#Let's Get Duval Reading!
Mayor Deegan’s River City Readers is a citywide literacy challenge for students of all ages. Participants are asked to read 20 minutes a day and to log their reading in Beanstack, a reading challenge app. Readers are rewarded with digital badges for logging multiple days in a row and for completing other reading-related activities. At the end of the year, the city’s top young readers are given prizes!
Free Digital Resources
There are also several educational games, databases, and homework help resources that you can access online, anytime - all FREE with a library card! Grownups can find tons of kid-friendly and age-appropriate content like e-books, movies, music and TV shows on popular Digital Library apps like Libby, Hoopla and Kanopy. Many even offer a Kids Mode or other parental controls for worry-free browsing. There are also e-book platforms like Tumblebooks that are just for kids (grades K-6)!
Explore the Digital Library! Find Educational Games!
NEW: StoryWalk® Comes to the Emerald Trail
You can find the newest StoryWalk® along the LaVilla Link of the Emerald Trail (near the Butterfly Garden) on Johnson Street, between W. Duval Street and W. Church Streets. If you've never seen one, a StoryWalk® is a series of mounted posts, found on walking trails and in public parks, featuring pages from a children’s picture book.
Presented by Baptist Health, in collaboration with the Library Foundation of Jacksonville and Groundwork Jacksonville, this StoryWalk® features the book Flower Garden by Eve Bunting. In this warm and sunny picture book, follow the progress of a little girl and her father as they put together a wonderful birthday surprise for mom: a window box flower garden.
You can also check it out from the Library or read the e-book on Libby.
Do you live in the Historic Eastside? Check out StoryWalk® at A. Philip Randolph Heritage Park (1096 A. Phillip Randolph Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32206).
Our current book is Round is a Tortilla: A Book of Shapes by Roseanne Greenfield Thong, the award-winning author of Green is a Chili Pepper. A feast for the eyes and a playful lesson in language for young readers, this playful concept book will reinforce the shapes found in every child's day.
Listen to the book as you walk!
Check out the audiobook for free from hoopla Digital. With hoopla, there are no holds and no waiting. All you need is a library card.
This StoryWalk® is presented in collaboration with Jax Parks, Historic Eastside Community Development Corporation, Lift Jax and Read Jax.
#Library Programs
Jacksonville Public Library has everything kids and their families need to make learning fun: from interactive storytimes for families with Little Readers (from birth to age five) to exciting hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities for children ages 5-12.
Early Literacy Programs (birth to age 5)
You want your child to have all the tools they need to start school. Little Readers is the toolbox! We start with a story they'll love, and add music, get everyone up and moving and then we sprinkle in other fun to make it all stick.
Have children with sensory sensitivities? Try Sensory Friendly Storytime. It combines traditional storytime components with supportive elements. Note: We’ve also limited attendance to enhance the experience.
Reading & Hands-On Activities (for ages 5-12)
Check out STEAM & Stories, our newest children's program (for ages 5-12). It's an opportunity for your child to engage with their peers, enjoy a good story, and participate in themed games or crafts.
Your kids can also explore Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) with our other popular homeschool and afterschool programs like Junior Scientists, Junior Artists, Discover Lab, and more!
Looking for programs and services for youth, ages 12-18? Check out our Teens page!
#Activities To Do At Home
Make family time learning time when you bring the library home!
Traveling Tales are a collection of convenient book bundles and activity kits for parents of preschoolers, ages two to five, that you can take home! It's storytime, any time!
To get a Traveling Tales Kit, you'll first need to pick a theme and place a hold. Materials for each theme are contained in a sturdy bag and can be picked up (and returned) at any library location.
Check out recent book recommendations and activities in our Library Academy archives!
Early learning activities (Birth – Age 5) you can do at home or in the Library! Get your child ready to read with books, songs, crafts, and other activities that you can enjoy together.
Activities for Elementary age children (K-5th Grade) that you can do at home or in the Library! Engage with books, e-books, fun crafts, and more while developing key literacy skills along the way.
