Check out our current Youth Beanstack Challenges!

1000 Books Before Kindergarten

This challenge promotes early literacy skills for children from birth to age six and encourages parent and child bonding through reading. Reading helps build social and emotional skills, sparks creativity and imagination, and helps kids do well overall in school. It doesn't matter if your child is three, or just three months - there's no better time to start than now!  Take that motivation, open one book, and get started. And remember, 1000 is just a number. The goal is to work reading aloud into your regular routine, and let the magic of stories do the rest.  This is an ongoing challenge with no end date, and readers can participate in this challenge at the same time as other challenges. Parents, don’t forget to pick up your welcome packet at the library.

500 Books Before Middle School

Kids ages 5-11, are you up to the challenge? Read 500 books before middle school! Log your reading to earn badges along the way. Every 100 books you read earns you a pin-on button! This is an ongoing challenge with no end date, and readers can participate in this challenge at the same time as other challenges.

100 Books Before Graduation

Teens and pre-teens ages 11-19, read 100 books before graduating, log your reading in Beanstack, and earn a new set of badges, as well as a pin-on button at 50 and 100 books! This is an ongoing challenge with no end date, and readers can participate in this challenge at the same time as other challenges.

Reading Dragons will return Fall 2025

Reading Dragons: This challenge is open to kids ages 5-17 and will run from September 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026. Here there be dragons! Join us for our Reading Dragons challenge and earn your own magical menagerie! Earn a family of mythical creature cards for each week you read. A family includes 4 cards featuring the egg, baby, teen, and adult of the creature. Each 30 minutes of reading will earn you a creature card, earning up to 1 family of cards per week. Collect the featured weekly card set or choose from a selection of other available cards. After you earn your digital creature cards, stop by the library to pick up the physical cards. Use the cards to play your own card games!