club programs are designed for those who are neurodivergent, or who experience intellectual or developmental disabilities, offering an inclusive, lower-...
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...
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...