Summer Reading 2024 Rules
Explorer Babies
- Readers have 8 weeks (June 3 – July 27) to read 5 minutes a day / 5 days each week to their child. There are three reading destinations this year, one every two weeks (50 minutes per challenge).
- You may use board books (BB), picture books (E), Easy Readers (JE), or even the same book over and over again.
- Digital books and audios are also allowed. Your adult can get Libby for free through their app store. Learn how to use it at our Downloadables page or have your adult come talk to a librarian.
- Books shared at Book Babies also count!
- Each Explorer Babies Reading Goal has additional activities or challenges you can choose to do in place of TWO 5-minute reading sessions; each one may be used only once per challenge. For example, you may count “Attend MLD Book Babies/Toddler Time” only once per challenge. In Beanstack, make sure you log 5 minutes of reading under the “LOGGING” badge area for each additional activity completed!
- Then… come to the Madison Library District lobby when you have completed a Explorer Babies Reading Goal to receive a prize. You can collect a new prize every two weeks!
Finished early? Ask about our year-round 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program.
Additional Activities:
Week 1: Travel Adventures
- Attend MLD Book Babies / Toddler Time.
- Use a mirror to look in and make faces with your baby.
- Learn a new knee bounce or rock.
- Encourage your baby to discover their hands or feet by tickling them or clapping them together.
- Use origami boats or disposable serving bowls to float toys in tubs of water.
Week 2: Adventures in Nature
- Attend MLD Book Babies / Toddler Time.
- Take a walk and narrate the walk.
- Gather material with different textures and let baby explore.
- Hide stuffed animals under a blanket or scarf and play peek a boo.
- Blow bubbles with baby.
Week 3: Adventures in Imagination
- Attend MLD Book Babies / Toddler Time.
- Sing a motion song like The Wheels on the Bus.
- Make funny faces with baby.
- Set a laundry basket on its side and show baby how to roll balls into it.
- Let your child “wash” lids in a shallow tub of water.
Week 4: Puzzles, Scavenger Hunts, & Mysteries
- Attend MLD Book Babies / Toddler Time.
- Fill a container with objects and play the “in” and “out” game.
- Learn some color and animal words in sign language.
- Dig for buried treasure! Fill a bin with oats, hide small objects in it, and explore with hands or scoops.
- Place fabric or ribbons in a tissue or wipe container for your baby to pull out and push in.
Week 5: Adventures Close to Home
- Attend MLD Book Babies / Toddler Time.
- “Tour” your home and practice naming different objects you see.
- Turn on music and have a dance party.
- Play “find the toy.” Place familiar toys around the room and ask baby to show or bring them to you.
- Place sticky notes on the wall for baby pull off and put back on.
Week 6: Adventures in the Dark
- Attend MLD Book Babies / Toddler Time.
- Learn and do a new knee bounce rhyme.
- Tuck stuffed animals into bed, turn out the light, wait, then turn lights on and say “Stuffie, wake up!”
- Read together in a “blanket fort” with a flashlight & toys.
- Use flashlights and toys to make shadows on the walls.
Summer Reading 2024 Rules
Voyager Kids
- Readers have 8 weeks (June 3 – July 27) to read 10 minutes a day / 5 days each week to their child. There are three reading destinations this year, one every two weeks (100 minutes per challenge).
- You may use board books (BB), picture books (E), Easy Readers (JE), or even the same book over and over again.
- Digital books and audios are also allowed. Your adult can get Libby for free through their app store. Learn how to use it at our Downloadables page or have your adult come talk to a librarian.
- Books shared at Story Time also count!
- Each Voyager Kids Reading Goal has additional activities or challenges you can choose to do in place of TWO 5-minute reading sessions; each one may be used only once per challenge. For example, you may count “Attend a MLD Storytime” only once per challenge. In Beanstack, make sure you log 10 minutes of reading under the “LOGGING” badge area for each additional activity completed!
- Then… come to the Madison Library District lobby when you have completed a Voyager Kids Reading Goal to receive a prize. You can collect a new prize every two weeks!
Finished early? Ask about our year-round 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program.
Additional Activities:
Week 1: Travel Adventures
- Attend a MLD Storytime.
- Find and read a story on the Libby app.
- Turn a large box into a car.
- Draw fantastical cars/boats/planes with sidewalk chalk.
- Use items around the house to create an epic road for toy cars.
Week 2: Adventures in Nature
- Attend a MLD Storytime.
- Find and read a story on the Libby app.
- Play Follow the Leader at the park.
- Make binoculars out of cardboard tubes and take them on a nature walk.
- Place a piece of duct tape around the wrist with sticky side facing out. Go on a nature walk and stick things you find (flowers, grass, etc) on the tape to make a bracelet.
Week 3: Adventures in Imagination
- Attend a MLD Storytime.
- Find and read a story on the Libby app.
- Use cardboard boxes to build buildings or a fort.
- Move like different animals or do animal yoga poses.
- Draw monsters with sidewalk chalk, spray with water to “melt” them.
Week 4: Puzzles, Scavenger Hunts, & Mysteries
- Attend a MLD Storytime.
- Find and read a story on the Libby app.
- Create a simple letter or sight word scavenger hunt in your house.
- Make cards for your own matching game.
- Create a treasure map of a room/your house/yard and share it with your family.
Week 5: Adventures Close to Home
- Attend a MLD Storytime.
- Find and read a story on the Libby app.
- Have a dance party.
- Make a mailbox out of a shoebox and send/receive mail with your family.
- Set up an obstacle course with cans and move a ball through using a flyswatter for homemade mini-golf.
Week 6: Adventures in the Dark
- Attend a MLD Storytime.
- Find and read a story on the Libby app.
- Make a fort with blankets and chairs.
- Make shadow puppets with flashlights.
- Learn about constellations and go stargazing.
Summer Reading 2024 Rules
Swashbuckler Readers
- Readers have 8 weeks (June 3 – July 27) to read or be read to 15 minutes a day / 5 days each week. There are three reading destinations this year, one every two weeks (150 minutes per challenge).
- You may use picture books (E), Easy Readers (JE), Junior Fiction (JF), Junior Graphic Novels (JG), or magazines.
- Digital books and audios are also allowed. Your adult can get Libby for free through their app store. Learn how to use it at our Downloadables page or have your adult come talk to a librarian.
- Each Swashbuckler Readers Reading Goal has additional activities or challenges you can choose to do in place of TWO 15-minute reading sessions; each one may be used only once per challenge. For example, you may count “Complete/attend a Summer STEM from your Library activity” only once per challenge. In Beanstack, make sure you log 15 minutes of reading under the “LOGGING” badge area for each additional activity completed!
- Then… come to the Madison Library District lobby when you have completed a Swashbuckler Readers Reading Goal to receive a prize. You can collect a new prize every two weeks!
Additional Activities:
Week 1: Travel Adventures
- Complete/attend an Adventures in STEM Library activity.
- Ready, Set… RECHARGE! Complete an activity in the guidebook & pick-up your FREE brag tag from the business.
- Play Road Trip Bingo in the car.
- See how tall of a ramp you can build for toys cars without them flipping over at the end.
- Fold paper airplanes and see what design flies the farthest.
Week 2: Adventures in Nature
- Complete/attend an Adventures in STEM Library activity.
- Ready, Set… RECHARGE! Complete an activity in the guidebook & pick-up your FREE brag tag from the business.
- Look up local birds and see how many you can spot on a nature walk.
- Learn how to use a compass.
- Play I Spy at the park.
Week 3: Adventures in Imagination
- Complete/attend an Adventures in STEM Library activity.
- Ready, Set… RECHARGE! Complete an activity in the guidebook & pick-up your FREE brag tag from the business.
- Learn some animal yoga poses.
- Create a kingdom out of boxes or LEGOs.
- Play a game of Charades.
Week 4: Puzzles, Scavenger Hunts, & Mysteries
- Complete/attend an Adventures in STEM Library activity.
- Ready, Set… RECHARGE! Complete an activity in the guidebook & pick-up your FREE brag tag from the business.
- Make cards for your own memory matching game.
- Create a treasure hunt for friends or family complete with map.
- Send a message in invisible ink.
Week 5: Adventures Close to Home
- Complete/attend an Adventures in STEM Library activity.
- Ready, Set… RECHARGE! Complete an activity in the guidebook & pick-up your FREE brag tag from the business.
- Have a dance party.
- Build an obstacle course in your backyard.
- Be adventurous in the kitchen and try out a new recipe.
Week 6: Adventures in the Dark
- Complete/attend an Adventures in STEM Library activity.
- Ready, Set… RECHARGE! Complete an activity in the guidebook & pick-up your FREE brag tag from the business.
- Create a blanket fort and read in it.
- Learn some hand shadow puppets and make them with a flashlight.
- Learn some constellations and go stargazing.
Book Babies
Wednesdays at 9:30 am
NO Book Babies the week of June 3rd
NO Book Babies on June 19
For babies (ages 0- 9 months) who are not yet “walkers” and their “grown-up.”
Enjoy songs, stories, and movement activities together with other families. Additional activities and links will be available after the program on the Madison Library District Book Babies blog.
Have more than one child? Wondering which early literacy library program to attend? Go to the age specific program for your oldest child.
Toddler Time
Mondays and Tuesdays at 9:30 am
NO Toddler Times the week of June 3rd
For toddlers who are “walkers” (ages 10 to 23 months) and their “grown-up.”
Enjoy songs, stories, and movement activities together with other families. Additional activities and links will be available after the program on the Madison Library District Toddler Time blog.
Have more than one child? Wondering which early literacy library program to attend? Go to the age specific event for your oldest child.
Story Time
Tuesdays & Wednesdays at 10:30 am
Tuesday Evenings at 6:30 pm
NEW Spanish Story Time! Mondays at 10:30 am
with Maria D. Carvajal Castro
NO Story Times the week of June 3rd
NO Story Times on June 19
For children ages 2 to 5 and their “grown up!”
Children ages 2 to 5 with their adult will enjoy stories and related fun which may include songs, games, and rhymes in our Community Room.
Any extra crafting supplies will be available to pick up at the Children’s Reference Desk while supplies last. Additional links and activities will be available after the program on the Madison Library District Storytime blog.
Have more than one child? Wondering which early literacy library program to attend? Go to the age specific event for your oldest child.
Themes for June:
“Adventure Begins at Your Library!”
- Week of June 11: Travel Adventures
- Week of June 18: Adventures in Nature
- Week of June 25: Adventures in Imagination
Themes for July:
Adventure Begins at Your Library!
- Week of July 2: Puzzles, Scavenger Hunts, and Mysteries
- Week of July 9: Adventures Close to Home
- Week of July 16: Adventures in the Dark
- Week of July 23: Cosmic Adventures
Adventures in STEAM
for Kids and Tweens
Tuesdays at 2:00 pm
For Kids ages 6 – 8 & Tweens ages 9 – 11 and their accompanying adult. Come to the library and participate in an activity that’s about science, technology, engineering, or math!
STEAM CRAFTING FOR JUNE:
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June 11: Mars Landing Adventure – Make new friends as you go on an adventure to Mars where you will discover how a crater is formed, construct a Mars rover, learn about alien genetics, and so much more!
This activity is sponsored by Madison Health. -
June 25: Adventures in Code – For this activity, we will make binary bracelets, play Crack the Code scavenger hunt, and laugh with You Quack Me Up computer jokes.
STEAM CRAFTING FOR JULY:
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July 9: Adventures in the Dark – For this activity, we will make constellation jars and paper plate shooting stars, and go on an inflatable planetarium adventure in the sky.
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July 23: Adventures at Hogwarts – For this activity, we will make golden snitch catapults, troll boogies, and pipe cleaner pets, and play the Hogwarts mysterious joke game.
Summer STEAM from your Library is provided with the support of:
The Idaho Commission for Libraries
Adventures in Lego Club
Tuesdays at 2:00 pm
For Kids ages 6 – 8, Tweens ages 9 – 11, and Teens ages 12 – 18. Anyone under the age of 12 needs to be accompanyied by an adult.
Do you love Legos? Join other kids who love the ever popular bricks at Madison Library District’s amazing LEGO club!
LEGO Club for June:
- June 18: Adventure on Disaster Island
LEGO Club for July:
- July 2: LEGO Scavenger Hunt
- July 16: Adventure in the Wildlife Refuge
Star Party!
Friday, July 8, at 9:00 pm in the Community Room Parking Lot
EVENT CANCELLED DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL
Come out and gaze at the stars! We’ll have our big telescope set up, and Cathy Stanton, former Star Ranger, will be there to take you on a guided tour through the universe.
Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Don’t miss it!
"Accidentally Wes Anderson"
Photo Contest
Entries Accepted October 14 through November 1
For those aged 15 and older
Film director Wes Anderson has a distinctive style that many attempt to mimic. A recent book, Accidentally Wes Anderson, shares views of the best efforts by professional photographers. If all those pros are having such a good time making Wes Anderson fakes, we thought it might be fun for our patrons to do so as well.
Take a look at the style hints found in the adult section display case and take a photo that you think is "Accidentally Wes Anderson," and we'll display them during the month of November.
TO ENTER:
Email your photo to our programming team or leave it at the Circulation Desk by November 1.
Please include your name, library card number, and phone number.
The three photos judged to be closest to Anderson's style will receive a copy of the book.
Children’s
Summer Reading
AGES 0 to 8
See You in 2025!
All participants completed reading challenges at their own pace. We had weekly book club, story times, & craft programs. We decorated the library with images representing all kinds of exciting adventures!
Our 2025 Summer Reading theme will be “Color Our World” and should prove to be just as fun! Watch this page for more details.
Thank You to Our Summer Reading Sponsors
These amazing businesses and organizations donated over $113,000 to make our 2024 Summer Reading possible. We appreciate their support of literacy in our community!
Regular Hours of Operation
- Monday: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
- Tuesday - Wednesday: 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
- Thursday: 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
- Friday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
- Saturday: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Sunday: CLOSED
Closures in 2024
- January 1 – New Year’s Day
- January 15 – Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
- February 19 – Presidents Day
- March 22 – Staff Development Day
- April 6 – Building Maintenance
- May 25-27 – Memorial Day
- June 19 – Juneteenth
- July 4 – Independence Day
- August 31 – September 2 – Labor Day
- September 20 – LCEI Conference
- October 5 – Building Maintenance
- October 31 – Open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
- November 11 – Veterans Day
- November 27 – Closing at 5:00 pm
- November 28-30 – Thanksgiving
- December 24-26 – Christmas
- December 31 – New Year’s Eve
- January 1, 2025 – New Year’s Day
Closures in 2025
- January 1 – New Year’s Day
- January 20 – Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
- February 17 – Presidents Day
- April 5 – Building Maintenance
- May 24-26 – Memorial Day
- June 19 – Juneteenth
- July 4 – Independence Day
- August 30-September 1 – Labor Day
- October 4 – Building Maintenance
- October 31 – Open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
- November 11 – Veterans Day
- November 26 – Closing at 5:00 pm
- November 27-29 – Thanksgiving
- December 24-26 – Christmas
- December 31 – New Year’s Eve
- January 1, 2026 – New Year’s Day
Address
73 North Center
Rexburg, Idaho 83440
We are located on Center Street, just north of Main Street, by the Historic Rexburg Tabernacle.
Contact Us
(208) 356-3461
24 Hour Phone Renewal: (208) 356-6658
askmadisonlibrary@madisonlib.org