As the weather begins to heat up and schools prepare to end for the year, the Kalona Public Library is gearing up for its summer reading program.

This year’s program is “Level Up With Reading” and is open to readers of all ages. Younger children will have reading logs, while older children and adults will have bingo cards to fill out. All age groups will receive prizes for filling out their respective sheets.

Library Director Olivia Kahler emphasized that Kalona’s program starts later than most, not opening sign up until May 28 and not hosting the program’s kickoff until June 10. She said part of the reason for delaying sign up was so that readers can get their sign up goodie bags at the time of registration rather than needing to come back later.

Kalona’s summer reading program is done through iREAD, a Chicago-based nonprofit that designs reading programs for librarians across the country. Iowa joined the iREAD program in 2021.