The theme for this year’s Summer Reading Challenge (2024) across Bedford Borough Libraries has been announced as ‘Marvellous Makers’.
Produced by The Reading Agency, the free challenge, designed to keep children aged four to eleven engaged with reading while on their summer break will run from Saturday, 13 July through to Saturday, 7 September.
The ‘Marvellous Makers’ theme is all about encouraging children to use their imagination and explore the world of storytelling through reading.
Cllr Sarah Gallagher (Conservative, Shortstown), the Portfolio Holder for Customer Experience, said: “This year’s Summer Reading Challenge promises to be a fantastic adventure for young minds and I encourage all young budding inventors, storytellers and creative minds to join in”.
When children join, they will receive a bookmark with spaces for eighteen stamps, which they will receive each time they return a book they’ve read to a library.
There are three rewards to collect once children have read six, twelve, and eighteen books.
The first reward is a special Marvellous Maker certificate, the second a door hanger, and the third is the much-loved Summer Reading Challenge medal.
All library books count towards the challenge, so children can enjoy anything from picture, story, joke and poetry books, as well as audiobooks.
Children can request books for free on the Bedford Borough Libraries website or app and by asking staff in the libraries.
Children can also join the Summer Reading Challenge on the Mobile Library. The Bedford Borough Mobile Library travels across Bedford Borough each week.
All children are welcome to join the Summer Reading Challenge, even if they are not library members yet. It is free for people of any age to join Bedford Borough Libraries.
A parent or guardian just needs to complete a form either at the library or online and collect a library to join. Parents and carers must remain with children under 14 in the libraries.
More information about the summer reading challenge can be found at the libraries area of the Bedford Borough Council website.
