The Park County Libraries are dedicated to fostering a love for reading and creativity through engaging programs for children.
Story Times
Story Times at the Park County Libraries feature weekly themes with stories, games, songs, and crafts designed to promote early literacy skills and inspire a love of books and the library. At the Meeteetse Library, which is part of the Meeteetse School, programs are integrated into the school day to support student learning. Click the links below to explore what your library is offering this month for kids!
1000 Books Before Kindergarten
1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a nationwide program designed to promote reading to babies and toddlers while fostering parent-child bonding through books. Reading 1 book a night adds up quickly. 365 books a year equals 1,095 books in just three years!
To participate, visit your library to get a free library card and a tracking sheet for your child (there’s no age restriction for a child’s card). Check out up to 50 books at a time, read together, and track your progress by filling in one circle per book on the sheet. Celebrate milestones with fun incentives along the way!
Kits & Devices
The Park County Libraries offer a variety of fun and educational kits and devices designed especially for young learners.
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Little Elk’s Literacy Kits: Available at all three branches, these kits—made possible by generous grants from The Dorothy Louise Kyler Foundation and The John Henry Eldred Jr. Foundation—include picture books, board books, Wonder Books, educational toys, and songs to promote early literacy and family engagement.
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Tonieboxes: These screen-free audio devices play stories and songs with interactive Tonies characters. Families can check out a Toniebox and up to three characters for a week to spark kids’ imaginations without screens.
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STEAM Kits: Explore science, technology, engineering, art, and math with themed kits.
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Financial Literacy Launchpads: These kid-friendly tablets teach financial skills like earning, saving, and budgeting through engaging games. Available at all library branches, they make learning about money fun and interactive.
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LEGO Kits: Explore creativity and engineering with the LEGO Kits available at the Cody and Powell Libraries. No need to check them out—just sign out the kit on the provided sheet next to the display.​
Teen Programs
The Park County Libraries provide a safe and welcoming space for teens in grades 6-12, offering programs and activities like homework help, crafts, board games, video games, hobby clubs, tech time, Nerf Wars, movies, and more. Nintendo Switch consoles and games are also available for checkout by adult patrons, with a user agreement required. Parents or guardians can check out consoles for their teens.
Click the links below to see the teen programs each library has available this month.
Summer Reading Programs
Each summer, Park County Libraries host exciting Summer Reading Programs to inspire a love of reading and help children, teens, and adults maintain their language skills. These programs, tailored to each library’s community, share a common annual theme and include fun incentives and special guest events.
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Summer Reading Programs are part of a nationwide effort embraced by 95% of libraries to combat the “summer slide,” where reading achievement can decline during school breaks.
At the Cody Library, the program incorporates the “KINDNESS ROCKS” initiative, where readers of all ages earn tickets to allocate funds to community kindness projects, making a meaningful impact while fostering a love of reading!
Homeschool Hours
Homeschool Hour at the Park County Libraries offers a welcoming space for homeschool families to connect and learn together. Children are grouped by age for engaging storytime sessions and literary activities, while parents have the opportunity to network and share ideas with one another.
StoryWalks®
Park County Libraries proudly host permanent outdoor StoryWalks® in Cody and Powell. Each StoryWalk® features 18 signposts displaying pages from a story that changes periodically to keep the experience fresh and engaging.
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The Cody StoryWalk®, located on the pathways outside the Children’s Library, and the Powell StoryWalk®, situated at Homesteader Park, combine literacy, physical activity, and nature in a fun and interactive format.
The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT, and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.