Encourage your children to keep reading this Summer – Silly Squad, the 2020 Summer reading challenge is here!

You’ll be pleased to hear, that whilst our buildings are still closed to the Public, we’re still able to offer children the chance to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge this year. The challenge has gone digital, and so have we! Find out everything you need to know about how to join, find events and borrow books below.

Normally, a member of our libraries team would come in to school to tell pupils all about the challenge. This year, we’re bringing assembly home. Watch Apryl and Adam tell you all about the Summer Reading Challenge in Norfolk in this Youtube video.

How to join the 2020 Challenge

Step 1: Join the challenge at www.summerreadingchallenge.org.uk Parents will need to set up their own account first before setting up their children to make sure they have permission to take part.

Step 2: Set your own challenge.  We’re still encouraging children to read at least 6 books but you can set your own challenge for more – it’s a long time until September! You can even adjust it as time goes on.

Step 3: Get reading!

Step 4: After you finish your first book, log back in at www.summerreadingchallenge.org.uk and log your book! Get virtual rewards and unlock new buddies as you get closer to your target.

What to read?

You can ANYTHING you like – books you have at home, books you have bought home from school, library books you still have on loan. We’d love you to try out our ebook library, which you can browse here: https://norfolk.overdrive.com/library/childrens you can borrow books to read and books to listen to. It’s free, you just need a library card.

If you don’t have a library card, don’t worry, you can still join the library here: https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/libraries-local-history-and-archives/libraries/your-library-account/join-the-library

All of our elibrary is free to borrow, you can use the Libby app on your tablet or smartphone, or read online on a laptop or PC.

As well as books, we have lots of magazines and comics you can read on the Press Reader app or website, wwww.pressreader.com. From the Beano to horseriding, gaming to pets, there are lots of topics to keep you interested.  To sign up for free, sign up with a library card, not a social media account.

If your children are not reading yet, or just starting out, books you read to them, or read together count too. Enjoying books as a family is important too. The library Youtie channel already has some great picture book recommendations (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXWPpCCxMthT-mb3dPdzWZA) and there will be new suggestions added very week for children of all ages.

Events and activities

Whilst we can’t welcome you in to our library buildings for events, our Facebook page, Norfolk Libraries for Families, has lots of different things going on. Storytime, bounce and rhyme, book recommendations and activities – find out the latest events here: www.Facebook.com/NorfolkLibrariesForFamilies

Mondays and Wednesdays at 12pm – Storytime – let your children sit and listen to a story from one of our library team – you can even count it as a book toward your target afterwards!

Mondays at 2pm – a new book for our ebook club. Listen to one of the library team share the first chapter of our library book club read and find out how to download it yourself for free.

Tuesdays at 10am – Bounce and Rhyme time. Songs and rhymes for under 5s and anyone else who enjoys a song!

Wednesdays at 4.30pm – Brick builders challenge. A new theme for your buildings set every week.

Thursdays at 10am – Silly Squad book time. A member of our library team will share their favourite book for 7-11 year olds to download from our ebook library, and suggest some book related activities to do as well.

Fridays at 12pm – story and activity time. Another story from our libraries team with a fun activity to do too.

You can even message the children’s team, who’d be happy to help with anything to do with children’s reading.

*Due to publishers’ permissions, story times have to be deleted after viewing. All other videos will be available to watch later and on our Youtube channel.