Summer reading challenge

The summer reading challenge will return this summer! Last year's challenge, Gadgeteers, was a huge success with over 1700 children taking part.

This year's challenge them will be announced in March. It's free to join, and every child who joins gets a special gift.

What it is about and how it works:

• children can read any books they like during the challenge (these can be easy or hard, or stories or fact books, even be audio books borrowed through the library's Borrowbox service), anything counts!
  
• as they read books, they receive stickers and rewards 
  
• when they've read six books, they get a medal and certificate
• any child aged three and over can take part in the challenge 
• Younger brothers and sisters can join in, too, with a special mini-challenge for babies and toddlers.

The challenge start date will be announced soon and runs throughout the summer holidays.

All Island libraries participate in this fun reading experience. Find your local library, then come and visit us to register and join in.

National online challenge

Children can also join the online challenge and receive virtual badges as they read. They can play online games, enter competitions and get loads of book recommendations.

Children's reading can reduce during the summer holidays. This might be because they don’t have regular access to books and the incentive to read for pleasure. Research shows that reading challenges can make a big difference in keeping reading levels up.

The key to the challenge is that children are free to choose their own books. This means they are not pressured to read books they don't like. Parents have reported that this makes a difference to their child's enthusiasm for reading.