Top 9 free summer reading challenges for kids, 2027
The 9, in order
- Peabody's Summer 2027 · ours. 1 June to 31 August 2027: 20 books for ages 5 to 7, 12 for 8 to 10, 8 longer ones from 11 up; a shelf that fills on the device, a chart and a certificate to print. No account, nothing typed by a child.
- PBS KIDS Summer Reading Chart. A free printable chart on PBS KIDS for Parents' Summer of Adventure page, for keeping track of the books a child reads over the summer. No dates and no sign-up for the chart; the newsletter beside it is optional.
- Your public library's summer reading programme. Most US public libraries run one, free with a library card. Many use the Collaborative Summer Library Program's theme: 'Unearth a Story' in 2026, and 'Mysteries Await at Your Library' for 2027. Sign up with your own library.
- Dayton Metro Library (Ohio): Summer Reading Challenge. An example of a library's: last summer ran 1 June to 31 July 2026, from birth to 18; a free book after the first day logged and another at 30 days; on Beanstack or a paper tracker from a branch. 2027 not announced.
- The Reading Agency: Summer Reading Challenge (UK). With public libraries: a child sets a goal and reads any books, collecting stickers at the library or badges online, and a certificate. 2026's, 'Read to the Beat', began 20 June in Scotland and 4 July in England and Wales; 2027 not on the page.
- TD Summer Reading Club (Canada). A free bilingual club delivered by over 2,200 Canadian public libraries: register for an online notebook to track summer reading, with free e-books and activities. The page showed no summer dates.
- Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Summer of Stories. BOOK IT!'s summer programme runs in June, July and August, beside the October-to-March school year; its home page gave no 2027 dates or details on 31 Oct 2026.
- The national Summer Reading Challenge (IMLS). 2026's was for grades K to 8: read 12 books of your choice on a downloadable tracker and submit it online by 4 September 2026 for a certificate and a small prize. No 2027 challenge listed.
- Bookroo Summer Reading Challenge. Last summer's ran 1 June to 31 August 2026 by grade band, from birth to grade 7: finish your grade's book list for a free book box (you pay shipping), or read 10 pages on 20 days a month for trading cards. 2027 not announced.
How this list is made
Ranked by what a family needs to start: nothing at all first, then a library card, then a class or an app, then an online form or an account. Each row but ours was read on its own page on 31 Oct 2026 and is linked; on that day almost none had 2027 dates, so each says what its page showed. Closed: Scholastic's Home Base, where Scholastic's free summer challenge ran (its own notice: closed as of 4 November 2025), and scholastic.com/summer, which answered 404. Left out because their pages answered with a bot check on 31 Oct 2026: Barnes & Noble's, Books-A-Million's and Half Price Books' summer programmes.