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Virtual 2021 Summer Reading Program
Let reading Color Your World this summer, during the Summer Reading Program! San Diego residents of all ages are encouraged to sign up for this virtual event to be creative, try new things, explore art, and find beauty in diversity. Complete a combination of 10 books, hours of reading or activities to claim your prizes. Sign up begins June 1st and the program will last through August 31st. Read a book and color your world!
Program Details
- Participants can log books, hours, and activities online by clicking here or by completing the paper log linked above. Print from home or stop by any San Diego Public Library offering services to pick up your reading log.
- Prizes are available for pickup starting June 8th at any of our open library locations.
- Prizes given while supplies last.
Raffel Drawing Prizes (Two winners will be selected for the following age categories)
- Babies/Toddlers (0-2) - $100 Gift Card to Lakeshore Learning
- Prereaders (3-5) – Kaplan Little Scholar Tablet
- Children (6-11) - 10.2” iPad
- Teen (12-17) – 10.2” iPad
- Adult (18+) – 10.2” iPad
Raffle Prizes were generously donated by the Friends of the San Diego Public Library. Winners will be contacted the week of September 13th.
Library Foundation Community Read-A-Thon
Join us in a community goal to complete 250,000 learning experiences by the end of August. Learning experiences include reading and completing the library’s literacy-based activities. The San Diego Public Library Foundation will donate $10K to support library youth programming. All you need to do is sign up for the Summer Reading Program and log your summer learning activities and they will automatically count towards the Read-A-Thon.
261,188
Books/Hours/Activities completed as of 9/01/2021
Community Goal Completed!
Summer Special Events
Thursday, July 1st, 2021 @ 3:30 p.m. | Register Here
Craig Newton celebrates the colors of music with songs about colors and demonstrates the unique colors of sound from 10 different instruments: guitar, banjo, flutes, clarinet, trombone, drum, and more. Sing along, clap along, and dance along with Craig in this fun-filled program that highlights the creativity and wonderful differences in music in our world. No registration necessary, just jump on our SDPL Virtual Hub Facebook Group at 3:30 p.m. on July 1st and prepare to have fun while learning about music and instruments.
Thursday, July 8th, 2021 @ 3:30 p.m. | Register Here
Join juggler extraordinaire Michael Rayner for a combination of hilarious tricks and stunts with uproarious stand-up and a bounty of improvised fun. Some of his tricks include balancing a wheelbarrow on his chin, spinning a cheeseburger on a parasol, and juggling various surprising objects!
Thursday, July 15th, 2021 @ 4:00 p.m. | Register Here
Join us for another Spectacular Arty Loon Show for some awesome virtual fun! Learn some Magic tricks to fool your friends with household items. Witness a classic illusion of making a person float. Play Arty’s funtastic games to win yourself an official Arty Loon Show Magic Kit! Plus much much more. Don’t miss out! Have the whole family join Arty for the Party!
Thursday, July 22nd, 2021 @ 3:30 p.m. | Register Here
Join Rachel Martin for a colorful collection of international stories and fun! Hear Rebecca tell wonderful stories from India, Ireland, West Africa and China. Go on an adventure around the world through story and song, and meet inspiring characters who will spark your imagination and awaken the child within everyone.
Thursday, July 29th, 2021 @ 3:30 p.m. | Register Here
Join the Fleet Science Center for this Summer Reading Program: Reading Colors Your World Special Event. Shoot for the stars in a virtual planetarium show! We'll discover objects in our night sky as we talk about constellations and their stories as well as some of our neighboring planets!
Thursday, August 5th, 2021 @ 3:30 p.m. | Register Here
Join us for some toe-tapping, hand-clapping, ear-jamming kids songs from local band Hullabaloo! This 30-minute virtual concert is sure to entertain the whole family.
Thursday, August 12th, 2021 @ 3:30 p.m. | Register Here
Take a walk on the wild side with Wild Wonders! Celebrate our Summer Reading theme, "Color Your World" by joining our virtual safari and discovering the animals of the Emerald Forest. You'll meet AJ the Amazon parrot, Lola the green iguana, and Holly Jolly the dwarf screaming hairy armadillo, just to name a few. Register today and prepared to be amazed!
Thursday, August 19th, 2021 @ 3:30 p.m. | Register Here
Award winning singer/songwriter, Katie Brady, creates playful, educational, and interactive music for children. She interweaves songs kids know and love with original ones that not only entertain but also help develop early academic skills and concepts. Please come join us for a movin’ and groovin’ good time!
Thursday, August 26th, 2021 @ 3:30 p.m. | Register Here
Explore the beauty in colors and patterns of the animal world through this immersive and interactive Zovargo animal program! Rediscover the diversity of nature and learn how you can help protect the world we all call home.
Reading Log Activity Descriptions
Activities for Ages 0 - 5
- Attend a Virtual Storytime through SDPL Virtual Hub - Miss your library's storytime? Attend a virtual storytime with one of our neighborhood librarians.
- Sign up for 1000 Books Before Kindergarten - Sign up today online or get a paper log from a library location offering services. Your child will receive a lanyard with a library card holder for reading 25 books and a special Smart Stripe badge to hang on it for every 100 books you complete!
- Count With Your Little One - Count with your little one! Go on a walk in your neighborhood or out in nature. Look for and identify as many shapes as you can find. Count how many you find as you walk
- Make Today a Rhyming Day - Use rhyme whenever you can all day long! Use phrases like ‘snug as a bug in a rug’ or make up rhymes about things you’re doing – for example, ‘putting fish in the cat’s dish’ or 'let's crawl over on the floor to shut the bedroom door'.
- Sing with Scarves - Little ones love playing with scarves! If you have a lightweight scarf laying around or a light material you can use as a scarf.
- Color Scavenger Hunt - Go on a color scavenger hunt. Make a card with different colors on it and take it out on a walk or inside your home. Have your little one cross off each color as they identify something of that color.
- Fun with Boxes - Empty boxes encourage creativity and thinking skills. Children can decide how to change the box into something they can use for pretend play, like a castle or a cave! Then they can use their imagination and problem-solving skills to turn ideas into reality. Mobile infants can crawl through large boxes or stack smaller ones.
- Make a Family Photo Book - Make a family photo album. Place photos into a small album. Infants will enjoy seeing and learning to name/identify mommy, daddy, big brother/sister, grandparents, and the family pet!
- Read a Wordless Book - Wordless Books are great because you can have a new story time every time you read them! Look at and talk about the pictures, make up a story. Find a wordless book at your local library to check out.
- Fun with Flashlights - Using flashlights with older babies and toddlers is a fun sensory activity. Sensory activities build cognitive skills. In addition, babies will learn to visually track the light. Visual tracking is a skill children will use when they have to follow words on a page!
Activities for Ages 6 – Adult
- Listen to an Audiobook - Audiobooks on CDs can be checked out from the library and can also be checked from our eLibrary as well.
- Attend a Virtual Summer Reading Event - Attend a Summer Reading Event. Whether you're interested in crafts, music, or magic we have something fun and free planned for you!
- Make a Scavenger Hunt - Make a scavenger hunt for a friend or family member. Make clues using words or pictures that lead to certain places in the house and have a prize hidden at the end.
- Read a Graphic Novel or Comic Book - Graphic Novels and Comic Books are a great choice for your summer reading list! Find a title today at your local library offering services or through our eLibrary.
- Read and Cook up a Treat - Who's hungry? Read a few recipes either online or from a cookbook. Then make the one that sounds the most delicious to you! Cooking with kids? Check out weelicious.com for 20 easy recipes to make with children.
- Read and Watch - Is there a movie based on a book you read this summer? Watch the movie and write down the 3 biggest differences from the book.
- Read to a Friend - Read aloud a story to a friend, family member, a pet, or a stuffed animal!
- Send a Letter - Everyone loves getting mail! Write a note to someone you care about and mail or hand deliver it. Not writing yet? Draw a picture!
- Read and Write a Poem - Read a poem from a book of poetry. If you don't have a poetry book, you can check one out from the library or find a poem online. Then practice writing one of your own.
- Tell a Story - Tell a story to someone that you made up OR retell a story that someone told to you. For more information about the history of storytelling, check out the National Geographic website.
Reading Recommendations
Babies
Elementary and Middle Grades
Adult
Preschool & Early Elementary
Teen
Reading Resources
Looking for books to read at home? Visit the eLibrary to view all of our options! Our CloudLibrary app, which can be downloaded to your phone or tablet, is a great place to start! Have your San Diego Public Library card handy, which begins with the digits 01336. Don't have a library card? Apply for a card here and use your temporary card number and password to login and access eLibrary.
And remember, all reading counts! For example, listening to audiobooks and watching story times online are great ways to complete your reading log.
A literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks with related nonfiction eBooks from Scholastic to build a love of reading and learning.
cloudLibrary allows you to borrow and read a wide array of eBooks from the San Diego Public Library for free.
Video Tutorials: Navigating cloudLibrary | Mobile cloudLibrary
SimplyE app: Video Tutorial
SimplyE available from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
You have unlimited, simultaneous access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, annd manga through Compics Plus- including popular titles like Avatar: the Last Airbender; Bone; The Boys; B.P.R.D; Disney Decendants; Locke & Key; Peanuts; Stranger Things; They Called Us Enemy.
Video Tutorial: Navigating Comics Plus
Find fiction titles for classroom use or reading including picture books; children's chapter books; and young adult titles.
Guide to suggested reading for all ages with reviews and other features.
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For other questions or concerns, call 619-236-5800 or email weblibrary@sandiego.gov