Free Summer Reading Programs for Kids
Over the years we have participated in lots of different summer reading programs. They really help to instill a love of reading in your kids and are also a fun way to encourage them to continue reading as well.
The Library
The first place to start is your local library. Usually every library has some sort of summer reading program that offers either virtual or real prizes. If you are not interested in the program at your local library check with a different town to see if you can sign up for theirs. If you go to school or work in a different town from where you live you can often be eligible for a library card in the other town as well.
Each summer reading program can vary with how they give prizes whether it is weekly or after a certain number of books or minutes. There are often freebies just for signing up such as coupons for area restaurants, bookmarks or stickers. Some different kinds of prizes we have gotten in the past include books, free coupons for Chipotle and Wendy’s kids meals, small toys, raffle tickets, magnetic picture frames and bracelet tags.
This summer the summer reading theme is Adventure Begins at your Library for most libraries. We have already seen cool decorations with camping themes and jungle themes. During the time of summer reading each library also hosts a slew of fun events with local musicians, plays, magicians, science shows and more. For many of these you do not need to be a library card holder to attend. I always verify with a library to make sure that we can attend beforehand if it is one that is not in my county. Also always be sure to check if registration is needed beforehand as many times people need to register for these special events. They often occur at varying times as well such as on weekdays, weeknights and weekends so it is often easy to find at least a couple that fit into your schedule.
This year we have already attended a variety of programs such as seeing Brian Richards the magician, a Mad Science program and more! Be sure to check out the calendar of events at a library near you to make sure you do not miss out on the programming.
If you have a child younger than kindergarten age be sure to also sign them up for the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. In this program you document any book that you read to your kid as well as ones they read themselves. My daughter had completed this at the Moorestown Library when she was younger. There they had even done a celebratory party at the end of the program for the kids. Other libraries do things like put up pictures of the kids on a bulletin board every time they read a certain number of books or offer books as prizes to kids as they complete reading different numbers of books.
Are you an adult that loves to read? Be sure to check as many libraries offer summer reading programs for adults as well!
Barnes & Noble
I was recently at the Barnes & Noble in MarketFair with my daughter and found out that this program was available to 1st through 6th graders. She just had to fill out a paper listing eight books read and her favorite parts about them. Then we were directed to a prize book display where she picked out a book. We took the paper she had filled out to the register and she got her book pick for free! There were lots of good options for different ages including classics like A Wrinkle in Time and The Boxcar Children.
This was an easy program to participate in and a fun way to get a new book. Be sure to download a Summer Reading Journal from their website and fill it out before you go in so that you are ready to claim your free book.
My daughter picked the book Little Olympians 1: Zeus, God of Thunder and she really enjoyed reading it.
Mommy’s Lil’ Black Book
Our family has been participating in this program for years. It is great if you live in Southeastern Pennsylvania or if you are planning on visiting that area this summer. The reading requirements for the program this year are 15 books for kids ages 2 years old to 2nd grade or 4 chapter books for those entering 3rd grade to 12th grade. Go to the Mommy’s Lil’ Black Book website and download the reading log form at the bottom of the page. Be sure to fill it out. Then take your log to participating businesses to redeem prizes before September 2nd. The website also lists all of the prize options for this year.
Even though we live in a different state we like to participate in the program since many of the participating places are not too far away. One year my daughter had a lot of fun with her friend doing a month of free classes at Romp n’ Roll in Willow Grove with its super clean play areas and energetic instructors. On another year we did a day of fun by redeeming multiple prizes on the same day. These things included getting a tasty chocolate pretzel from Lily’s Chocolate Paradise, doing some free jumping at Altitude Trampoline Park in Feasterville and getting a free kids meal from Chick-Fil-A.
This program is a fun opportunity to check out some new places. This year we headed to the Yardley Bagel Cafe for lunch and redeemed our bagel awards. They were delicious! Then we did a hike near the covered bridge at Tyler State Park. After that we headed to Uno’s in Bensalem for dinner and redeemed our free kids meals there. My son enjoyed doing the make your own pizza option for his kids meal at Uno’s.
To Redeem Your Prizes:
Print out the entire reading log (all 3 pages) and fill it out. Don’t forget that there needs to be a parent signature. We also staple our log to keep it together.
Check the hours of where you want to go to redeem the prize to make sure they are open. Some places on the prize log additionally will only give prizes at certain days and time.
Remember to bring the log to the participating business to redeem your prize. Each business will sign off on their box to show that your prize has been redeemed.
Pizza Hut
In high school one of my favorite lunches I remember bringing to school was cold pizza from Pizza Hut. It was always exciting to go and get a personal pan pizza and think that I was actually allowed to eat an entire pizza by myself. Pizza Hut has a program called Camp BOOK IT! during the summer. In the program you just have to make an account and track the minutes read. At the end of each month kids can win a free personal pan pizza. Unfortunately this year there was a lot of interest so if you have not already signed up then you will have to wait until next summer.
For parents who are homeschooling, Pizza Hut also offers a Book It! Homeschool program for kids ages 4 to 12. Registration is currently open for this program. This is a program from October through March during the year and it works similarly to the summer reading program. There were also some extra worksheets offered and easy printable trackers for kids to use as well. Be sure to remember to enter your tracked minutes online later on, however, or you may miss out on some rewards.
Chuck E. Cheese
This program is actually all year round. If kids read every day for two weeks they can fill out a log and bring it in to receive 10 Free Play Points (but you also need to make a food purchase). They offer this for other things as well such as potty training, dressing themselves and more. Be sure to check out their logs to see which types of things can make you eligible for play points on your next visit.