20+ Ways to Make Summer Reading Fun

Summer reading is here and for many families, it can be a struggle to figure out how to make reading a part of summer without making it feel like homework or something mandatory that has to be gotten out of the way in order to do the FUN things.

The good news is that there are tons of ways to make summer reading fun – I asked on Instagram for how to create a culture of fun summer reading and there were so many great suggestions!

Here are some great ideas to get you started – because summer reading should be fun!

Fun Reading Activities

1. Set up a reading bingo challenge. Each square is a category like a book with a red cover or a book that features a dog. And then when they get a bingo or a blackout, have prizes they can choose from!
2. Participate in your library’s summer reading challenge. Many libraries do some sort of fun reading challenge during the summer that’s free to participate in and often has prizes at the end. Ask your librarian how to sign up!
3. Have a daily or weekly reading time. This is something my kids love – we get out some special snacks, everyone picks a book and it’s a quiet time to read all together (I have a whole post about it here!).
4. Visit the library frequently and let them choose their own books. Most people – kids and adults – don’t love assigned reading nearly as much as they love choosing their own books. Let your kids pick books that appeal to them at the library. It’s a great time to explore new genres, authors, and topics.
5. Pay for reading. This was a popular suggestion and if your child wants to earn some money this summer, it can be a great incentive. I heard ranges from $1 for every 100 pages/a penny per page to $2 chapter book.
6. Set up a parent/child book club. I loved this suggestion from a parent: “she got to pick a book she loved for me to read and in return I got to pick a book for her to read. We made a lunch date out of it while we talked about it and it felt like book club.”
7. Issue tickets for reading. You can give out tickets for every book/page/chapter/hour read and then each week or month have a little family store where they can redeem tickets for various treats and prizes.
8. Read books that have been made into movies and then watch the movies. This is a fun way to choose books to read and have a built-in reward at the end. Or watch the movie version FIRST and then dive into the book.
9. Set up a cozy spot just for reading. Most kids love a designated cozy spot of their own. It might be a little blanket fort in the playroom, a hammock in the backyard, or a little cushion in the corner of the living room.
10. Throw an ice cream party art the end of the summer for all the kids in the neighborhood who read during the summer. You can decide if you have a bar for attending (# of books read, etc) or that anyone who did any reading is invited. What a fun way to celebrate reading and the the end of summer!
11. Make a recipe together that relates to the book they read. This is a delightful idea and makes it fun for them watch for food mentioned in a book (like chocolate cake for Matilda).
12. Create a book stack as tall as they are! As they read over the summer, stack up the books they read and see if they can read more books than they are tall – it’s fun to see that visual and it makes for a very fun photo at the end of the summer.
13. Reward reading with MORE reading. For every book or certain number of books they read, take them to the bookstore and let them pick out a book to buy. I love this!
14. Let them earn a prize they want with a certain amount of reading. I heard from a lot of families that they rewarded a certain number of pages or books during the summer with a big LEGO set or a giant squishmallow.
15. Set a family goal for how many books to read during the summer and then go out for a fancy dinner altogether. I love this idea of making summer reading a family affair rather than something just imposed on kids.
16. Create funny categories of books to read. This is a great activity for the whole family to participate in creating, like books with orange covers or titles that start with the same letter as your name.
17. Let kids stay up later to read. For a child with a bedtime, there’s nothing quite as fun as getting to stay up a little later to read. And if you give them their own book light? Even more magical!
18. A post library book party. This is SUCH A fun idea – when you get home with all your library books, everyone eats ice cream while a parent reads aloud from picture books or a new chapter book. What a way to create positive association with books!
19. Make a book scavenger hunt. If it’s a book you’ve read before (or use Google!), give them a list of things to find as they read.
20. Make a book paper chain. For every book you read, make a loop in the paper chain to string around the room (write the title on the loop!). You could have every member of the family have their own color of loop or each of you can do your own chain.
21. Start a friend book club. One mom said, “every 2 weeks they read a new book, go to one of our houses and do a craft or recipe or watch the movie version.” Another parent said, they have “costumes, themed snacks, circle discussion. It’s a blast!”
22. Have a story afternoon at the end of the summer. One mom said her kids collect reminders of every book they’ve read in the summer and then everyone gets together at the end of summer to show off their items and tell about the books they’ve read.
23. Use the Summer Reading Chart. I’ve loved working with different designers on this each year and there are now five to pick from – print them out big, let everyone color them and follow along with the challenges and track your reading!!

Any other fun summer reading activity suggestions? I’d love to hear how you make summer reading feel fun and delightful!

if you liked this post about how to make summer reading fun:

• 20+ Tips for How to Make Reading Fun for Kids
• 25+ Ways to Kick Off Fridays in a Fun Way
• Free Summer Reading Chart