Overview
- The national Summer Reading Challenge, themed 'Read to the Beat', begins on Saturday, July 4, with local rollouts starting in Westmorland and Furness and North Yorkshire.
- Westmorland and Furness invites children aged 4 to 12 to read four library books over the summer, with its programme running until September 12, while North Yorkshire targets children aged 4 to 11 and sets a six-book goal.
- The Reading Agency runs the scheme nationally in partnership with Universal Music Group UK and North Yorkshire and Westmorland library services are delivering activities locally.
- Participation is free with library membership, audiobooks and eBooks via the BorrowBox app count toward the challenge, and participants earn stickers, incentives and prize-draw entries for extra reading.
- Libraries are recruiting volunteers and staging free music-linked sessions such as rap workshops, drumming and singing to make reading more creative and to help prevent the summer 'dip' in learning that schools and councils say undermines progress.