The Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL) is gearing up for an exciting Summer Reading Challenge, and this year's theme promises to be a real treasure hunt for book lovers of all ages.

A young CCPL patron reviews his book during the Summer Challenge.The 2026 theme is "Unearth a Story,” with a focus on dinosaurs and archaeology. Participants will embark on a dinosaur and archaeology-themed adventure from Monday, June 1 through July 31.

The prehistoric discovery theme allows CCPL staff to create programming that targets young readers, says CCPL director of literacy and learning Becky Ranallo.

“You'll see throughout the summer that our staff focus programming on all sorts of things that are related to dinosaurs and archaeology and stuff that our kids love,” she explains, adding that the theme has been incorporated into the library materials.

Materials include a game board that doubles as a coloring book, an activity book, and the library’s unofficial mascot, Augie—an owl who gets incorporated into the summer reading theme each year.

Make a habit of it
Dinosaurs and archeology aside, Ranallo says the ultimate objective is to get patrons of all ages to make reading a daily routine.

"Our summer reading is really focused on creating a daily reading habit," she explains. "And that reading habit is for all ages—for kids, teens, adults. What we really would love to see is that our customers get used to reading every day."

In fact, the summer reading program has evolved significantly from the traditional book-counting approach of past years. Instead of tracking the number of books read, participants now focus on developing consistent daily reading habits.

"We shifted a few years ago to tracking reading on a daily basis," Ranallo notes, explaining that this change particularly benefits younger readers and those who struggle with reading.

Fighting the summer slide
The daily tracking system addresses an educational concern that teachers call the summer slide—losing what they learned in school during summer vacation.

"The research tells us that if kids read for 20 minutes a day during the summer, they're going to help prevent what's called the summer slide, which is where they lose a little bit of learning over the summer while they're not focused on school," Ranallo explains. But she says just a little bit of reading—of any kind— helps students with retention.

CCPL’s summer reading program takes an inclusive approach that recognizes reading comes in many forms.

"It's reading of all kinds. It's books, it's eBooks,” explains Ranallo. “Reading can be graphic novels, or whatever is really sparking that desire to read. There's no wrong way to do it."

The loose interpretation of what is defined as “reading” extends even further to include activities that are not traditionally thought of as reading, says Ranallo, citing reading games and word games as examples.

“Sometimes we tell parents, ‘if you've got a kid who's really struggling with reading, but he's playing video games and you see him reading cheat codes—it's still reading," she says.

This year's Summer Reading Challenge is 'Unearth a Story,' with a dinosaur and archeology theme.Make reading rewarding
The program's success is bolstered by generous community partnerships, most notably with Mitchell's Ice Cream, which has been a longtime CCPL Summer Reading supporter. "They value their donation at about $52,000," reports Kate McCreary, CCPL chief communications and external relations officer. "And they are providing 10,000 free scoop certificates."

Ranallo adds Mitchell’s has partnered with the library system for almost a decade. “It's been a long time; they've been a great partner," she comments on the enduring nature of the sweet collaboration.

The collaboration is sweeter with the rewards the readers can earn. For example, for every 10 days that participants read, they can choose from prizes such as Mitchell's ice cream certificates, books, and fun novelty items.

The summer reading program also features grand prizes from additional community partners, like the Cleveland Monsters, Greater Cleveland Aquarium, Playhouse Square,

Wild Republic,

The hottest prize to be had last year: "Four tickets in a Zamboni ride at a Monsters game," McCreary explains.

"That one was really popular last year," Ranallo recalls.

Flexibility instead of structure
CCPL’s reading program structure is designed to prevent the discouragement that can come with rigid requirements. That discouragement can lead to giving up.

"In the past, we’ve seen when some kids missed a day, got off their [reading] streak, or went on vacation, and didn't hit [their goals], so they stopped reading,” Ranallo recalls. “This way, there's no feeling like you missed something and you need to stop. You can just keep going and read through as many times as you want.”

Participants can track their reading either through their game boards or with an online app.

The CCPL program typically attracts between 20,000 and 21,000 participants annually, says Ranallo, with a growing number of adults joining the reading fun alongside children and teens.

A boy selects a book to look over at the Cuyahoga County Public Library.More than words
This year's "Unearth a Story" theme will be reflected throughout the library system's Summer Reading Challenge, with staff focusing events on dinosaurs, archaeology, and related topics that capture children's imaginations.

The theme also connects to the library's collection, says McCreary, who points out the library has “plenty of dinosaur toys to check out from our toy library.”

Curated reading lists feature books tied to the archaeological theme and other interests, spanning picture books for young readers and titles for all ages, including non-fiction books, chapter books, and graphic novels.

Registration is underway and book tracking officially begins on Monday, June 1. Participants can sign up online through the Cuyahoga Public Library website or visit any local branch to get started on their summer reading adventures.

"It was so much fun to have the kids come in, be able to talk to them about what they read, ask if they liked it, and give them a prize," says Ranallo as she reflects on working the reference desk during last summer's Reading Challenge, and witnessed the joy and sense of accomplishment the students get.