With 5 weeks down and 13 left to go of the Scholastic Summer Challenge, we’re thrilled to announce that when it comes to beating last year’s Reading World Record of 64,312,141 minutes, we’re halfway there. That’s right, kids around the world—from Connecticut to Canada to Curacao—have read for 32,570,382 minutes thus far! So technically, were more than halfway there. At this rate, it’s looking like our summer readers have got it in the bag.

That said, we’ve decided to designate Big Time Rush’s catchy tune “Half-Way There” as our halfway-mark anthem. If you feel compelled to sing along, please do.

We couldn’t have said it better. If this doesn’t inspire you to pick up a book and join the movement to Read for the World Record, we don’t know what will.

There’s more good news! More schools are participating in the Scholastic Summer Challenge this year than ever before. Let’s take a look at who is in the lead:

The top 5 states with the most minutes read are…Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, and Alabama.

The top 5 states with the most schools participating are…Texas, Florida, Illinois, California, and New York.

The top 5 schools with the most minutes read are…. Sun Valley Elementary (Monroe, NC), Paine Intermediate School (Trussville, AL), Brooksville Elementary School (Brooksville, FL), Worsham Elementary School (Houston, TX), and Village Elementary School (Hilton, NY).

Plus, 25 reading events have been hosted by U.S. Governor’s Spouses and Summer Challenge Reading Ambassadors this summer. A big thank you goes out to all the First Ladies and Gentlemen who have committed to help kids read this summer.

Keep up the good reading!