6 Ways to Keep Kids Reading All Summer

BN’s Summer Reading Program
Is there a better way to keep kids reading than the lure of a free book? Well great news, the Barnes & Noble Summer reading program is back! To win a free book, kids in grade 1-6 can read any 8 books of their own choosing, record them in their Summer Reading Journal, and tell us about their favorite part of the book. For more information, details, and rules, check out our Summer Reading page.

Kid’s Book Club
I love reading, and yet I still sometimes can’t find the time to fit in as much as I want. But being a member of a book club ensures that I read at least one book a month. Kids’ book clubs are a great idea for this reason too, especially if each Book Club meeting feels like a little party, with themed foods and decorations from the book. Kids will be excited about it because—not only will they get to read some pretty cool books—it’s a guaranteed time they’ll get to hang out with their friends.

Family Book Club
Alternatively, you may want to consider a Family Book Club, especially if you have younger children. Young children may not yet have the skills to lead book discussions without some extra help, and a Family Book Club is a wonderful way to get involved in your child’s reading life. We’ve previously written about the benefits of a Family Book Club (and provided some excellent Book Club picks), and there’s no better time to start one than when children are free from school and looking for things to do. If you need some more kid-friendly book club picks, check out our Family Book Club: June Edition post for our latest picks.

Start A New (Long) Series
A surefire way to keep kids reading is to make them hungry for more books. I still remember the two-week whirlwind where I discovered a new series with eleven books. I devoured all of them, reading any place and any time I could manage—and that can happen for kids too! A great series to get them started on over the summer is Percy Jackson and the Olympians. With multiple spin-off series, there are enough books to keep your children reading through the summer and beyond just to finish them all. If they’ve already read Percy Jackson, pick up Dork Diaries or Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Weekly Bookstore Trips
There’s an old saying—never judge a book by its cover. And while it’s a nice idea, it’s not always feasible, especially for kids. If you have a reluctant reader at home, the best way to get them to read is to get them excited about a book. And I know when I was younger, nothing made me more excited about a book than its cover (and sometimes its title). If you hang around in book stores long enough and frequently enough, your kids are bound to find a cover they just can’t get out of their minds.

Create a Reading-Friendly Environment
To keep kids reading, you need to remove as many barriers to reading as you can. That means having books at the ready for kids when they want one, and having a comfortable, quiet place where they can lose themselves in a book. As summer starts, you can work with them to create a little reading nook, with stacks of books and comfy pillows. You can also designate a night as a “screen free” night, in which everyone in the house (including you) must do an activity that doesn’t involve a screen.