SUMMER LEARNING GAP
explore different perspectives and unlock their own creativity.
Book titles featured in this year’s challenge include Space Band by Tom Fletcher, Lil’ Muffin by Romesh Ranganathan and Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae. Throughout the summer, authors, musicians and celebrity ambassadors will visit libraries across the UK for free family events, readings and activities linked to the challenge.
For the first time, children taking part in the Challenge will be encouraged to set personalised reading goals based on their own interests, from exploring new genres to discovering audiobooks, poetry or graphic novels. Each participating child will also receive a special edition of Storytime magazine packed with musical activities, games and new and stories. This year’s brilliant characters and illustrations have all been developed by award- winning children’s illustrator and author, Harry Woodgate.
“Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world” – Roald Dahl, Matilda
attention and pro-social behaviours later on in adolescence (Mak and Fancourt, 2020), as well as better mental wellbeing and cognitive performance (Sun and Sahakian, et al., 2023). Our own research found that 84% of parents believe reading supports their child’s mental wellbeing, while four in five say it helps build confidence (77%) and emotional skills (79%). Four in five parents say books help children feel less lonely by allowing them to immerse themselves in different worlds and experiences.
Unlike many summer activities, reading is also affordable, often free. It doesn’t cost a penny to go into a library, peruse the shelves, pick out a book that speaks to you, and dive in.
Perhaps most importantly, reading gives children ownership, as they are free to choose books that reflect their interests. From poems about nature, or a classic tale of a tiger that came for tea. It’s their imagination, their fantasy, their passions that make the text come alive.
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library”
– Jorge Luis Borges, Poem of The Gifts
Initiatives like the Government’s National Year of Reading act as a catalyst to ignite children’s imaginative spark, but they cannot act in a vacuum. True change starts on the ground – at home, in schools, and with libraries banging the drum for the importance of reading for pleasure throughout the summer.
Schools do an incredible job of fostering reading throughout the academic year, but libraries extend that support into the holidays. They remain one of the few free public spaces where families can access books, creative activities, community events and trusted support regardless of income.
July/August 2026
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Forget the stereotype of libraries as quiet, serious places reserved for the bookish. Libraries are vibrant, welcoming spaces where children can meet their favourite authors, get creative in workshops and discover new books alongside other young readers.
This collaborative approach sits at the heart of the Summer Reading Challenge. Delivered in partnership with public libraries nationally and supported in 2026 by Universal Music Group UK, a division of Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music entertainment company, this year’s theme celebrates the connection between the proven power of reading with music’s unique ability to inspire, connect and engage young people, encouraging children to discover new stories,
As school leaders prepare for the end of another academic year, it is often the simplest of acts that creates something remarkable. By encouraging families to visit their local library, letting children choose books that genuinely excite them, or making space for ten or twenty minutes of shared reading each day, you make change on a personal and local level. If we want children to arrive back in September ready to learn, we must also help them enjoy learning while they’re away from school. Encouraging reading for pleasure remains one of the most powerful, and accessible, ways to make that happen. By working together, schools, families and libraries can ensure that there is no summer slide, but a ladder to a world of pure imagination.
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