this program provides families with an opportunity to read, grow, and learn together over the summer months.
Parents are encouraged to attend the programs with their children. Children with grandparents, daycare groups, anyone is welcome! Summer is a great time to get to know your library, practice reading, and earn prizes.
Special programming is provided for teens! Register and receive a free ticket to a Southern Illinois Miners Game while supplies last. Registration begins June 11, and continues until program end. Join us anytime!
what counts as reading for prizes? Activities your child can record on their log include:
• Reading books, newspapers, or magazines • Coming to the library programs • Writing a book review and sharing it with us • Writing a movie review and sharing it with us • Reading a story as a family • Listening to an audio book • being read to by an adult, sibling, etc.
If you have any questions, please call the library at 438-7511. we hope to see you this summer!
Calendar of Summer Reading Program Events
June 11 – Registration Begins. Continues throughout the program.
June 13 – Children’s Story Time, 10 a.m. Read books, have a snack, and do a simple activity.
June 14 – Family Picnic, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hot dogs, chips and drinks provided. Potato sack races, duck pond, face-painting, and more in the library’s back yard! Featuring an obstacle course from Inflatable Fun! Please bring lawn chairs and blankets.
June 18 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Game Day, 2 p.m. Teens and tweens welcome to join us for board games and snacks!
June 19 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Death by Chocolate Party, 2 p.m. Kick off the Teen Summer Reading Program with an awesome celebration of chocolate! Chocolate trivia, games, and, of course, food!
June 20 – Children’s Story Time, 10 a.m. Read books, have a snack, and do a simple activity.
June 20 – Book Discussion Club for Adults, Noon. Join us as we discuss "Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death" by M.C. Beaton. all are welcome. Join us even if you haven’t read the book. Feel free to bring your lunch!
June 21 – Juggler Jason Huneke, 10 a.m. not just a juggler, not just a comedian, Jason’s show is fun for the whole family, and a great program for bigger kids and teens. Jason returns after a fabulous show last year where he wowed us by juggling fire on a unicycle!
June 22 – Craft & Activity Time, 2 p.m. Children, families, and groups welcome to make a great take home craft with Master Gardeners Barb Schmidt and Edith Gostowski.
this program provides families with an opportunity to read, grow, and learn together over the summer months. Parents are encouraged to attend the programs with their children. Children with grandparents, daycare groups, anyone is welcome! Summer is a great time to get to know your library, practice reading, and earn prizes. Special programming is provided for teens! Register and receive a free ticket to a Southern Illinois Miners Game while supplies last. Registration begins June 11, and continues until program end. Join us anytime! what counts as reading for prizes? Activities your child can record on their log include: • Reading books, newspapers, or magazines • Coming to the library programs • Writing a book review and sharing it with us • Writing a movie review and sharing it with us • Reading a story as a family • Listening to an audio book • being read to by an adult, sibling, etc. If you have any questions, please call the library at 438-7511. we hope to see you this summer! Calendar of Summer Reading Program Events June 11 – Registration Begins. Continues throughout the program. June 13 – Children’s Story Time, 10 a.m. Read books, have a snack, and do a simple activity. June 14 – Family Picnic, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hot dogs, chips and drinks provided. Potato sack races, duck pond, face-painting, and more in the library’s back yard! Featuring an obstacle course from Inflatable Fun! Please bring lawn chairs and blankets. June 18 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Game Day, 2 p.m. Teens and tweens welcome to join us for board games and snacks! June 19 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Death by Chocolate Party, 2 p.m. Kick off the Teen Summer Reading Program with an awesome celebration of chocolate! Chocolate trivia, games, and, of course, food! June 20 – Children’s Story Time, 10 a.m. Read books, have a snack, and do a simple activity. June 20 – Book Discussion Club for Adults, Noon. Join us as we discuss "Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death" by M.C. Beaton. all are welcome. Join us even if you haven’t read the book. Feel free to bring your lunch! June 21 – Juggler Jason Huneke, 10 a.m. not just a juggler, not just a comedian, Jason’s show is fun for the whole family, and a great program for bigger kids and teens. Jason returns after a fabulous show last year where he wowed us by juggling fire on a unicycle! June 22 – Craft & Activity Time, 2 p.m. Children, families, and groups welcome to make a great take home craft with Master Gardeners Barb Schmidt and Edith Gostowski. June 25 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Book Discussion & Activity, 6 p.m. Teens and tweens welcome to join us as we discuss "the Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. Join us even if you haven’t read the book! We’ll have some food themed fun along with the discussion. June 26 – Teen Summer Reading Program, SIU’s Morris Library/Museum Tour & Castle Park, Leave 1 p.m. We’ll tour Morris Library, the Historical Library and Special Preservation Center, and the University Museum’s exhibit of ethnographic and modern art. Afterwards, we’ll spend some time at Castle Park. Please bring a snack lunch. Registration required. June 27 – Children’s Story Time, 10 a.m. Read books, have a snack, and do a simple activity. June 28 – Pet Show, 10 a.m. Join us in the backyard for this Benton Public Library tradition. Well-behaved pets on leashes or in carriers welcome. Winners receive ribbons. June 28 – Movie Night, 6 p.m. Join us for the family movie "Ratatouille." Remy loves the fine French food of the restaurant where he lives and wants to become a chef, which is a problem since he happens to be a rat. Remy has adventures every day in this funny film about following your dreams. Popcorn provided! Rated G. June 29 – BINGO!, 2 p.m. Children, families, and groups welcome to join us for a game of good old-fashioned Bingo. Win small prizes and have lots of fun! July 3 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Seasoning Bistro on the Square Field Trip, 2 p.m. Meet Chef Troy Ray and staff for a tour, a lesson on how a dish is prepared and some great food! Meet at Seasoning. Please tell Erin if you’re attending. July 4 – Library closed. happy 4th! July 5 – Eatable Science with Science Guy Jason Lindsey, 10 a.m. Have your science and eat it too! Kids prove they eat nails for breakfast by removing iron from their favorite cereal, turn lemons into batteries, and use some of their other favorite food to create some awesome science experiments. July 10 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Cake Decorating with Beth Mandrell, 2 p.m. Learn the basics of cake decorating and eat your mistakes, or even your best work! Cupcakes and other supplies provided. all teens and tweens welcome! July 11 – Children’s Story Time, 10 a.m. Read books, have a snack, and do a simple activity. July 12 – Nature's Nightlife: Nocturnal Animals, 10 a.m. Join the staff of Animal Tales of Mayfield, Ky., as they teach about animals from all over the world that are most active at night: a Rococo Toad, a Brazilian Rainbow Boa, a White-nosed Coatimundi, an American Barn Owl, and an African Crested Porcupine. We’ll get to meet those animals in person, too! July 13 – Craft & Activity Time, 2 p.m. Children, families, and groups welcome to make a great take home craft with Master Gardeners Barb Schmidt and Edith Gostowski. July 16 through 20 – Book Fair, open regular library hours. Shop for great books at nice prices. Proceeds help the library. July 16 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Game Day, 2 p.m. Teens and tweens welcome to join us for board games and snacks! July 17 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Edible Arrangements, 2 p.m. make a centerpiece or other arrangement you can take home and EAT! with Master Gardeners Barb Schmidt and Edith Gostowski. all teens and tweens welcome! July 18 – Children’s Story Time, 10 a.m. Read books, have a snack, and do a simple activity. July 18 – Book Discussion Club for Adults, Noon. Join us as we discuss "like Water for Chocolate: A Novel" by Laura Esquivel. all are welcome. Join us even if you haven’t read the book. Feel free to bring your lunch! July 19 – Story Snacks with Ventriloquist Sandi Sylver, 10 a.m. Join Sandi, her ventriloquist puppets, and her guitar for an interactive mix of songs, stories, poems and fun! July 20 – BINGO!, 2 p.m. Children, families, and groups welcome to join us for a game of good old fashioned Bingo. Win small prizes and have lots of fun! July 23 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Book Discussion & Activity, 6 p.m. Teens and tweens welcome to join us as we discuss "Killer Pizza" by Greg Taylor. Join us even if you haven’t read the book! We’ll have some food themed fun along with the discussion. July 24 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Sushi Crafts, 2 p.m. make sushi from your favorite snacks including Twinkies, Fruit by the Foot, bananas, and more! No raw fish involved. all teens and tweens welcome! July 25 – Children’s Story Time, 10 a.m. Read books, have a snack, and do a simple activity. July 26 – Tales and Scales, 10 a.m. this is highly interactive, jazz-infused telling of the story of "the Frog Who Wanted to be a Singer" through a blend of music, story, theater and creative movement calling musictelling. this will be an outdoor performance, weather permitting. Please bring lawn chairs and blankets. July 31 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Southern Illinois Miners Baseball at Rent One Park. Leaving Benton at 6 p.m. Includes all you can eat hot dog and chips buffet. See Erin for more info. August 1 – Children’s Story Time, 10 a.m. Read books, have a snack, and do a simple activity. August 2 – Chris Egleston’s Reading is Magic Show, 10 a.m. Discover the importance of reading during this show of amazing magic, hilarious comedy, and fun-filled audience participation. August 6 – Teen Summer Reading Program, Backyard Water War & Twister, 2 p.m. Water balloons against opposing teams! Plus play a game of outdoor Twister on the lawn. TEENS and TWEENS only! Loads of fun – you don’t want to miss it! August 7 – Trip to SIU’s Agricultural Center in Carbondale. Families ride the bus with us to visit a working farm and agricultural center to learn about how our food is produced. More information to come. Please join us! Funding for much of these activities was provided by the Penny Severns Summer Family Literacy Grant 2012 as awarded by the Illinois State Library (ISL), a Division of the Office of the Secretary of State. Funding for teen programming was provided by the Young Adult Services Association (YALSA) and the Dollar General Stores Literacy Grant 2012. Some activities provided through private donations.