
We Read Activities: Summer 2023
The Madison Public Library wants to inspire youth to read and engage in cool programs this summer. WE READ is our invitation to your family, to check out all of the free activities and resources your library provides and to join in the summer fun!
We Read is made possible thanks to support from Ascendium Education Group, Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation, Madison Public Library Foundation, Dick Goldberg & Lisa Munro, and David Wood & Jane Doughty.
We Read Card Game: NEW THIS YEAR! Pick up your deck of We Read cards at any Madison Public Library location or the Dream Bus starting June 8. The deck includes four types of cards:
- Connect Cards suggest an activity that focuses on reading + relationships.
- Challenge Cards offer an activity that will take a little more time and effort.
- Share Cards ask you to tell the library about your reading adventures.
Prize Cards are what you get when you complete one of the three action cards listed above. Some cards (the ones with the little orange star) also have the option for kids to come into the library to pick up a prize in-person from one of our library locations!
- Bubbler in the Neighborhood: Madison Public Library is excited to host this successful program for a second year. Each Madison Public Library has been partnered with a Bubbler community artist for the summer. Each artist will plan art and making programs at their library from June-August geared toward kids and families. Bubbler artists will also be attending community events in each neighborhood to provide support and fun activities. See which artist will be at your location and stop in this summer to engage with them!
We Read Youth Voices Writer's Contest: Madison Public Library, Forward Madison, and the Wisconsin Book Festival partnered to host the We Read Youth Voices Writing Contest once again this year. Over 140 aspiring writers aged 18 and under submitted short stories, poems, songs, etc. around the theme Moving Forward - Together between April 3-June 30, 2023. Selected winners and finalists will be published in the second edition of the We Read Youth Voices Anthology in the fall. Head over to madpl.org/youthvoices to learn more about the contest and visit madpl.org/youthvoicesanthology to read and listen to past stories.
The contest is sponsored by the Madison Public Library Foundation.
See the list of events and programs you can participate in over the next 30 days below (additional programs are available on madpl.org/calendar):
What is We Read?
We Read is a year-round, all-ages, community wide celebration of reading what you want to read. Reading with our ears, reading together, reading outside, reading on an e-reader - it's all reading! Throughout the year we offer opportunities to celebrate reading with passive and active programs in our libraries and out in the community. See below for upcoming We Read Activities.
Be sure to join in the fun with what you're reading and how you're reading using the hashtag #WeReadMadison and tagging @MadisonPublicLibrary on Instagram and Facebook or @MadisonLibrary on Twitter. Plus, we've got a great selection of book lists that cover lots of genres and topics. Check them out now!
We Read is funded by Madison Public Library Foundation, Ascendium Education Group, Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation, Dick Goldberg & Lisa Munro and Jane Doughty and David Wood.
Apply for a Library Card
You can apply for a card or manage your Library account in-person at any of our physical locations, including the Dream Bus. Library cards give you access to the Wisconsin Digital Library, ebooks, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, books and more!
If you don't already have a valid library card, you can apply for one online. There are two card options: Individual and Organizational.