Have you signed up to the Summer Reading Challenge this year? It’s a free initiative from the Reading Agency which encourages children to keep reading over the Summer holidays. For many children their learning can slide over the 6 week holiday, and taking part in the challenge encourages them to keep reading and learning.

Where to find free books for children

You can sign up for free to the Summer Reading Challenge. With many libraries re-opening it’s now possible to reserve and collect books to take part in it.

However you can also choose to use books you already own

You can borrow books from friends

Look for new books in your local charity shop

I recently came across The Little Local Book Hub which is setting up free little book hubs around the country. This is a great way to recycle books your children have grown out of and pick up something new to read. Look for them on Facebook.

Free Summer Reading Challenge checklist

The Summer Reading Challenge asks children to read any 6 books over the school holidays. My children tend to stick to their favourite authors and genres so I’ve given them their own challenge in the form of my Summer Reading Challenge checklist.

This free Summer Reading Challenge checklist printable suggests types of books for children to pick up, from magazines to comic books, a newspaper to poetry. It’s great to try something new. There’s also a column for places and people to read to. My children do most of their reading at bedtime but they will have a lot more time over the summer. I’ve included suggestions of different people and places to read. My children have been reading to their grandma each week but I look forward to them reading to the dog or a friend, under a tree in the garden or even in a whisper!

I hope you find my free Summer Reading Challenge checklist useful. Print it out and put it up somewhere your children will see it.

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