Summer Reading Challenge

Resource type: Projects, programmes and workshops

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2

Region(s): All of UK

The Summer Reading Challenge is an annual programme co-ordinated by The Reading Agency that encourages children aged 4-11 to read for pleasure over the summer holidays to help prevent the summer ‘reading dip’.

The theme for the 2024 Summer Reading Challenge was Marvellous Makers, and aimed to inspire children’s creativity and imagination through reading.

Children can take part in the challenge through their local public library or via the dedicated Summer Reading Challenge website, where they can set their personal reading goal, use the Book Sorter to find recommendations from other children, unlock digital rewards, play games and enter competitions. Further resources provided include:

A School Zone with access to a free Information Pack, Assembly Presentations and other resources to help schools promote the Summer Reading Challenge to pupils and parents.
A themed book collection chosen by an expert group of readers.
A collection of author videos plus activity packs and ideas linked to specific titles.
A selection of videos of creative book-related activities from the British Library’s Discovering Children’s Book playlist.

Timetable:

The Summer Reading Challenge 2024 launched online and in libraries in Scotland on 22nd June and on 6th July for libraries in England and Wales.
Finish dates vary, so check with your local library service.

Cost: Free

About The Reading Agency: The Reading Agency is a charity that runs UK-wide programmes that promote the benefits of reading for children and adults. Its vision is for a world where everyone is reading their way to a better life.

Further resources:

Build support for holiday reading by running a Booknic. Find details of how to set up your Booknic and other supporting resources on the OU RfP website.
If your school subscribes to young people’s newspaper First News, make sure that you have opted in to their summer promotion, which provides every pupil with a free digital subscription over the summer holiday. Schools that subscribe before the end of term are also eligible.
Books for Topics has created a Summer Reading Bingo Challenge to help keep primary-aged children reading over the summer. The emphasis of the bingo challenge is on having fun while reading rather than on specific texts but there is also a Summer Recommended Reads booklist to get children started. Download the bingo cards and completion certificates for free from the Books for Topics website.
Share the LoveMyBooks website with your parents. Created by literacy experts, the open-access website combines carefully selected books for pupils aged 0-11 with creative activities designed to help parents and children enjoy sharing books together.
The Story Corner is a free 28pp online children’s magazine featuring stories, writing activities and games from reading volunteer charity Bookmark. A useful resource for children aged 5-9 who may find it difficult to access books during the holidays, there are now nine editions of the magazine available on their website.
Encourage fathers to read to their children over the summer with the resources on the Dads Make Stories Magic website. This 2023 campaign was launched to address the findings of recent research that found that only one in three children are read to every day or nearly every day by their fathers. While the campaign is no longer running, the website still provides access to videos of dads reading with their children, reading recommendations and links to the research.
The World Book Day website has a range of resources that children and parents can access over the summer holidays, including the World Book Day Book Club, free audio books and the Share a Story Corner for younger children and their parents.
Track My Read is a free web-based tool that allows teachers or parents to set class/family reading challenges, and encourages children to log and share their reading achievements.
Co-designed with teenagers, the Bookzilla app has a range of features to get upper primary and early secondary pupils reading, including tailored recommendations, reading challenges and more.
Explore the selection of high-interest fiction, non-fiction, picture books and graphic novels for summer reading from Just Imagine. There are recommendations for EYFS to Year 6.
LoveReading4Kids has pulled together a Summer Reading booklist with more than 80 books for all ages, from pre-school to YA. There are also links to their Kids Zone, full of book-related activities and videos, and ideas on how to Get Creative with writer and publishing professional Joanne Owen.
Book review website Toppsta allows children to find book recommendations for themselves by searching by age, theme or category.
For children who find accessing print difficult, Calibre Audio is a charity that provides free access to a wide range of audio books for all ages.