Children’s Programs

Preschool Story Time — Wednesday at 11:00 AM

Children ages one to five years old are invited to come to the library with a parent or caregiver and join us every Wednesday at 11:00 AM Story Hour is a theme-based program with songs, fingerplays, books, a craft and a snack.

Children reading books in a library setting.
Children smiling in a library setting.

Bradley’s Book Buddies

Kids reading to kids! Each summer, the library promotes this wonderful mentoring program for older students (ages 11 – 17) to become mentors to younger children (ages 3-10). The mentors meet with their buddies as often as they can to read, play educational games and get to know each other. The mentors are paid for their work, so it is a “win-win” for all!

If you are a parent and want your child to be a “Buddy” for this program, please call or stop by the library today to sign up.

Summer Reading-Adventure Begins at the Your Library!

2025 theme is: Color our world!

Join us in a variety of summer reading activities. Reading challenges, special guest visitors, programs, story times, crafts, and more! Keep up your skills and earn prizes too!

For more information head to our Summer Reading page.

Children using computers in a library setting.
Colorful summer reading program promotional banner.

Reader of the Week

Submit your name in our drawing for Reader of the Week every time you visit! We draw one name each week over the summer (8 winners!), and the winner receives a Summer Reading t-shirt, prizes, and of course, a book! They are also interviewed for an article that appears in the Steamboat Pilot.

Check our this summer’s Reader of the Week winners!

Bern F. Giannini Young Reader Awards – an Annual Summer Program

Each August, the library staff nominate 5 young readers between the ages of 9 to 15 and ask them to bring to a book to the interview that has touched them and inspired them to read more. The BFG Young Reader Award winners receive a certificate and a gift card to purchase books at Off the Beaten Path Bookstore in Steamboat Springs. The bookstore also generously donates two gift cards to the award program. The Young Reader Awards began in 2006 and have been awarded each year with the exception of 2020. The library and the friends and family of Ms. Giannini hope to continue the tradition next summer.

Bern Giannini lived in Hayden during the summers for most of her adult life, and moved to Hayden permanently after she retired. She was a lifelong reader of enormous proportions. She read biographies, mysteries, political analyses, humor, novels, just about anything on Western history or Colorado and John Wesley Powell, and pretty much any book on any subject that caught her eye or that someone recommended to her.

Bern also loved talking with children. She was famous for engaging young people in discussions on real issues and for supporting their interest in reading. She gave books as gifts, but more importantly, she supported readers and was interested in what children were reading.

The BFG Young Reader awards are a joint project of the Hayden Public Library, Off the Beaten Path Bookstore, and friends and family of Bern F. Giannini.

Read More
Boy in formal wear reading a book.