Explore adventures in nature with this year's Summer Reading Challenge
Next: Sunday, 6 July 2025
Runs until Saturday, 6 September 2025 (See all dates)
- Time
- 00:00 - 23:59
- Price
- FREE
Youngsters across Derbyshire are being encouraged to sign up to this year’s Summer Reading Challenge to explore the magical connection between storytelling and nature through reading.
All Derbyshire County Council libraries will be taking part in the annual Summer Reading Challenge (presented by The Reading Agency) which will be officially launched on Saturday 5th July 2025. This year’s theme is Story Garden – Adventures in Nature and the Great Outdoors.
The Story Garden theme will provide plenty of opportunities for children to explore their imagination and experience adventures in nature and the great outdoors through the power of reading.
The challenge is delivered in partnership with libraries and designed to ensure that primary school children keep up their reading skills over the summer, as well as providing much-needed entertainment.
Children can sign up at their local library any time throughout the summer, from Saturday 5 July, with the challenge being to read six or more library books. Youngsters will collect up to six stickers and once they have collected them all they will have completed the challenge and receive a medal and certificate.
Super sign-up Saturday, as it is being called, will see activities taking place at most Derbyshire libraries.
Councillor Dawn Abbott, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Communities, said: "It’s vital that children keep up their reading skills over the long summer holiday and the Summer Reading Challenge is a brilliant way to do that. It also introduces youngsters to all that our libraries have to offer them.
“Encouraging children to read independently and helping them to develop a love of books and reading has enormous benefits for their development and educational achievement.”
Derbyshire libraries will be hosting a variety of events and activities to entertain children, with many linked to the reading challenge. People who are interested in taking part can find events listed on the libraries’ Facebook page, the What’s On section of the libraries website or contact their local library for details.
Last year’s challenge saw 4,477 people signing up to the challenge in Derbyshire, with 723 more children joining the library so that they could take part.
During the challenge Derbyshire libraries issued 150,836 children’s books and 4,297 children’s e-audio and e-books.
Over the course of the challenge Derbyshire’s libraries hosted 187 events and drop-ins, with 3,354 people taking part.
The challenge is free to join and runs until 6th September 2025.
Dates
The event runs from 00:00 to 23:59 on the following dates.
Select a date to add this event to your calendar app.
- July 15th
- July 16th
- July 17th
- July 18th
- July 19th
- July 20th
- July 21st
- July 22nd
- July 23rd
- July 24th
- July 25th
- July 26th
- July 27th
- July 28th
- July 29th
- July 30th
- July 31st
- August 1st
- August 2nd
- August 3rd
- August 4th
- August 5th
- August 6th
- August 7th
- August 8th
- August 9th
- August 10th
- August 11th
- August 12th
- August 13th
- August 14th
- August 15th
- August 16th
- August 17th
- August 18th
- August 19th
- August 20th
- August 21st
- August 22nd
- August 23rd
- August 24th
- August 25th
- August 26th
- August 27th
- August 28th
- August 29th
- August 30th
- August 31st
- September 1st
- September 2nd
- September 3rd
- September 4th
- September 5th
- September 6th
