Summer Reading Challenge

North Yorkshire libraries will welcome children aged four to 11 to read six library books of their choice over the summer holidays, offering stickers and prizes to encourage children to take part.  

This year’s theme is 'Story Garden – adventures in nature and the great outdoors' by award-winning illustrator Dapo Adeola. Created by The Reading Agency and delivered in partnership with libraries, it encourages children to explore the connection between storytelling and nature.

Children sign up at their local library to start the challenge, which is to read six books over the summer break. Reading or listening to books with grown-ups or siblings also counts towards completing the challenge. They can choose any books they like, as long they’re from the library and ebooks and audiobooks borrowed from our digital platforms Borrowbox and Libby also count. For each book read, children collect stickers. When completed, they are presented with exclusive prizes, a certificate and medal.

Children who read a book from this list below as part of their six books can receive a copy of 'A Wildlife Match' magazine (normally exclusive to Wildlife Trust members), as well as a sticker:

• Wow said the Owl by Tim Hopgood
• A Busy Day for Birds and Peck Peck Peck by Lucy Cousins
• Tad by Benji Davies
• Let’s Go for a Walk with Ranger Hamza by Hamza Yaseen
• Maril’s Tangled Tale by Ellie Jackson
• The Brambly Hedge series by Jill Barkelm
• The Magic and Mystery Trees by Jen Green
• Twitch, Clutch, Spark, Feather series by M.G. Leonard
• The Wolf Road and Wolf Mountain by Alice Roberts

You can reserve and borrow these books from your local North Yorkshire Library.

Photography competition

The photography competition is aimed at encouraging children aged 7 to 11 to share their best nature shots. The photos can be of anything they see in the North Yorkshire countryside or in their own garden – a close up of a plant, an insect, an animal or a view of water, hills or sky.

The winners will see their pictures turned into limited edition library cards that will be used by library members across the county.

How to enter

Photographs (with details of where they were taken and the child’s name/library card number) can be emailed to library.secretaries@northyorks.gov.uk, ideally in jpg format. They should be landscape and no more than 4MB in size. Each child can send a maximum of three images.

Closing date: Saturday 13 September 2025.

Read the junior photography competition terms and conditions here.

Summer Reading Challenge events

There are many events for families taking place over the summer holidays to support the challenge, from creative writing, Lego, learning to knit to digital coding.

Events are free unless a cost is stated. Many are drop in events, but places are limited for some events and so you will need to book a place with your library in advance.

Please contact your local library for further information about what's on at your library.

See below the events and activities that are happening at your local library this summer.