Children in Somerset are being encouraged to explore the outdoors through books this summer.<\/p>\n
Somerset Council has launched the annual Summer Reading Challenge in partnership with The Reading Agency, inviting children aged four to 11 to read six books during the summer holidays.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s theme, Story Garden, celebrates nature and storytelling, aiming to inspire a deeper connection with the outdoors through reading.<\/p>\n
Cllr Federica Smith-Roberts, Somerset Council\u2019s lead member for communities, said: “This is a fantastic way to encourage more children to pick up a book and discover how reading can entertain and inspire.<\/p>\n
“Libraries across Somerset will be buzzing with free activity packs, nature-themed events, and a handpicked collection of books designed to spark curiosity and creativity and keep children reading.”<\/p>\n
Children who complete the challenge will earn a medal and other rewards.<\/p>\n
The scheme also features illustrations by award-winning artist Dapo Adeola.<\/p>\n
Now in its 26th year, the challenge is designed to help children maintain good reading habits throughout the summer break.<\/p>\n
Karen Napier, CEO of The Reading Agency, said: “The Summer Reading Challenge continues to be a bright light in what has recently been an uncertain picture of children’s reading.<\/p>\n
“Story Garden will create magical spaces where children can explore and be curious, combining the joy of reading with the proven wellbeing benefits of connecting with nature.”<\/p>\n
More information about the Summer Reading Challenge and participating libraries can be found by visiting somerset.gov.uk\/libraries\/summer-reading-challenge-2025.<\/p>\n
In 2024, the scheme reached nearly 600,000 children and led to more than 100,000 new library memberships.<\/p>\n
The challenge is free to join and is delivered in partnership with public libraries in Somerset.<\/p>\n
To take part, children simply need to visit their nearest library and sign up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Children in Somerset are being encouraged to explore the outdoors through books this summer. Somerset Council has launched…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[457,7503,18674,96,3882,18671,18673,18672,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-30327","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-children","10":"tag-cllr-federica-smith-roberts","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-somerset","13":"tag-somerset-council","14":"tag-summer-reading-challenge","15":"tag-the-reading-agency","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}