Northamptonshire children read 40,000 books over the summer as part of libraries reading challenge

School children aged four to 12 years old were encouraged to read at least six books each during their summer break as part of the annual Summer Reading Challenge run by Northamptonshire libraries.

The most popular books read by children this summer included Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and books by David Walliams.

Libraries also held events to encourage children to read. This year’s theme was Record Breakers and activities included treasure hunts, crafts and record-breaking games.

Children who took part in the challenge were given a poster to help them keep track of their progress and were rewarded with a set of stickers for every two books they completed. Every child who completed the challenge received a certificate and a medal.

Cllr Robin Brown, county council cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, said: “We are delighted that so many local school children took part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge.

“It is a great way to help maintain and improve the children’s reading ability over the summer break, which is really important for when they return to school in September.

“It’s also important that children enjoy reading, and the Summer Reading Challenge has been a great way to get the whole family involved and have fun.”

One parent said: “My children get very excited about the Summer Reading Challenge each year. They are more motivated to read for this than any other part of the year!”

Another said: “As a parent I loved this and it was set as our children’s summer homework. We loved the colourful poster and smelly stickers. We are really grateful to the library staff for their enthusiasm.”