Summer Learning 2026: Kitsap Regional Library Charts a New Course

Kitsap Regional Library’s largest annual program is taking a major leap forward. In 2026, the Library’s long-running Summer Learning program will zero in on helping children and teens build their own home libraries by providing free books for keeps.

For 70 years, Kitsap Regional Library has offered Summer Learning—a seasonal program that has evolved to feature events, performances, and reading and learning challenges designed to keep young minds engaged while school is out. The program helps address the “summer slide,” the tendency for students, especially teens, to lose academic progress during the summer months.

Recent research shows that while Washington students continue to outperform national averages, reading outcomes have been declining globally for more than a decade, widening gaps between students who have access to books at home and those who do not. In response, the Library reimagined Summer Learning to center on a simple but powerful idea: increasing access to books.

Summer Learning 2026 tees up a three-month period of out-of-this-world fun and learning beginning June 1 through August 31, with a space theme, and introduces the Kids & Teens: Book Boost, an initiative designed to help every participating child and teen build a personal library. Over the course of the summer, youth can receive up to three free books to keep—one per Library visit. To aid this effort, the Library will give away up to 15,000 books, replacing the smaller reading prizes offered in previous years, thanks to the support of the Kitsap Regional Library Foundation, opens a new window.

Participants of any age can take part in a flexible, self-directed challenge: the All Ages: Read Something, Do Something Challenge. The challenge allows individuals to set their own reading and learning goals. Those who complete their challenge will earn a Summer Learning T-shirt or pin and be entered into an end-of-summer prize drawing.

Summer Learning 2026 will also feature more than 700 events, including free performances, hands-on activities, and themed celebrations designed to engage the community all season long.

In addition, the Library has partnered with the Seattle Storm to help make summer even more of a slam dunk. Each participating youth will receive a ticket voucher—good for two tickets with up to six tickets per household—when they collect their first book in the Kids & Teens Book Boost.

In 2025, more than 9,000 people participated in the Summer Learning reading challenge, and over 5,000 attended Library programs and performances. Library staff hopes to expand that reach in 2026 with a program designed to be accessible, engaging, and impactful—supporting learning while preserving the joy and freedom of summer.

For full program details, event listings, and participation information, visit KRL.org/Summer, opens a new window.