We were all kids once, right? And if we think hard enough (very hard for myself!) we can remember long summer days of unstructured, unscheduled,and gloriously unsupervised freedom. Books were something that happened at school, not in July. My parents weren’t worried about learning loss. They were worried about feeding the neighborhood and the ac escaping through the turnstile of kids.
But somewhere between the stone age and now,the research caught up with all of us. Studies show that kids can lose 17 to 28 percent of their reading gains over a single summer — and by fifth grade, students hit hardest by that slide can fall two to three years behind their peers. Those numbers stopped me in my tracks the first time I read them. All that hard work from September to May, quietly slipping away between popsicles and Spongbob reruns.
But there’s good news. Change doesn’t require a tutor, curriculum, or a round of summer school. It just takes books — and a little motivation to keep turning pages when the pool is calling.
When my own kids were growing up, I tried everything to make reading feel less like homework and more like part of the adventure. And I have to say — the resources available today are so much better than anything we had.
Here are five programs I think are worth bookmarking right now.
Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Summer of Stories
This one has been quietly working its magic since 1984, and honestly? It still works. Parents set reading goals through the free BOOK IT! Mobile App, kids track their minutes, and every child who hits their goal earns a free Personal Pan Pizza. The summer program runs June through August, with up to five pizza certificates per family each month. If you have a reluctant reader in the house, pizza is a surprisingly effective.
WeAreTeachers Scratch-Off Reading Challenges
This one made me smile the moment I saw it. Free printable reading challenge sheets that pair with scratch-off stickers — kids read before breakfast, under a tree, or to a stuffed animal, then scratch off a circle to reveal their reward. It turns reading into something that feels a little bit like winning. Submit your email on their site to grab the free templates.
New England Patriots Read Between the Lines
For the sports-loving kids in your life, this program runs from summer all the way through the NFL regular season in February. Kids log reading minutes and complete challenges to earn points and monthly prizes — and the top participants get invited to a season-end event with players, cheerleaders, and Pat Patriot himself. Last year, participants logged over 248,000 reading minutes combined. That’s a winning season by any measure.
Half Price Books Summer Reading Camp
If you haven’t wandered the shelves of a Half Price Books lately, this is your excuse. Starting June 1, registered families get access to reading logs, curated reading lists by age, activity ideas, and coloring sheets all summer long. Pick up reading logs at your local store, track progress toward rewards, and let the kids pick out something that actually interests them. That last part matters more than we sometimes admit.
White House Summer Reading Challenge
Second Lady Usha Vance is behind this one, and it’s as simple as it gets. Download the printable reading challenge from whitehouse.gov and work through it as a family. There’s something meaningful about connecting a child’s summer reading to something bigger than just the bookshelf.
Summer is short. We all know that. But it’s also one of the best opportunities we have to show kids that reading isn’t just something school asks of them. It’s something they can choose, explore, and love on their own terms. Some of my own stories were born in moments exactly like this — long afternoons, good books, and the kind of quiet that lets imagination take over.
So, what does reading look like at your house this summer? And which of these programs are you most likely to try with your kids or grandkids?