Registrations for the Summer Reading Challenge are officially open, with children bring encouraged to read six books over the summer.
The free activity is aimed at four to 11-year-olds and runs until Saturday, 13 September.
For each book they read, children who have signed up to the challenge will receive a special prize, including stickers, a bookmark, a badge. Those who read six books during the challenge will also receive a special medal and certificate with their name on it.
Parents and carers can register their children for the Summer Reading Challenge at any of Medway’s libraries.
Starting in July and running throughout the summer, Medway’s libraries will also be hosting a wide-range of free themed craft activities to celebrate the Summer Reading Challenge. You can find out the full details for all the events here.
The Summer Reading Challenge is a national scheme from The Reading Agency which looks to keep children engaged with books and maintain literacy skills over the summer holidays. This year’s theme is Story Garden, which celebrates the connection between storytelling and nature, and encourages children to explore the links between reading and the great outdoors.
In Medway there will also be three extra challenges running at the same time, one for children under 3-years-old, one for those between 12 and 18-years-old and one for adults.
The Mini Challenge for those under 3-years-old is designed to help children discover the joy of reading and build language skills from an early age.
There are also prizes up for grabs in our Teen Reading Challenge, including games, art packs and more, for any teenagers who read six books over the summer.
Finally, our adult competition for those aged 18 and over offers the chance to win panto tickets, a Medway Adult Education voucher, tickets to one of our amazing heritage sites and more.
All three of these challenges will also run until Saturday, 13 September and you can sign up at your local library today.
Discover the joy of reading
Cllr Nina Gurung, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and Leisure, said: “It is so important that our children and young people are encouraged to discover the joy of reading from a young age. It is proven to be a fantastic tool to help their development – improving their writing and reading skills – but it also helps to boost their creativity and unlock their imaginations.
“I am also really pleased to see we are running reading challenges for all ages this summer in Medway. The benefits of reading don’t just apply to our children, so giving everyone the opportunity to discover a new world, expand their knowledge or learn something new is absolutely fantastic.
“We are fortunate to have so many brilliant libraries here in Medway, so I would encourage everybody to make sure they head down to their local one this summer. You can sign up for all of the free reading challenges now, so don’t waste any time and make sure you sign yourself and your children up today – happy reading everyone!”