Over the year young readers have the opportunity expand and develop their reading choices by taking part in reading challenges. The Summer Reading Challenge is held over the summer holiday, and Bloodaxe Book Challenge is held over autumn/winter.
Summer Reading Challenge
The Summer Reading Challenge 2025 launches on Saturday 12 July at Explore York Libraries this summer. Over the summer children can enjoy choosing and reading books of their choice and get to collect rewards along the way.
Thanks to the generous support of our local partners, we’re having weekly prize draws for challenge participants, and they will have the chance to win some fantastic family tickets to local venues. Each week of the summer holiday any child signed up to the challenge will be automatically entered into that week’s prize draws and over the summer they will have the chance to win:
3 family tickets to York Maze; 2 family tickets to Clip ‘n’ Climb, 6 family tickets to AquaSplash, 6 family tickets to roller skating, and 6 family tickets to Wonderlab!
The earlier children sign up to the Summer Reading Challenge the more prize draws they will be entered into!
The final prize draw will be for all children who have completed the challenge, and they will get the chance to win one of 2 family tickets to see Cinderella at the Grand Opera House.
Bloodaxe Book Challenge
The Bloodaxe Book Challenge, delivered in collaboration with Jorvik, ran November 2024 through to January 2025
The Bloodaxe author this year was Sophie Kirtley, and her fabulous book The Haunting of Fortune Farm provided the illustrations for the challenge. Thanks to our partners Jorvik, all children who took part received stickers and a bookmark, and all children who read 4 books were invited to a special event with Sophie Kirtley in February half term at York Explore.
