Summer Reading Challenge

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Join the Story Garden this summer

Make the most of the summer holiday with this year's Summer Reading Challenge. With a new collection of characters your local library is working with The Reading Agency to encourage kids to get stuck into a good book.
Meet us in the Story Garden for an adventure exploring storytelling in nature. It's free to sign up and available for children from 4-11 years old from 5th July to 14th September 2024.

How to get involved

Borrow some books from the library to get started with your reading challenge, exploring the Story Garden.

Read six library books (or more!) over the holidays, and visit the library for every 2 books you read to tell library staff what you've read and collect special stickers to add to your booklet.

Collect all the stickers to complete the Challenge and receive a medal!

Why take part in the summer reading challenge

Can't find what you're looking for?

Fun for all the family

The Summer Reading Challenge is a great time to share and talk about books as a family. Sitting down with a book, newspaper or magazine sets a good example to kids - they will copy you. Children enjoy taking part and many teachers will tell us that they return to school with a new enthusiasm and confidence for reading.

While your children are choosing their books for the Summer Reading Challenge it's a great chance for you to discover the full range of what's on offer at the library. From reading groups to computer access, let us help you make the most of the library.

Encourage a love of reading

Currently, 1 in 5 children in England cannot read well by the age of 11. We know that reading for fun improves literacy.

Reading for pleasure is more important to children’s academic success than their parents’ level of education or socio-economic status.
Embedding a love of reading in children can help their wellbeing later in life. 19% of adult readers say that reading stops them feeling lonely.
Studies have found that those who read for pleasure have higher levels of empathy, greater self-esteem and are better able to cope with difficult situations.

The Summer Reading Challenge encourages around 700,000 children to keep up their reading skills each year.

Includes everyone

At the heart of the Challenge is children choosing and sharing books - in any format - that they like.

If your child is visually impaired or finds printed books tricky, our libraries will be able to help suggest alternatives.
Our collections include large print, braille, and Barrington Stoke titles, and our online collection via the Libby App also has a range of accessibility features like adjustable fonts, including dyslexic fonts, coloured backgrounds, and screen reading capabilities to make reading fun for your family.
The free RNIB Library (which covers braille, giant print and Talking Books) can also be used for the Summer Reading Challenge and throughout the year, and our libraries can help you with this.

Library services are increasingly aware of the needs of children with autism and some libraries run dedicated Autism Friendly sessions, find your library to find out more.

Find a Library

Discover the Story Garden collection

From picture books that ignite their imaginations to stories that will take them on an adventure, browse titles from the Story Garden collection below.

Into the wild

Docherty, Thomas, author, artist.

Baller boys vs the bulldozers

Taylor, Venessa, author.

Rajiv's starry feelings

Moorjani, Niall, author.

Find a footprint: A Woodland Search and Find Adventure

Lambert, Jonny, author.

The ocean gardener

Anganuzzi, Clara.

Is it a seed?

Davison, Emily Ann.

Farah loves mangos

Sinha, Sarthak.

This lake is fake!

Gough, Julian.

Lulu meets the bees

McQuinn, Anna, author.

Hilda and Twig hide from the rain: Hide from the Rain

Pearson, Luke, author.

Ava and the acorn

Fraser, Lu, author.

The world to come

Flynn, Johnny.

Beastie Bros

O'Connell, David, author.

My path

Curll, Jana, author.

Superhero plants

Packham, Chris, author.

Maggie Sparks and the camping chaos

Smallman, Steve, author.

Leave the trees, please

Zephaniah, Benjamin, author.

National Trust: Wonder World: Earth: The Natural Science of Soil

Lerwill, Ben, author.

Little Rhino lost

Gourlay, Candy, author.

Wild: A heart-warming picture book about moving home, accepting change and connecting with nature from an award-winning author and illustrator

Balen, Katya, author.

Keisha Jones is a force of nature

Denny, Natalie.

I Hear You, Forest

George, Kallie.

Slug life

Kellaway, Moesha, author.

By the beaver pool

Ward, Catherine, author.

Lots of things to know about bugs

Hull, Sarah.

Boing: a bouncy book of bugs

Carter, James, author.

Watch me bloom: a bouquet of Haiku poems for budding naturalists

Patel-Sage, Krina, author.

Pirates and sea monsters

Lewis, Gill, author.

Angel of Grasmere

Palmer, Tom.

Bigfoot and the wild boys

Pearson, Jenny, 1981- author.

The secret in the woods

Stower, Adam.

A.F. Harrold's Pocket book of pocket poems

Harrold, A.F.

View more children's books in our catalogue Go to catalogue

Join the challenge at a Better library near you

Greenwich libraries Bromley Libraries Dudley Libraries Wandsworth Libraries Lincolnshire Libraries

Keep your child's mind and body active this summer

Why not make the most of all the facilities GLL has to offer? As well as the Summer Reading Challenge, get the kids active with a summer of fun at a Better Leisure Centre near you.

Holiday courses

Dive into the world of swimming, tennis or even gymnastics with a short course over the summer. Whether you're a beginner or looking to level up your sports skills, book your spot now on a holiday short course.

Better Flex Junior Membership

Get ready for an sports-packed summer with a Better Flex junior membership. You'll enjoy one free visit per month and up to 30% off additional visits for junior gym, junior fitness classes and swimming.

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