Book It to These Summer Reading Programs

It’s summertime, and you know what that means: It’s time to read! (That’s what it usually means for us geeks, anyway.) Once again it’s the perfect time of year to get the kids involved in a reading program that’s actually fun. Not only do they earn rewards like free books and more, they also get another reason to get lost in another world. This summer, think about joining in and logging those books and minutes of your own, or even just sign up for the 2014 GoodReads Challenge. Who says summer reading has to be just for kids?

Your public library is the best place to start looking into local programs. Here are four more national summer reading challenges if you can’t get to the library, or want to take part in more than one.

Barnes and Noble Summer Reading. This year’s theme is Imagination’s Destination. Barnes and Noble offers a reading journal and activity sheets for more reading fun this summer. Once your child has read eight books and returns the journal to your local bookstore by September 2, they receive a free book on a list sorted by grades 1-6.

Half-Price Books: Feed Your Brain. Grab a reading log and other free printables from the Half-Price Books web site. 300 minutes of reading later, your kids ages 14 and under can earn “Bookworm Bucks” (a $5 store coupon).

Pizza Hut’s Spark Your Greatness Summer Reading Challenge. Yes, Pizza Hut. This is a simple reading challenge that asks kids in grades K-6 to read five books and enter their titles on the contest entry web site. They are then entered in a sweepstakes to win even more books and Pizza Hut gift cards. Win-win!

Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge. Reading logs, weekly challenges, sweepstakes, you get the idea. Register for the site and help Scholastic reach a new reading world record this summer.