PLA Blog

I was a bit leery when I read the course description for this workshop. I just didn’t believe there was any way to get the children at my library off the computer and excited about reading. I thought I had tried it all.

I’m happy to say, I think I was wrong. The Global Reading Challenge is another of those “infectiously inspiring” nuggets that this conference seems to be full of this year. Who would have ever thought you could turn reading into a sport? Not me, that’s for sure! But that is exactly what the Global Reading Challenge has done.

Working within a core set of rules, but infinitely malleable, the Global Reading Challenge gives teams of children a set of books to read and then pits them against each other to answer questions pertaining to the stories. The highest scoring teams advance, culminating in a tournament for the Global Reading Challenge trophy.  And there is always cookies and juice.

I was gobsmacked by the videos of children clamoring to be involved.  One presenter even said that Global Reading Challenge was more popular than Summer Reading Program!  Many schools have even incorporated the Challenge into their curriculum — reading one or more of the selections in the classroom.

I’m extremely excited to get home and try and figure out how this program could work for us.  We are small, but we are mighty and I’m always up for a good game!