Join Bristol's Story Garden Summer Reading Challenge for Children

Starting on July 5, the annual programme challenges children aged 0 to 12 to read up to six library books of their choice over the summer holidays, including fictions, non-fiction, ebooks, audiobooks, poetry, joke books, comics or manga.

Children who take part in the challenge can collect fun stickers and bookmarks, and will receive a medal and a certificate at their local library if they complete the challenge.

This year’s theme is ‘Story Garden’ featuring nature inspired imagery and an interactive website: Summer Reading Challenge.

The challenge was started by the UK Charity The Reading Agency, and last year, more than 4,000 children in Bristol took part, exploring a wide range of books from Bristol’s 26 libraries.

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Councillor Stephen Williams, Chair of the Public Health and Communities committee said: “The Summer Reading Challenge is a brilliant way to keep children engaged and inspired over the holidays, while helping to prevent the ‘summer slide’ in reading skills.

“This year’s nature-inspired ‘Story Garden’ theme is especially exciting — it encourages young readers to discover the joy of books while exploring the world around them. I encourage all families to visit their local library and get involved in this brilliant, free programme.”

Head of Libraries, Kate Murray, said: “The Summer Reading Challenge is a wonderful way to encourage young readers to get excited about books and reading that’s engaging and fun. The Story Garden theme will engage our children with nature and the amazing parks and gardens that are all around us, as well as hopefully inspiring them to explore the natural world.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing children and their families making the most of this free initiative, which is both stimulating and educational, over the summer holiday. We know that Bristol is an amazingly city for nature and we want our summer reading challengers to enjoy nature and stories, so come into your library and get started.”

To take part children can sign up at their nearest library, where they will be given a collector folder to keep a record of their Summer Reading Challenge journey. The Summer Reading Challenge website also offers book recommendations, quizzes, competitions, author interviews, and activities for all ages, plus resources for parents, carers, and teachers.