Next time you stop into your local Barnes & Noble, ask a seller for their Summer Reading Journal! It’s super simple, all your child has to do is read 8 books between now and September 5th, 2017. Each time they complete a book, have them write the title, author & favorite part, in their journal. Once they’ve finished their 8 books, bring their journal back to Barnes and Noble and get your FREE book.

This is an AMAZING program. Reading during the summer is extremely important to your child’s education. Imagine playing an instrument and then sitting it down for three months… picking right back up where you left off would be difficult! Same goes for reading. Your brain is like a muscle, it NEEDS to be worked out. And trust me, teachers can tell who read over the summer and who did not- it’s that noticeable. Not working out those brain muscles for an entire summer leads to ‘summer learning loss’, meaning some of the progress that was made during the school year, is now gone.

But DO NOT stress out. If you do not have 8 books at home- no worries! Check out your local library! Or maybe you’re thinking getting your child to read over the summer is the equivalent to obtaining world peace- again, no worries! If your child doesn’t like to read, they may not have found the right book! Which is totally okay! Remember this, READING IS READING. It does not matter if they’re reading a comic book, newspaper, magazine, manga(?), the back of a Mac n Cheese box- as long as they’re reading.

Also! Sweet parents, don’t forget to pick you a book up, too! Your kids don’t have to know you’re reading smut (or at least I am), all they will see is YOU ARE READING. Boom chow, readers are leaders. Need help finding a book?

Check out Books by Genre in Find Your Perfect Book.

SIDE NOTE: I FOUND A WEENIE DOG PILLOW AT BARNES & NOBLE. OH MER GAWD.