A summer reading challenge enjoyed by scores of Nantwich youngsters has been hailed a “monster” success.
This year’s scheme run in Cheshire East libraries including Nantwich had a spooky theme.
And it proved a big hit at getting more children interested in books over the summer holidays.
It proved the most popular to date and saw record numbers of youngsters taking part and joining local libraries.
More children enrolled and more children completed the annual challenge than ever before – with figures up by more than a fifth and nearly a quarter respectively.
The scheme, designed for children aged four to 11, runs from July to September with support and materials from the Reading Agency.
Each child was challenged to visit the library four times and read at least six books over the summer.
Related activities locally included a ‘Creepy House Zoolab’ event, in which children got the chance to handle creepy animals.
A medal and certificate was awarded to all kids who completed the challenge at a ceremony in Nantwich Library in September.
Cllr David Brown, Cheshire East Cabinet member in charge of libraries, said: “It is really encouraging to see that each year it gets more and more popular with children and parents.
“The key is it really catches children’s imagination, keeps them amused and makes reading fun.
“Last year, 198 children joined the library as a result of the summer reading challenge – this year the figure was 262.
“The number of children who attended library events also shot up from 2,492 last year to 3,625. This is great news and we will aim to continue to build on this success.”
This year, 5,774 children in Cheshire East joined the reading challenge, with 3,427 completing it. Last year 4,748 joined, with 2,774 completing it.
Research shows that taking part in the summer reading scheme can help prevent a dip in reading motivation and attainment, which can be so common over the summer holidays.
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