Summer Reading Programs for Kids to Get Free Stuff
What are your plans for your kids this summer? Swimming? Hiking? Playing? Don’t forget to add reading! Reading is one of the most important things kids can do during the summer—especially after a crazy COVID school year! Thankfully, these summer reading programs encourage kids and teens (grown-ups, too!) to continue learning and reading over the next few months and earn some free prizes along the way. Let’s go!
Earn a Free Book from Barnes & Noble
Kids in grades 1-6 can read any eight books and record them in the Summer Reading Journal. When the journal is complete, bring it to a Barnes & Noble Store and choose your free book from the list! Redeemable July 1 – August 31, 2021.
Get a Free Personal Pan Pizza with Camp BOOK IT!
This summer reading incentive program is open to parents of PreK – 6th grade students (ages 4-12). Parents set reading goals for June – August and when students meet their goals, they are rewarded with a Reading Award Certificate, good for a one-topping, personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut!
Earn 10 Free Play Points at Chuck E. Cheese
Chuck E. Cheese offers Rewards Calendars and Behavior Charts to help motivate your kiddos to do their chores, finish their homework, practice skills and more! There’s a calendar for everything including a Reading Rewards one! Once the chart is completed, kids will get 10 Free Play Points with any food purchase.
Win Dodgers’ Prizes with Dodgers Reading Champions
Sign up your children, grades K-8 (ages 5-14), to track the time they spend reading. Every month, young reading champions who have read at least 15-30 minutes a day will be eligible for a drawing for great Dodgers’ prizes! You can also print out the Mail-in Entry Form. Ends October 31, 2021.
This one’s not exactly a reading program, it’s a baseball-themed, game-based learning course. Each week, students complete a series of math and literacy games to practice lessons learned in school. The course is completely free and geared towards 4th and 5th grade. Students can earn trophies including Rookie of the Year, All Star, Most Valuable Player, Silver Slugger Award, Roberto Clemente Award, and more!
Help Donate Books with Scholastic Summer Reading
Through September 3, kids can participate in the Scholastic Home Base where they will be encouraged to read, attend weekly author events, interact with their favorite characters, play book-based games, join dance parties, and more. Kids will also maintain a Reading Streak, the longer the streak, the more digital experiences they earn and they’ll unlock a donation of 100,000 books for kids in rural areas with limited or no access to books.
Teens Get Two Free Audiobooks Weekly with SYNC
SYNC is a program that gives listeners ages 13+ two audiobooks a week—a current YA book paired with a classic title. Teens can download the audiobooks for free using Sora, the student reading app from OverDrive. This summer programs ends August 4, 2021.
Billie Jean King Main Library in Long Beach
Check With Your Public Library
Almost all public libraries offer a summer reading program with fun activities and prizes for all ages. Participants keep track of their reading progress and get entered into raffles and drawings. Most libraries are also offering fun activities, workshops, storytimes and more to keep the fun going!
Here’s six Southern California library systems with over 200+ locations hosting a fun reading program. Check them out!
Anaheim Public Library (7 branches)
June 1 – August 6: Log points and each book or badge earns you 1 entry into raffles. Raffles include prizes from The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Varsity Burger, Raising Cane’s, Lazy Dog Cafe, Shakey’s Pizza, Applebee’s Restaurant, California Pizza Kitchen, Wing Stop, and the Orange County Soccer Club.
Huntington Beach Public Library (5 branches)
June 19 – July 31: Register online to track your reading. Besides reading and earning prizes, HBPL will also be hosting Creativity Corner art projects, virtual storytimes, Cooking Live! demonstrations, author talks, and more.
Long Beach Public Library (12 branches)
June 19 – August 14: Earn prizes and for every weekly badge earned, readers also receive a ticket to win big at the end of the summer in their Grand Prize drawing. Teens can also get creative this summer with Make.Create.Design, a four-week series of digital workshops that focus on game design.
Los Angeles County Library (86 branches)
April 5 – August 8: Complete monthly challenges and be entered in a monthly prize drawing. Through the end of August, LACL will also be putting on Outdoor Programs where kids and teens can enjoy arts and crafts activities and performances outside at participating libraries.
Los Angeles Public Library (73 branches)
June 7 – August 7: Register and track your progress online or on the Beanstack Tracker App, or download and print a gameboard. Earn 1,000 points to complete the challenge. Return your completed game board or complete your log to be entered to win prizes.
Newport Beach Public Library (4 branches)
June 12 – July 31: Sign up for a free Beanstack account and participate in your age group’s online Summer Reading Program. Once registered, children through 6th grade can pick up a Welcome Kit at any NBPL location and receive a free paperback book! (Limit one book per child, while supplies last.)
Visit publiclibraries.com to find your public library and ask about their Summer Reading Program!
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Categories: Blog
This post was written by Kidsguide