How to Make Summer Reading Fun and Exciting

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Ask most kids to pick up a book during July or August and they’d rather clean to room or eat a pile of over-cooked vegetables.

But you can make summer reading fun and exciting for kids. Here’s how:

Make Summer Reading Fun and Exciting

The key to making summer reading fun and exciting and not a total bore is to present kids with books they will love to read. And to introduce an element of challenge.

This works perfectly if you have kids of a similar age who can race against one another to read the most books. But you could also ask their friends, scout group or other buddies to join in.

Set a summer reading challenge for the kids and encourage them to race through a pile of books to receive exciting rewards as they complete the task as well as at the end of it.

A sticker and a certificate probably isn’t going to cut it for the over-5’s so set some rewards they will love.

Perhaps a day at a theme park at the end of the challenge, with some rewards of extra screen time, a trip to the movies, some smelly pens or some Legos, whatever makes their heart race!

Make reading different genres part of your challenge or they will probably read all the books in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and nothing else!

Say they have to read a non-fiction book, a book that has been made into a movie, and a book set under or by the sea. You could also mix up when and where they read to, for instance, under a tree, at grandma’s house, after breakfast. And even who they read to if reading aloud: to a sibling, to a pet, to an uncle or auntie.

All this variety makes reading more interesting and challenging, encouraging kids to complete their challenge and go after those rewards!

The next task is to come up with a list or even a physical pile of potential books to read. Stock your shelves with titles that are fun, interesting, and exciting. Check the recent New York Times bestseller lists for kids’ books and add a few to your cart.

Take into account your child’s interests and books they have previously enjoyed. See what else that author has written, research the best kids books on dragons or horses, whatever they love.

The first part of your reading challenge could be for your kid to pick their own reading list. In which case, they will probably pick authors, characters and themes that thye usually gravitate towards.

Try to mix up the collection with tales of friendship and foes, action and suspense, or triumph over adversity. You know what your child loves so give them plenty of those plus some new stories that will delight and enthral them.

Find new characters, genres and themes your child will enjoy and slip a few into the pile or onto the list when they’re not looking. Dependent on their reading level, you may need to choose books with enticing covers so they don’t get rejected out of hand!

By choosing books your child will love, and setting an exciting and fun challenge for the summer you will help even a reluctant reader to embrace reading this summer.

What Should we read?

If you don’t know what to read, check out this list of “What to Read” books for all ages. These books can help you find new books to introduce to your kids if you get stuck in a rut.

If you have a hard time finding them, you can order them through my Amazon affiliate links by clicking the images below.