Summer is here with Scholastic Summer Read-a-Palooza!
According to findings from the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report™: 7th Edition, there is a rising trend of kids ages 6–17 reading zero books over the summer: 15% in 2016 vs. 20% in 2018. Among 9–11-year-olds, this percentage has doubled (7% to 14%), and among teens ages 15–17 it has increased by ten points (22% to 32%). To help turn this trend around, Scholastic has announced the launch of Scholastic Summer Read-a-Palooza, a movement to get books into the hands of more kids during the summer, keeping every child reading.
This program is a refreshed take to prevent the effects of the “summer slide” – the learning loss children frequently experience while school is out. This year, kids are empowered to help other kids by unlocking book donations through their summer reading!
The Scholastic Summer Read-a-Palooza has three parts:
- The Scholastic Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Give Back: Kids can enter their reading minutes online in the Summer Reading Challenge to reach Give Back minute milestones, upon which Scholastic and United Way will donate at least 200,000 books to kids in need across the country.
- Families can attend Scholastic Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Celebrations in their local communities, where book drive boxes will be available for donations of lightly used or newly purchased books. The participating location will then donate the books the organization of their choice.
- The Scholastic Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Challenge: The Challenge is back! Now through September 6, kids can enter their reading minutes to earn digital rewards and gain access to reading activities, book excerpts, videos, and more. When kids collectively reach 25, 50, and 100 million minutes, they will unlock Scholastic Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Give Back book donations. At the end of the summer, we'll also acknowledge the Best in State schools, along with the Top 10 Libraries and Top 10 Community Partners in the Summer Reading Challenge! Educators, public librarians or community partner organizations that haven't registered their participating children yet can create an account any time and set up their classes or reading groups.
The Challenge officially kicked off yesterday, and kids have already read over 200,000 minutes! Are you ready to start your summer reading celebrations? Head over to scholastic.com/readapalooza now!
