The Summer Reading Challenge spotlights Marvellous Makers

A challenge to encourage children to read throughout the school summer holidays has made a welcome return to Manchester libraries.

The Summer Reading Challenge is a national initiative that encourages young readers aged 4 - 11 across the country to borrow and read books from the public library.

The Challenge is about reading for fun, so children can choose to read anything they like, while logging their reading with fun stickers in their free collector pack. All children reading six books or more will be rewarded with a Summer Reading Challenge medal and certificate.

This year's theme is 'Marvellous Makers' which celebrates creativity in every sense, meaning children can read books from fiction to non-fiction, poetry or even a graphic novel.

A series of free activities will also be on offer during the school holidays in libraries, encouraging children to get involved in the Challenge. Children will be invited to try beat boxing, a huge range of crafty sessions and even constructing marble runs!

Children can also get involved in competitions to win some great prizes. The book review writing and drawing competitions were a big hit last year and children are once again being invited to write a review for their peers or to get their creative juices flowing by entering a drawing competition.

In addition, there will be lucky draw prizes of packed goody bags to be given away across 22 libraries and just one fortunate winner will be selected for the largest draw of all with a £100 voucher up to spend.

But it's not just youngsters being encouraged to get into the rhythm of reading; parents, teachers and carers are all being challenged to take a trip to their local libraries and support those on their literary journey.

Kick-starting the challenge this year, Marc Makes Comics, held a packed-out interactive session with primary school children in the Performance Space at Manchester Central Library.

The talented illustrator helped them draw their best creative characters, in true comic fashion through a rollercoaster of expressions and plots to further their storytelling.

The digital Summer Reading Challenge platform will encourage children with limited physical access to the library to take part in the Challenge too.

The Summer Reading Challenge runs from 1 July-14 September.

Councillor John Hacking, Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure, said: "The Summer Reading Challenges brings thousands of children and families together to keep a love of reading thriving and their imaginations captivated while away from their classrooms.

"Manchester Libraries, along with our partner organisations, aim to put on spectacular events that engage talented authors and illustrators and children to make reading over the summer an immersive, fun and learning experience for youngsters."

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