Summer Reading Programs 2016

As I mentioned last year, our family needs no incentive to read, but it is a fun bonus when there’s a prize for reading books. I’ll add to this list as the programs start and updates as we finish them! 🙂 TIP: Make sure to have a timer on hand to track those minutes! Pizza Hut BOOK IT! App is great for this!!

(Click HERE to read about some books and series we recommend.)

– Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Triathlon
– Half Price Books Summer Reading Program
– Alameda County Summer Reading Game
– San Leandro Public Library Summer Reading Challenge
– Others

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Triathlon

The free book prize is listed for kids in grades 1-6. If you have done this program in the past, it looks like it is different this year. Print out the form HERE, have your child answer the questions, drive them to your closest B&N, and choose your free book! There is also an activity kit on the site for more reading fun for the summer. Runs May 17 to September 6. 2012 |  2013

5/26 Update: The girls were able to go with their friends to redeem their prizes (and make other non-essential purchases). They all chose books from series that were new-to-them!

 

Half Price Books Summer Reading Program

There are two programs at Half Price Books – one for 8th grade and under and one for high schoolers. Not sure we have many blog readers with high schoolers, so for my sanity, I’m just sharing about the one for younger kiddos. Print out the form HERE, read for 15 minutes daily from June 1st to July 31st, add up minutes, get parent/guardian initials, turn in complete reading log (300 minutes/month) after the end of each month to earn $5 toward something in the store. I believe there is a kick-off event Sunday, June 5th.

7/5 Update: Well, we went into turn in the June minutes, and the girls decided to save their $5 Bookworm Bucks to use after they finish their July minutes. It was a hard decision as you can tell from the pics below. There were so many books they wanted, and they were calculating which ones they could get without wasting any of the $5 because if you don’t use it all, it’s gone. So…they are hoping some of the books they wanted will still be there when we go back in August to redeem the Bucks.

 

Alameda County Summer Reading Game

There are programs for all ages at the Alameda County Library branches. This year, there are two options – go and pick up a game board and/or play online to collect badges! I love this added online option because the girls go through their reading so quickly. I actually tell them not to color in what they have actually read because no one will believe them. #bookworms If you participate with the game board at the library, you will get one spin for every 30 minutes read. To get the first prize, you need to get a row stamped like in BINGO. For the final prize, you need to get all the squares stamped. If I did my math correctly, you would need to read 24.5 hours to complete the board. You can check here for the online game –> summer.aclibrary.org. The last day to sign up is August 13th. You can spin until August 20th. You have to claim your prizes by August 31st. 2010

6/22 Update: Melody got a BINGO on her gameboard and received her first prize, which included passes to Chabot Space & Science Center, Legoland, The Lawrence Hall of Science, and sticker sheet, and a Smencil.

6/29 Update: Emily got a BINGO on her gameboard and received her first prize. Melody got a blackout on her gameboard and received her final prize, which was a book of her choice. She chose Dragonwings by Laurence Yep.

7/13 Update: I finally got 25 points, which is the halfway point, so I got my first prize. We love these book bags. Now we have them in four colors. Emily got a blackout on her gameboard and received her final prize, which was a book of her choice. She chose Flower Designs Coloring Book. I thought she would go for one of the fairy books, but I was wrong. :p Note: We go to the library every week, but the other weeks when she spun the wheel, she never got enough squares stamped even after completing the hours to color in the sports balls and some of the activities. She pretty much had to do all the activities to get her board stamped. And even then, when she spun the wheel, it took a long time because she kept spinning squares that were stamped already. All that to say, you need a bit of patience when getting those last few squares stamped.

 

San Leandro Public Library Summer Reading Challenge

There are programs for all ages at the San Leandro Public Library branches. Same details about online and reading log, but the difference is how you receive prizes. If you participate with the reading log at the library, you will get your prizes for every 6 hours read. The log goes up to 24 hours, but you can get an extra card to complete more hours. (This is different for toddlers.) You can check here for the challenge –> SL summer reading. The carnival is on Saturday, August 13th. 2010 | Completion 2010 | Melody 2011 | Emily 2011 |  Carnival 2011

6/28 Update: Emily completed 6+ hours of reading for her 6 hours of reading prizes, which includes passes to Fairyland, Oakland Zoo, Lindsay Wildlife Experience, The Lawrence Hall of Science, and a prize of her choice from the prize board (she chose a bracelet and Melody chose a pen bracelet). Melody completed 12 hours of reading, so she got all of the aforementioned items, plus Loard’s ice cream gift certificate, 1 Free Junior Green Fee at Monarch Bay Golf Club, and a raffle ticket to enter the drawings available (she put it in the Great America envelope, also available was the Ringling Bros, Oakland A’s game, SF Giants games, Water World, etc.). (FYI, these statues at all the libraries are their favorites since they were little. :p The statue people didn’t want to look at the camera for the pic though. haha!) Oh, and I got one card to put in for the weekly drawing. 🙂

7/5 Update: Emily finished 18 hours of reading, so in addition to the 12-hour prizes (she put her raffle ticket in for bowling), she also received a swim pass, a free Mini Murph Pizza Kit from Papa Murphy’s, and a prize of her choice from the prize board (she chose the pen bracelet). Melody finished 24 hours and received the aforementioned, plus an invitation to the summer carnival, a free Chipotle kid’s meal, and a raffle ticket for a grand prize. I think she put it in the bowling envelope as well).

7/8 Update: Emily finished 24 hours of reading! She collected all her prizes and put her raffle ticket in for bowling. I guess they want to go bowling! :p Also, she really likes that dress. 🙂 Also, it was an oddly cold summer day and we all brought out boots back out.

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I’m not familiar with the rest of these summer reading program, but you can check them out for more free stuff! I’ll add in the dates as information arrives.

• Pizza Hut Book It Program – I think it runs throughout the year. You get free pizza.
• Scholastics Summer Reading Challenge – Log minutes and earn rewards. Starts May 9.
• Berkeley Public Library – Starts June 17.
• Oakland Public Library – Runs June 11 to August 6.
• Hayward Library – Runs June 11 to August 6.
• Alameda Free Library – Starts June 18. Looks like they had some great prizes and fun activities happening here last summer!