Summer Reading Challenge 2020

The Summer Reading Challenge is here! The fun is all happening online at the Summer Reading Challenge website. It does mean we’ll miss hearing all about the books you’ve been reading, but we hope the digital rewards will encourage you to read all summer long!

What is the Summer Reading Challenge?

Every summer kids across the UK read six library books and collect stickers, prizes and other great rewards.

This year we can’t meet in libraries or borrow library books. Instead, you can read any book you like, from anywhere at all. You can log your reading on the Summer Reading Challenge (we’ll call it SRC from now on) website.

How to start the Summer Reading Challenge

  • Head on over to sillysquad.org.uk
  • Create a profile, entering a username and an email address. Parents need to verify the email before you can take part. Mums and Dad: Full details about the parent passport here,
  • This year, you get to pick how many books you read. Usually it’s 6, but if you’re a big reader, you might want to set your goal a bit higher.
  • When you finish a book, add it to your profile and give it some stars and write a review. You’ll get an online badge, a game or maybe a video!
  • When you’ve finished the challenge, download the certificate.

What do I read?

One of the best bits of the SRC is choosing the books you’re going to read and it’s something we love helping you to do at the library.

Sadly, we can’t use books from the public library at the moment, because we’ve had to stay closed to keep everyone safe. But you can read or listen to a book from anywhere else. Maybe you can use books from your school library?

We’ve found a few places online where you can access ebooks and audiobooks for free.

More information here:

Info for parents

Info for teachers

Free online books for kids

With the library closed, where do you go to get free children’s books? Here’s our round up the free book portals we’ve found online. If you know of anything we’ve missed, let us know.

We’ll add more resources as we find them.

Falkirk LIbraries free ebook and audiobook service

Our RB Digital offers quick access to books, audiobooks and magazines for adults and kids. Check out the titles by clicking the links below.

RB Digital is easily accessed in the app, available for Apple, Android and Kindle Fire. It keeps your ebooks, audiobooks and magazines in the one place.

How to register using the app:
⦁ Visit your app store and install RB Digital
⦁ When you open the app you’ll be given the choice to log in or register
⦁ Choose ‘Register now’
⦁ Pick your country and find ‘Falkirk Community Trust Ltd’ in the list
⦁ Enter your library card number and create an account as prompted on the screen
⦁ You’ll log in from now on with your username and password. 

If you’re not already a member of Falkirk LIbraries, you can get a temporary online membership by filling in this web form.

Falkirk Learning Resource Service ebooks and eAudiobooks

If you go to school in the Falkirk area that means you’ll have a school Glow account. That means you can use the Schools’ Learning Resource Service Borrowbox app! They have ebooks and audiobooks.

More audiobooks and stories online

Amazon Audible have given free access to a range of kids audiobooks during lockdown.

Storyline Online has story videos for children from nursery, through primary age. Take a look at the age recommendations, keeping in mind they are in American grade school format. For primary age you’re looking at grades 1-6.

Oxford Owl have range of their reading tree and phonics books for various ages

Amazon Kindle offers a range of free downloads for children ebooks:

Booktrust has storybooks to read online for younger readers

Help for children with dyslexia

Barrington Stoke produce super-readable fiction designed to support young readers with dyslexia.

Their parents page has book samples and they’ve produced a special Homeschooling Guide for Lockdown.

Reading rewards with the Summer Reading Challenge

Head to the Summer Reading Challenge website to log the books you’ve been reading and collect digital badges, videos and games on the way. More details in our Summer Reading Challenge post.

Welcome to Library Love!

We miss you and we hope you and your loved ones are doing okay.

Welcome to our blog, which started out as a home for our Library Love podcast, good news and reading suggestions.

Since lockdown started, it’s become another way we can stay connected. It’s also filling up with our ideas for keeping busy, creative and entertained. Stick the kettle on and stay a while. Comments and ideas encouraged!

Reading for kids

Storytime videos, author interviews , book activities…

Reading for adults

Reading ideas, authors and celebs, book groups…

Family Fun

Virtual visits and ideas for creative online – and offline – fun

Crafternoon

Crafty ideas for adults and kids, suggested by library staff