Off the Shelf: Unearth a Story at Summer Reading 2026
By Angela Spatafore on June 03, 2026 from Off the Shelf
Summer reading is right around the corner!
For us, this time is always the busiest season of the year, and we expect this year to be no different.
This year’s theme is Unearth a Story, so we are celebrating with all things related to paleontology, geology, history, and more.
Pre-registration for Unearth a Story begins Monday, June 8, and the challenge runs from June 13 through July 25.
Anyone of any age can participate!
We’ll have something for everyone.
You can join the fun over on the Beanstack website (bplwv.beanstack.org) or Beanstack Tracker app.
This is where we host all our reading challenges throughout the year.
Beanstack makes it easy to log your minutes, complete activities, and write book reviews—all of which earns you a ticket you can put to any one of our available prize options.
Our prizes this year include a Kobo Clara Colour e-reader, a metal detector, a dinosaur plush crocheted by on our patrons, Kelly Lightner, and tons of prizes chosen with kids and teens in mind!
If you would rather get offline this summer, we will have a paper version of the same challenge available at the library’s Help Desk.
Because the challenge is identical whether digital or paper, we ask that you choose one option or the other carefully.
All badges can only be earned once per reader, so you will not be able to switch to the other version once you begin tracking your progress. This way, the challenge is fair to all our readers!
Unearth a Story will officially kick off on Saturday, June 13 at our Summer Reading Kickoff Party.
The fun starts for children aged 0-6 with our Saturday Stories story time at 10 a.m., followed by fun activities for the whole family from 11 a.m through 1 p.m.
We have activities scattered throughout the library and in the back parking lot by the garden.
These activities include a refreshment table with dirt pudding, popsicles, chips, and drinks, a rock painting area, a game station with games like Jenga and more, and a 3D pen activity in the Makerspace.
At 1 p.m., we will move to the Event Space for a chance to meet a real paleontologist and watch a fossil show.
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Due to space constraints in the Event Space, registration is required for the Fossil Show: https://www.bplwv.org/event/16572257
As in past years, we will have summer reading bags available.
In each bag, you will find goodies like stickers, special dinosaur-themed trading cards, bookmarks, event brochures, and a squish toy of our Unearth a Story mascot, Digby.
Bags will be available on Saturday, June 13 and will remain available while supplies last.
We expect these bags to go fast this year, so make sure you pick yours up!
We have tons of fun activities and events coming up for Unearth a Story, and I can’t wait to write about them over the next several weeks.
Mark your calendars for Monday if you plan on participating on Beanstack!
Otherwise, I hope you will join all the fun this summer sometime between June 13 through July 15.
