Kids

Summer Reading is June 15 - August 15!

Are you ready for Summer Reading? We’ve got programs for every age! Our theme is Unearth a Story and we are ready to dig, learn, and explore everything from dinosaurs to bubbles this summer! Stop by the front desk to register and get your Summer Reading Bags, then you can use the app, website, or paper to track your reading and activities all summer long for super cool prizes.

Children and Teens can log reading, missions, and events attended on paper or on our Summer Reading Website .

A cute blue dinosaur with three horns is reading a red book.

How to have fun with summer reading:

Log your reading:

Log your time read on the website or app. You’ll earn digital badges along the way. Don’t feel like going digital? We’ve got you covered: track your time using the paper log later in this booklet and show us at the library. Each bubble on the reading log is worth 15 minutes of reading time.

Earn Prizes:

A green dinosaur character reading a small book, depicted in a playful and cartoonish style.

Every minute you read, you get a point towards prizes! You can also earn a prize by completing the Library Missions in your booklet and attending events!

Enter Your Raffle Ticket:

Once you’ve reached 900 points you’re eligible to enter to win one of our big prizes! Simply select “Raffle” on your online account and “Get a ticket” for the prize you’d like to be in the running for, or ask us to enter this for you at the front desk.

Invite Friends to Have Fun with You:

Adventures are more fun with friends! Anyone can drop in to the library and sign up in person to get their bag and reading log, they don’t have to live in Southgate or have a library card.

Attending programs will earn reading points for Summer Reading!

Any time you attend a library program after June 15th, mark off another reading spot on your reading log or record it on the app/website.

All Thursday and Saturday Summer Reading events require registration. Registration will open 2 weeks prior to each event! Registration can be found on the library calendar and Event Pages below. Make sure you sign up, we can't wait to see you!

Baby and Me Playgroup

Mondays at 10:30AM Babies and their caregivers are invited to spend time socializing and playing together in a space just for them.

Baby and Me Painting

Monday, June 15 at 10:30AM Children birth to walking are invited to join us in a colorful art project to give to our loving caregivers. All materials will be provided and paint will be contained so no need to worry about the mess. After the art is done, everyone is welcome to join in play time!

Baby Rave

Babies and Toddlers are invited to join us for a dance and wiggle party! We will have fun music and bubbles to move and groove to.

Dino Dig! Drop-In

To unearth a story, first you have to dig! Take some time to dig and sift through sediment from your librarian’s home state of North Carolina and find some treasures of the past. What will you discover?

A colorful, excited person in a tie-dye outfit holds bubble wands, kneeling on a drop cloth with a light backdrop.

Miss Rainbow's Bubble Lab

Ready to take your learning to new heights? Put on your scientist hat and learn all about soap bubbles with Miss Rainbow! Miss Rainbow will lead her fellow bubble scientists through an exploration of what makes bubbles so magical, using all of her different gadgets to lead bubbly experiments. Miss Rainbow’s Bubble Lab is bubbling with humor, dance, storytelling and giant circus-sized bubbles!

A smiling man in a hat holds a dinosaur-shaped object, with a dinosaur skull in the background.

Paleo Joe

Paleontologist, Children's Book Author, Storyteller and yes, a real dinosaur digger will bring his high energy programs that will excite, entertain and educate about DINOSAURS and Paleontology. For over 35 years Paleo Joe has provided programs to kids of all ages across the country. His stories about dinosaur dig site adventures and the relationships between dinosaurs is told in a way that keeps kids and adults on the edge of their seats.

The image features a Velociraptor, two actors in safari attire, and a display of dinosaur props, promoting "Jurassic Adventure."

Jurassic Adventure at Market Center Park

It’s a dino adventure so big, it won’t fit in the library! Join us at Market Center Park to meet the towering raptor and the baby triceratops. The dinosaur explorer and trainer share all sorts of dinosaur facts while we get to know our prehistoric friends.

Crazy Craig

Can you juggle bowling balls or stack chairs on your chin? We’ll watch and laugh as Crazy Craig performs all sorts of amazing tricks right before your eyes.

A person in a suit is playfully holding a colorful dinosaur puppet with blue and yellow features.

Donny the Dino’s Prehistorical Funny Family Show

Wrap up Summer Reading with a roar-some live experience featuring prehistoric-themed magic, puppets, music, and tons of family fun! Get ready for a plethora of dinosaur jokes that will have everyone laughing, clapping, and joining in.

Jurassic Park Trivia : All Ages

Welcome...to Jurassic Park Trivia! Come test your knowledge of this amazing world and its incredible dinosaurs. All questions will be multiple choice and only pull from the first movie, but there will also be trivia questions and goofs as to what the movie got wrong. Categories will be Quotes, Characters, Dinosaurs, Trivia, and Goofs. Ages 12 and under must be accompanied by a grown up. Come show us how clever you are!