Lincolnshire Libraries join in virtual Reading Challenge

Better Libraries, in partnership with The Reading Agency and Lincolnshire County Council, are going online to launch this year’s challenge tomorrow, Friday June 5.

This year’s event promises loads of silly fun for children aged 4 to 11.

Once children have signed up they can head to Lincolnshire Libraries’ social media channels for fun activities and book recommendations and download the free library app Libby to borrow e-books to complete the challenge.

The theme for this year’s challenge is ‘Silly Squad’ and the aim is to encourage children to read whatever makes them happy, get silly and have fun.

Cllr Nick Worth, executive member for culture at Lincolnshire County Council said: “The Summer Reading Challenge has always been popular with young people in normal times, but our current situation has provided us with online alternatives that are both fun and maybe a little silly!

“It is a great opportunity for our young people to enhance their reading skills and most importantly to have fun while doing it.”

After signing up on the summer reading challenge website, and discovering all its free quizzes, games and downloadable activities, children and their families can visit the Lincolnshire Libraries Facebook and Twitter channels @Lincslibraries and join in the fun there.

Library staff have all sorts of silliness planned for the summer and every Friday at 10am and 3pm they will be running their online Silly Squad Club, sharing crafts, activities and reading recommendations.

By downloading the free library app, Libby, children can borrow a range of riveting reads to help them complete the challenge.

Library staff have created a special Silly Squad collection of ebooks on Libby too, to help inspire and enthuse young readers around the county.

The Summer Reading Challenge 2020 will run from June to September, with an online virtual party on Friday June 5 to launch the new website- summerreadingchallenge.org.uk

Being the biggest children’s reading for pleasure programme in the UK, last year saw more than 700,000 children and their families take part.

The first Summer Reading Challenge took place in 1999 and is an annual initiative with a different theme each year.

This year’s theme is ‘Silly Squad’ and award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, Laura Ellen Anderson, has created some bespoke illustrations for the event.