It's time for Winter Reading!
Dec 15, 2025 - Feb 28, 2026
For kids, teens, and adults
Ready to sign up or log in? Head to our Beanstack site.
New to Winter Reading? Here's how it works:
Log your reading during winter and other fun activities from your computer, tablet, or mobile device. You do not need a Barrington Area Library card to sign up!
1. Create an account at balibrary.org/winter.
2. Sign up for 2025 Winter Reading.
3. Add to your log. Earn points and badges by logging your reading, reviewing, and activities. There are different activities depending on your age group.
4. Claim your prizes. Visit BALibrary to collect your badges and prizes!
Everyone who participates gets a Library lanyard and Winter Reading badges!
Read and win!
Pre-Readers (Birth-Preschool) and Readers (Grades K-8):
Read 500 minutes and complete fun activities to collect real and digital badges, earn points, take home a free book, and earn a coupon for a free Bundtini from Nothing Bundt Cakes in Kildeer.
Keep reading and logging activities to earn tickets. Tickets can be used to enter drawings all winter long for: another free book, Chicago Wolves ticket vouchers, and Chicago Wolves prize packs.
Grand Prize Drawings will happen at the end of the winter. Use your tickets you earn along the way for a chance to win: Free Blue Block play session, Minecraft pack, Fujifilm Instax Mini SE Instant Camera, BALibrary Fun pack, Family Read Pack and more!
Family Winter Read
Our Family Winter Read this year is Willow's Woods: Sam Squirrel. Read it by yourself or with others, complete activities, and earn the Family Winter Read badge!
Sam Squirrel teams up with Mother Nature’s granddaughter Willow to find a way to end winter so spring can truly begin!
Stop by the Youth Services desk or sign up online to get started! If you have any questions, we are happy to help in person, online, or over the phone. Happy Reading!
Happy October! We thought we'd celebrate the month by doing another virtual escape room. In this virtual room, you and your friends are out trick-or-treating on Halloween night when you get trapped in a haunted house and must escape before the night is up!
The escape room is designed for grades 3-8, but adults and kids of all ages can enjoy it together!
Click here to access the room. Happy escaping!
Click here to access the answer key.
If you are looking for our other escape rooms, please find them linked below:
It's June! Which mean it's time for Summer Reading at the Barrington Area Library! You can sign up and start earning prizes now to August 19th. Find more information about the entire program here.
Everyone in the family can join and yes, we mean everyone! You do not need to live in Barrington or have a Barrington Area Library card to join the program. Adults, kids, and babies of any age are welcome to join. Sign your newborn, toddler, preschooler, grade schooler, middle schooler, high schooler, or even grandma and grandpa up. Stop by the Youth Services desk to get signed up or start your account on Beanstack!
Once you get reading, you and the family can earn the following prizes:
Birth to Grade 8 Prizes:
- 250 points: voucher for two tickets to a Kane County Cougars game of your choice!
- 500 points: coupon for a free ice cream cone from Bear Family Restaurant McDonald's and a free book!
- 750 points: a pass for one free skate at Xtreme Wheels in Crystal Lake!
- 1,000 points: coupon for free ice cream from Oberweis in Lake Zurich!
- 1,500 points: a free entree, fry, and shake from Epic Burger in Barrington!
Young Adult and Adult Prizes:
- 500 points: coupon for a free ice cream cone from Bear Family Restaurant McDonald's!
- 1,000 points: coupon for free ice cream from Oberweis in Lake Zurich!
- 1,500 points: coupon for a free entree, fry, and shake from Epic Burger in Barrington!
Happy Reading!
The 2026 Illinois Reader's Choice Award Books are here! Stop by and pick up a new title - there are plenty to choose from. If you are in Grades K-8 and looking for a reading challenge, you can join one of our Award Book Reading Challenges on Beanstack and earn prizes for reading these books! Find more information on Beanstack.
Youth Services Librarian Claire
We have a new resource available in our databases - Scholastic Teachables! This website offers over 25,000 printable educational resources for grades K-8, including skill sheets, activity sheets, mini-books, and lesson plans. It's great for teachers to get supplementary material for the classroom, or for grownups to have at home!
Click this link to find Scholastic Teachables! Enter your library card number if you're at home or access from the computers at the library!
Youth Services Librarian Claire
Happy Winter Break! Some of our librarians worked to make a new virtual escape room to celebrate. Work together to solve puzzles, find clues, and virtually escape a blizzard!
The escape room is designed for grades 3-8, but adults and kids of all ages can enjoy it together!
Ready to start your adventure? Click here to access!
Click here to access the answer key.
Youth Services Librarian Claire
It is officially fall! The perfect time to cozy up with a good book! Check out these cozy autumn reads.
Check out what Youth Services is doing in October and November to celebrate fall! Find our Program Guide here.
Youth Services Librarian Claire
Summer Reading is almost done, but there is still time to log your reading and complete your Summer Reading! Log onto balibrary.org/summer, sign in (or even sign up), and you can log all of the reading you have done this summer already.
You do not need to put in specific dates or even titles. If you have read at least 20 minutes every day since May 28, you have read 1,400 minutes! That is amazing and we feel like that should be celebrated!
Once you complete your 500 minutes, you get a free book, a button, and a free ice cream cone coupon to be used at any Bear Family Restaurants McDonald's location.
We also have tons of activities for Pre-Readers and Readers that you can do as well on Beanstack to earn even more buttons. Here are some pictures that fellow Readers have drawn to earn the Book of the Summer badge!
FAQ’s
Do I need a library card to join?
No you do not! Anyone can do the program!
My child is only 5 months and can’t read, can they join?
Yes! The program is for everyone, even babies and toddlers. All books that are read to the baby count!
I am already using Beanstack for another library, do I use the same account?
You will need to create another account for Barrington, but with the app, you can easily toggle between the different libraries. You need to log the books for each site separately.
Do I have to log every title?
No. You can bulk log all of your reading starting from May 28. You can log up to 600 minutes at once.
Happy Reading everyone!
Youth Services Librarian MaryJo
The 2025 Illinois Reader's Choice Books are here and available for checkout!
There are 60 titles across the three lists and we have plenty of copies of each. Check out the lists below:
Find Monarch Books in the Catalog.
Find Bluestem Books in the Catalog.
Find Caudill Books in the Catalog.
Also coming soon, is a year long Beanstack reading challenge for grades K-8! Depending on your grade, you can sign up for the Monarch, Bluestem, or Caudill challenge and read your way to some prizes! Check Beanstack on April 1st for more information!
Youth Services Librarian Claire
There is a new section in our collection! At the start of Juvenile Fiction, we now have an Early Chapter Book section! Early Chapter Books are books that have a low page count, shorter chapters, and lots of illustrations. They make perfect books for readers who have mastered Beginning Readers and are ready to move on to longer chapter books. You may recognize some popular books here - Mercy Watson, Princess in Black, and Heidi and Henry Heckelbeck. There are plenty of new titles to discover here, so take a look and find your new favorite book!
Looking for some personalized selections? Fill out a Browsing Bundle Request Form and get a bag full of books picked just for you!
Youth Services Librarian Claire
Happy New Year! We read a ton of great books in 2023 - most of these titles are on the Illinois Readers' Choice Award Lists (Monarchs, Bluestems, and Caudills). Here are the top titles that were read at the Barrington Area Library!
Picture Book:
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Chez Bob by Bob Shea |
Beginning Reader:
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Happy Pig Day! by Mo Willems |
Juvenile Fiction:
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway by Jeff Kinney |
Juvenile Graphic Novel:
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Katie the Catsitter by Colleen A. F. Venable |
Teen Fiction:
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Alone by Megan E. Freeman |
Teen Graphic Novel:
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City of Dragons. The Awakening Storm by Jaimal Yogis |
Nonfiction:
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Fallout: spies, superbombs, and the ultimate Cold War showdown by Steve Sheinkin |
eBook:
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling |
What books are you going to read in 2024? You can sign up for Winter Reading here! Read 250 minutes and earn a free book!
Youth Services Librarian Claire
Welcome to our series, all about getting to know our very special Youth Services staff members at the Barrington Area Library! Each month, we'll publish an interview with one of our lovely staff members. Up next we have Youth Services Assistant Librarian, Larissa!
What is your favorite part of working at the Barrington Area Library?
My favorite part of working at the Barrington Area Library is the community! My Youth Services team are both kind and creative. I enjoy working with the library customers for both reader’s advisory and the programs, especially with story times and STEM-related activities. My own children are now school-aged, but when they were little we often spent time at the library to read, play, and partake in multiple programs. Now I delight in being able to give back to young children and their families!
What are some of your favorite books and/or genres?
My favorite series growing up was Harry Potter! I still remember waiting outside of the bookstore with my mom at midnight for the release of the new books and then staying up late into the night reading them! Some of my favorite adult authors as an adult include Matthew Kelly, Emily Giffin, and Taylor Jenkins Reid.
What do you like to do when you’re not working at the library?
When I am not working at the library, I like to spend time with my family and friends, read, travel, cook, volunteer as a Girl Scout Leader, partake in Yoga & Zumba classes, and recently I have learned to play pickle ball!
If you could be a character in any book in our collection, who would you be?
If I could be a character in any book then I would chose Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. Hermione is kind, smart, and brave. She loves to read and learn new things. Hermione stands up for what is right and she always is there for her friends.
Is there a fun fact about yourself that you’d like to share?
My Favorites: (aka fun facts about me)
Color: Purple
Book: Harry Potter Series
Movie: The Wizard of Oz
Food: Spaghetti
Dessert: Anything with chocolate!
Sport: Ice Skating
Game: Sushi Go
Animal: Penguin
Youth Services Specialist Stefanie