Programs and Events

Reading Challenges

Enjoy a challenge and love prizes? KFPL has you covered! You'll find classic favourites like the TD Summer Reading Club for children and new challenges linked to library programs, special themes or just for the love of reading! 

Reading challenges are available online through Beanstack—learn more about it here. You can use the desktop version or download the mobile app.

Current KFPL Reading Challenges

Image features the KFPL logo, and an adult sitting on a couch with two kids. The text reads: "1000 Books Before Kindergarten. Read it and Reap!"

1,000 Books Before Kindergarten 

Helping your child to be a successful reader just got more fun thanks to the generous support of The Friends of the Library. 1000 Books Before Kindergarten (1BBK) is a free literacy program for newborns, babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. The goal? Read 1000 books with your little one before they start Kindergarten.

Take KFPL's 1000 Books pledge—and we'll be your cheerleaders. 1BBK can help your little one develop a love of reading, provides you with opportunities to bond, and helps your child develop the early literacy skills they need for success later in life.

1000 Books Before Kindergarten Impact

Your child's learning starts at birth. Did you know:

  • By age three, a child's brain has reached 80 percent of its adult volume.
  • The brain develops most rapidly during the first 1000 days of a child's life.
  • A toddler's brain creates up to two million new connections every second.
  • Early experiences and interactions are key factors in a child's brain development. According to the Canadian Pediatric Society, "early exposure to language—whether through books, words, or songs—can help prevent problems and promote health." (Canadian Paediatric Society, 2016)
  • A child's ability to learn language skills is most significant before age six.
  • Early literacy skills have a lifelong impact on educational, social and occupational successes.
  • Being read to during early childhood is a predictor of school readiness and success.

Does reading 1000 books before your child reaches Kindergarten sound intimidating? You can reach this milestone by establishing a daily reading habit. You can read one book or multiple books each day—it's up to you.

  • Three books a day for one year = 1,095 books
  • One book a day for three years = 1,095 books

How to participate

Use our simple logging tool, Beanstack, to track your reading and earn badges all along the way. 

If you prefer to track your progress using a physical chart, stop by any KFPL branch or use the stay-at-home version you can print and colour yourself. 

We recommend displaying your tracker somewhere in your home that is highly visible! Remember, you can repeat books as many times as you want, and virtual storytimes and audiobooks count, too. You can pick up your free book bag when you're halfway done (500 books)! Once you've finished all 1000 books, you will receive a certificate and prize! 

Ready? Set? Start reading!

Teen Reading Challenge. Image of notebooks, a video game controller, and miscellanous school supplies and art on a yellow background. "Teen Reading Challenge" text overlays the image.

Teen Reading Challenge

September 18, 2023 to June 27, 2024

Read books, complete fun challenges, and get involved with the library. The Teen Reading Challenge is fun, free, and open to anyone aged 13-17 in Kingston and Frontenac County.

Every book you read, review you write or activity you complete enters you for a chance to win a custom book box generously provided by OwlCrate.

You can receive entries just by:

Catch you there!

Illustrated children with text reading TD Summer Reading Club 2024.

Coming soon: TD Summer Reading Club

Register online from June 15 to August 24, log your summer reading and complete activities for entries to win monthly prizes!  

Kids ages 0-12 (yes, even babies!) can participate in the TD SRC anytime, anywhere – at their local library branch, at home, online, on the road or wherever their summer takes them.

The TD Summer Reading Club is for children of all abilities, no matter how they read! On the national TD Summer Reading Club website, you can find SRC notebooks adapted for physical, visual or learning disabilities. The Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) website also has SRC books in accessible formats, such as DAISY audio and braille.