Summer Reading Program
The Summer Reading Program is offered every year in June. Designed to encourage a love of reading.
Earn tickets each week for the prize drawing and have FUN! Open to all ages.
Summer Reading Program 2025 has a theme of "Level Up at Your Library".
Registration begins May 27th.
Printable Registration and Events Flyer available here.
Prizes & ticket information:
Winning prizes is easy. All you have to do is participate. Earn a ticket for the prize drawings just by registering for the
Summer Reading Program. Earn another ticket for every program you attend. Turning in a reading log every week earns you tickets, too.
The Art Show will be during Summer Reading Program. Earn multiple tickets for the prizes when you enter.
Get more Art Show details here.
Place your tickets in the canister for the prize you want to win. Prizes will be on display with their ticket canister. It’s just that easy!
All tickets must be in by Wednesday, June 25th. Must be present at Finale to win prizes.
The Lineup of Events:
Tuesday, May 27th from 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Drop-In Registration Event
Stop into the library to get signed up for the Summer Reading Program. While you are here, you'll get to decorate your canvas book tote.
Wednesday, June 4th at 10:00 a.m.
Stuffed Animal Sleepover
Bring your stuffed animal friend to Pages & Play Club. They will get to stay the night at the library and share some fun activities.
Be sure to check our Facebook page for pictures! Pick up your friend on Thursday.
Wednesday, June 4th at 5:30 p.m.
Author Michelle Cowan
When Michelle Cowan’s husband dies in a sudden crash, she is forced to figure out how to move forward with a grieving teenage daughter. This would require them to walk a path that was a foreign passageway to most and welcomed by none. Both would come to experience the brutality of a political system and an industry that levels immeasurable destruction and heartache. At the same time, they would encounter unexpected kindnesses, support, and the sheer goodness of others.
Michelle takes the reader on a journey of love and loss, power and influence, courage and honor, and, finally, deep brokenness bringing the chance for a new normal, a time of restoration and living with permission granted. The loss of Joe was incalculable to Michelle, AJ, and all who loved him. Michelle found that loss met time and again by Joe’s love, a love that was forever near her and palpable from across the sacred veil.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.
Thursday, June 5th at 2:00 p.m.
Pokemon Party
Have fun with crafts and activities. Make your own Pokemon out of Perler Beads.
Wednesday, June 11th at 9:00 a.m.
Creature Feature with Fontana Park
Join us to learn about an animal who will be staying with us for the month of June. 
Wednesday, June 11th at 10:00 a.m.
Read with Local Law Enforcement
Listen to stories read by some of your local heroes! Oelwein Police & Fire Departments will be here.
Thursday, June 12th at 2:00 p.m.
LEGO Derby 
Build your race car and race your car against your friends. LEGO free build after the Derby
Saturday, June 14th at 10:00 a.m.
MUSH! with Noggin the Sled Dog (and her human)
Have you ever wondered… What does it feel like to ride the runners behind a team of dogs, steering a loaded sled through mountainous terrain, crossing the vast Alaskan tundra, hugging the shoreline of the great Bering Sea? What does it take to care for a team of Alaskan huskies? Could my dog be a sled dog, too?
2025 is the 100th Anniversary of the 1925 Diphtheria Epidemic Serum Run! Remember Balto and Togo and the many heroic huskies and mushers who carried life-saving
anti-toxin to the town of Nome, Alaska? Want to learn more?
Musher, Karen Land, will cover these subjects and more when she and Noggin, the Alaskan husky, visit Oelwein Public Library.
Land is a writer, public speaker, and three-time participant in the 1000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race as well as many other sprint and endurance races in Alaska, Canada, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Maine. Since 2000, Land has traveled to nearly every state with her dog sled, mushing gear, Arctic clothing, and beloved dogs, giving over a thousand school and public library presentations. This program is sponsored by a generous patron.
Tuesday, June 17th at 6:00 p.m.
Tree Wall Art
Make your own Tree Wall Art using discarded puzzle pieces. All materials supplied. Supplies are limited. Please sign up at the desk.
Thursday, June 19th at 2:00 p.m.
Absolute Science Butterfly Tents
Get up close and personal with an opportunity to feed butterflies, and learn about the butterfly's life cycle.
This program is Sponsored by The Friends of the Library.
Tuesday, June 24th at 6:00 p.m.
Mini Book Necklaces
Pick a cover of a favorite book and craft your own necklace. Materials supplied. We have a sheet of book covers to choose from.
If you would like a specific cover, please talk to Katie S. no later than Monday, June 16th.
Thursday, June 26th at 5:00 p.m.
Summer Reading Program Finale Picnic
Join us for Fun, Food and Prizes! Pizza courtesy of Casey's
The Oelwein Public Library would like to thank Kim for the dolls, Casey's, Iowa Cubs Baseball, The Blank Park Zoo, OCAD, and all
who participated in this year's Summer Reading Program.
