SUMMER FUN & READING CHALLENGE 2026

Countdown to Summer Fun 2026

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Summer Fun & Reading Challenge at the New Orleans Public Library

How to Participate:

1. There are three ways to sign up: Visit your neighborhood Library, register online at nolalibrary.beanstack.org, or use the app (instructions below). No matter how you register, don’t forget to pick up your registration prize, starting June 1, at your neighborhood Library. 

2. Read, complete activities, and log your progress either online, in-app, or on paper. All reading counts: books, audiobooks, being read to, etc.

3. Complete blackout bingo – read 800 minutes and complete four activities (one from each list) – then visit your Library for the completion prize, while supplies last. The last day for completion and picking up prizes is July 31. 

Download Bingo Card and Reading Tracker

Download the New Orleans Public Library's 2025 Summer Fun and Reading Challenge tracker.
Download the New Orleans Public Library's 2025 Summer Fun and Reading Challenge tracker.

Descargue su Cartón del Bingo y Registro de Lectura

Feeling Snacky?

We’re offering free snacks for youth age 18 and under, courtesy of Second Harvest Food Bank. Snacks are available Monday – Thursday. Mid-City Library offers snacks 3pm – 4pm, and Central City Library offers snacks 4pm – 5pm.

Summer Events at the Library

Don’t miss the Library’s free summer programs for every age, from children to adults. From The Magical Poodles Show to Stop Motion Animation, we are especially delighted to host a full lineup of workshops and performers for kids, tweens, and teens.

Dogs and their handler perform in SUMMER FUN program The Magical Poodles Show.
Two performers in the Crescent Circus Magic Show.
Decorate your hand with Henna at the Art of Henna / Mehndi By Mehwish event.
Urban beekeeper Carl Harrison holds up part of the hive with honeycomb and bees on it.
A dog leaps through a hoop in SUMMER FUN program The Magical Poodles Show.
Storyteller Mama Saba stands in front of a Live Oak Tree.
A person holds out their hands during the process of applying henna.

Why Participate in the Summer Fun & Reading Challenge?

Libraries across the country host summer reading programs to encourage reading as a lifelong habit, maintain reading skills that children and teens have achieved throughout the school year, and increase interest in libraries. Also, it’s just plain fun.

Beanstack App Instructions

Click image to enlarge.
Summer Fun & Reading Challenge at the New Orleans Public Library

Summer Fun & Reading Challenge 2025 Completion Prize 

All children, teens, and adults that complete all nine squares of their blackout bingo cards will win a limited-edition tote bag by local artist Sean G. Clark.

Win this limited edition New Orleans Public Library tote bag by completing the Summer Fun and Reading Challenge 2025.

Sean Gerard Clark is a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee who has lived and worked in New Orleans for over a decade. Sean has completed multiple artist residencies which include the Joan Mitchell Center, The Santa Fe Art Institute, and Stoveworks. Sean recently received his MFA from Tulane University and is currently an instructor in painting, drawing, and printmaking at Dillard University.

 

Upcoming Events at the Library

Friends of the New Orleans Public Library logo.
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, Inc.
New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund logo
Raising Cane's Logo