The 2016 Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge has begun!

Megan Kaesshaefer  //  May 9, 2016

The 2016 Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge has begun!

Today's the day! The 2016 Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge officially begins!

This year’s theme is “Be A Reading Superhero,” and it’s all about believing in kids and encouraging them to be the best independent readers they can be. Captain Underpants creator Dav Pilkey is our official Superhero of Summer Reading this year — he made a fun video to inspire kids around reading all summer long (watch it here!). 

19 Scholastic authors have penned personalized "How I Became a Reading Superhero" stories to inspire kids to keep reading this summer. Each week, from now until September 9, kids can log the time they spend reading, unlock a fill-in-the-blank story, and earn digital rewards like chapter excerpts and character badges! unlock a new one on the website! The full list of participating authors is below.

Dav Pilkey, Angela Cervantes, Elisha Cooper, Varian Johnson, Sarah Mlynowski, Tui T. Sutherland, Mike Jung, Natalie Lloyd, R.L. Stine, Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan, Tommy Greenwald, Mike Maihack, Jarrett Krosoczka, Jennifer Nielsen, Michael Northrop, Troy Cummings, Eric Luper, Christina Diaz Gonzalez

Kids can tie minutes to their school for a chance to win "Best in State" — the school with the most minutes read in each state at the end of the summer will win "Best in State" recognition, a celebratory party in a box, a plaque honoring their achievement, and more! 

There's SO much for parents and teachers this summer, too!

For parents:

  • register your kids and track their reading progress all summer through email updates
  • get a free daily parenting article on our parent's homepage
  • "ask an expert" for book recommendations through our new email feature!
  • download book lists, free printables for kids, and more.
  • check out our helpful gude for parents for more information!

For teachers:

  • register your students and track their reading progress all summer through your educator dashboard
  • download free classroom materials, like book lists, free printables, and more.
  • check out our helpful guide for teachers for more information!

There's more excitement to come each and every week! Check back on the blog and on social media at #summerreading