Join York County Library's "Unearth A Story" 2026 Summer Learning Challenge, June 1 through July 31! Readers of all ages can enter grand prize drawings, earn reading incentives, and attend free events. Participating is simple!
How the Challenge Works
Sign up online through our fun, interactive Beanstack website, the Beanstack app, or at any York County Library location or the Bookmobile. Once the challenge begins, track your progress online or with a printed reading log, available to pick up or download. You'll earn a prize* when you complete your reading goal:
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Infants & Toddlers Ages 3 & Under: Read 10 books (download reading log)
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Children Ages 3–11: Read 10 hours (download reading log)
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Teens Ages 11–18 & Adults Ages 18+: Read 15 hours (download reading log)
Each time you complete the Challenge, you’ll be entered in the Grand Prize Drawing — up to 5 entries!! New to the Summer Learning Challenge? Watch our video preview and read more below to get started today!
#YCLReads2026
We want to hear all the fun you're having during the Summer Learning Challenge! Tag us on Facebook (yorkcountylibrary) with the hashtag #YCLReads2026.
Prizes & Drawings
Registration Rewards
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Infants & Toddlers: York County Library magnetic picture frame
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Children: Summer Learning Challenge 2026 Brag Tag
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Teens: Lanyard and button
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Adults: York County Library jar opener
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Completion Prizes
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Infants & Toddlers: Reading certificate, board book, and bath toy
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Children: Reading medal and certificate, free ticket to a Charlotte Hornets game,** coupons from community businesses, and a choice between a Dino Bubble Chomper, Dino Building Blocks, Volcano Science Kit, or a book
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Teens: $5 gift card to a local business of your choice, free ticket to a Charlotte Hornets game,** button, and coupons for a free kids cup or cake cone from Whit's Custard, a one-hour unlimited play game card from Stars and Strikes, and a free bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cakes
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Adults: York County Library beach towel
Grand Prizes
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Infants & Toddlers: $50 Books-A-Million gift card, "Unearth a Story" pail, shovel, dinosaur squishy and browsing bag
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Children: $50 Books-A-Million gift card, Mini Blocks T-Rex, "Unearth a Story" pencil, notepad, dinosaur squishy and drawstring sports bag
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Teens: $100 gift card to a local business of your choice (exclusions apply)
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Adults: $100 Books-A-Million gift card
*Prizes and rewards may be substituted as necessary and are available only while supplies last. Prizes are awarded only for the first Challenge completion. All reading time must be logged into Beanstack to receive each entry for the Grand Prize Drawing.
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**To receive your free Charlotte Hornets game ticket, you must complete the children's or teen challenge by July 31 and give consent to share your name and email address with the Charlotte Hornets. Consent may be given directly to a staff member or by completing the activity badge in Beanstack. Tickets will be emailed in September for games played in October and November.
Children's Summer Performances
All performances are free, but space for in-person events is limited. Please see our Events Calendar for times, locations, and registration requirements for the featured performances below.
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June 2–5: Cirque du Todd: Cirque du Todd combines juggling, circus skills, a little magic, and just the right mix of comedy and reading encouragement for everyone
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June 9–12: Lew-E's Comedy Circus: Lew-E's Comedy Circus includes empowering audience participation, silly comedy magic, high-energy juggling, toe-tapping music, and so much more!
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June 15–18: Pantasia Steel Band: Join us for a delightful experience filled with family-friendly, educational, and festive island entertainment. Pantasia holds the title of the longest-running and highest-ranked professional steel band in the Southeast. Be sure not to miss this vibrant Caribbean and beach music ensemble!
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June 23–26: The Magic of John Tudor: John Tudor creates a whimsical and enlightening adventure that whisks the audience away into a spellbinding world of magic, all tied to the tales lining the library shelves, sparking a fervor to read, read, and read some more!
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July 7-10: Ed's Dinosaurs Live: Ed's Dinosaurs Live combines education and fun in an interactive show where the dinosaurs come to life.
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July 14-17: Porkchop Productions presents Dinosaur, Dinosaur Wolf!: Join Porkchop Productions for this wildly modern reimagining of the classic fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf—but with a few more teeth, scales, and attitude! Colorful characters, big laughs, and a heartfelt message remind us that honesty is the best policy, instead of having to dig for the truth!
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July 21–24: Diggery's Dinosaur Adventure: When Paleontologist Diggery discovers a "top secret" box, he accidentally unleashes the DinoSauroScope 3000, taking the audience back in time to interact with dinosaurs. Using animated characters, beautiful puppets, and dinosaur bones, only you can help solve the puzzle and save the world!​​
Friends • Leaderboards • Streaks • Achievements
Friends: You can add friends and family and challenge them to see who can read the most! Friends can view each other's reading logs, challenge histories, and badges, and compete on leaderboards. Just use the Beanstack mobile app or web version to get your unique friend code and get started. Here is a quick video tutorial for friends and leaderboards.
Leaderboards: Compete with friends on leaderboards and see who has read the most during the past week or month. Leaderboards display the top 25 readers, and the top three readers will see gold, silver, and bronze medals next to their names!
Streaks: Track and grow your daily reading to maintain reading streaks. Each consecutive day you log reading — whether it's minutes, pages, books, or days — adds a day to your streak. There is no minimum; even 5 minutes a day helps keep a streak alive! You can also view your friends' streaks.
Achievements: Motivate yourself to read with surprise badge rewards for certain reading actions, like logging your first book, completing your first challenge, adding your tenth friend, maintaining a lengthy reading streak, or reading on special days or holidays. The more days you log your reading, the higher your chances of garnering achievements!
How to Log Reading
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Use our Beanstack website to create an account, log in, and track reading goals for you and your family. If you have registered for a previous reading challenge, simply sign in to begin. See the Beanstack FAQ or Help Center for help, or ask a staff member if you need assistance with resetting your password.
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The Beanstack Tracker App, available for both Android and Apple devices, features a handy reading timer that automatically logs your time for you, or for multiple people at the same time. When setting up the app, make sure to select York County Library (SC).
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Beanstack Tracker: Alexa Skill
If you have an Amazon Alexa-enabled device, use the Beanstack Tracker: Alexa Skill to log your reading. Enable this Skill by saying "Alexa, enable Beanstack Tracker" or search for "Beanstack Tracker" on the Alexa Skill Store. Please note that to use this Alexa Skill, you must first have a Beanstack account.
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If you are unable to use Beanstack or need help to register or log time, call or visit your local library location.
The Summer Learning Challenge is sponsored by
Thanks to Our Contributors
