Summer Reading Challenge
Welcome to the Scott M. Books Summer Reading Challenge, a free reading program created for teachers, parents, homeschool families, reading coaches, and children who want to keep reading, learning, and growing during the summer months.
This challenge is designed to help children enjoy meaningful stories while building important reading and life skills. Through free children’s books, printable activity pages, discussion questions, writing prompts, kindness challenges, and creative projects, students can practice reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing, responsibility, kindness, courage, and imagination.
Whether you are teaching at home, planning summer learning activities, supporting a classroom reading goal, or looking for screen-free educational resources, this challenge gives children a fun and simple way to keep reading all summer long.
Summer Reading Challenge
Books and Activities are Linked Below
How the Summer Reading Challenge Works
The challenge is simple:
- Choose a free book or story from ScottMBooks.com.
Students begin by selecting a children’s book or story that interests them. - Read the story.
Children can read independently, with a parent, with a teacher, or as part of a homeschool or reading group. - Complete a printable activity page.
Students can choose from reading comprehension questions, vocabulary practice, writing prompts, character feelings pages, sequencing activities, book review pages, kindness challenges, and more. - Talk about the lesson.
After reading, students discuss what the character learned and how the lesson connects to real life. - Complete one small act of kindness.
Students are encouraged to practice kindness, responsibility, patience, courage, or helpfulness inspired by the story.
Free Resources Included
The Summer Reading Challenge includes free resources that can be downloaded, printed, and used at home, in the classroom, or in a homeschool setting.
Free resources may include:
Free children’s books and stories
Engaging stories that teach kindness, courage, responsibility, patience, friendship, empathy, and caring for others.
Reading comprehension pages
Questions that help students understand characters, setting, problem, events, and ending.
Vocabulary builder pages
Age-appropriate words with definitions, sentence practice, and drawing space.
Kindness challenge pages
Simple acts of kindness inspired by the stories.
Responsibility charts
Printable pages that help students practice responsibility at home, school, and in daily life.
Book review pages
Students rate the book, describe their favorite part, and recommend it to another reader.
Parent and teacher discussion guides
Simple questions adults can use after reading to encourage meaningful conversations.
Summer Reading Challenge Goals
The goal of the Scott M. Books Summer Reading Challenge is to help children:
Read more during the summer
Build stronger comprehension skills
Practice vocabulary and writing
Reflect on character choices
Learn kindness and responsibility
Develop courage and patience
Connect stories to real life
Build confidence as readers
Enjoy books in a positive, meaningful way
This challenge is not just about finishing books. It is about helping children understand what they read and apply the lessons to their own lives.
Suggested Challenge Levels
Families, teachers, and homeschool groups can choose the level that works best for their students.
Level 1: Summer Reader
Read 2 books or stories and complete 2 activity pages.
Level 2: Summer Reading Explorer
Read 3 books or stories and complete 3 activity pages.
Level 3: Summer Reading Champion
Read 5 books or stories, complete 5 activity pages, and complete 5 acts of kindness.
Bonus Challenge: Kindness Reader
After each book, complete one small act of kindness inspired by the story.
Suggested Activities After Each Book
After reading, students can complete one or more of the following:
Answer story comprehension questions
Write about their favorite part
Draw their favorite scene
List three words that describe the main character
Put the story events in order
Write about the lesson of the story
Complete a kindness challenge
Create a book review
Talk with an adult about the character’s choices
Share one thing they learned from the story
Questions to Ask After Reading
Adults can use these simple questions after each book:
What was your favorite part of the story?
Who was the main character?
Where did the story take place?
What problem did the character face?
How did the character feel?
What choice did the character make?
What lesson did the story teach?
How can you use this lesson in real life?
What kind act could you do because of this story?
Would you recommend this book to another reader? Why?
Summer Kindness Challenge
Stories can inspire children to make a difference. As part of the Summer Reading Challenge, students are encouraged to complete small acts of kindness.
Kindness ideas include:
Help clean up without being asked
Read with a younger child
Write a kind note to someone
Thank a parent, teacher, coach, or helper
Share a book with a friend
Help care for a pet or plant
Invite someone to join an activity
Give someone a sincere compliment
Pick up litter safely with adult permission
Help a family member with a chore
Small acts of kindness can help children understand that the lessons in books can become actions in real life.
For Teachers
Teachers can use the Summer Reading Challenge as a simple take-home reading program, classroom extension activity, summer learning packet, or literacy enrichment resource. The printable pages are designed to support reading comprehension, writing, vocabulary, sequencing, discussion, and character education.
For Parents
Parents can use these resources to keep children reading during the summer without making it feel like extra homework. Each book and activity page gives children a chance to read, think, talk, write, draw, and practice life lessons in a simple and meaningful way.
For Homeschool Families
Homeschool families can use the challenge as a summer literature unit, morning work activity, family read-aloud program, or character-building study. The activities are flexible, printable, and easy to adapt for different ages and learning levels.
Start the Summer Reading Challenge Today
Download the free resources, choose a book, and begin your summer reading adventure.
The Scott M. Books Summer Reading Challenge helps children read, learn, imagine, and grow through stories that teach both literacy skills and life lessons.
Start with the free books and activities today at ScottMBooks.com.
Lily and The Summer Farm
Lily and the Summer Farm is a story about growing—both in the garden and in the heart.
When Lily arrives at Grandpa Jim’s farm for the summer, she is not sure what to expect. The farm is peaceful and beautiful, but it is also full of reminders of Ben, whose kindness and love for small acts of care still live on in quiet ways. As Lily spends her days helping with animals, planting seeds, gathering vegetables, repairing what has been broken, and learning from Grandpa Jim, she begins to discover that the farm has many lessons to teach.
Book
Activity Pages
Before You Read page
Story comprehension page
Vocabulary builder
Kindness challenge
Book review page
Responsibility Charts
Parent and teacher Guides
Sally and The Summer Surprise
Every summer begins with a little bit of wonder.
For Sally, this summer begins with pride, excitement, and one very special surprise. After working hard all school year and earning a place on the Honor Roll, Sally discovers that her effort, kindness, and determination have not gone unnoticed. But the gift waiting for her at home is more than a reward. It is the beginning of a brand-new responsibility.
His name is Patches.
Book
Sally and The Summer Surprise Book
Activity Pages
Before You Read page
Story comprehension page
Vocabulary builder
Kindness challenge
Book review page
Responsibility Charts
Parent and teacher Guides
Thomas and The School Bully
Every child deserves to feel safe, valued, and accepted at school. Yet sometimes kids face moments that make the day feel heavy, moments when hurtful words or actions appear. It might be whispers in the hallway, laughter that doesn’t feel kind, or sitting alone at lunch while everyone else seems to have a place to belong.
Thomas and the School Bully is a story about those moments.
But more than anything, it’s a story about courage.
Book
Activity Pages
Before You Read page
Story comprehension page
Vocabulary builder
Kindness challenge
Book review page
Responsibility Charts
Parent and Teacher discussion guides.
Thomas Loves His Cat
Thomas Loves His Cat is written for young readers, typically those in preschool through early elementary school (approximately ages 3–8). The language, themes, and illustrations are designed to be accessible for children who are beginning to read on their own, while still being engaging for younger children who enjoy listening to stories read aloud by parents, caregivers, or teachers. Because of its gentle pacing and warm illustrations, the book works especially well as a bedtime story, a classroom read-aloud, or a shared reading moment between a child and an adult.
Book
Activity Pages
Before You Read page
Story comprehension page
Vocabulary builder
Kindness challenge
Book review page
Responsibility Charts
Parent and Teacher discussion guides.
The Smallest Acts of Kindness
This is a story about a girl named Lily and the love she carries for someone she misses very much. It is a story about grief, yes, but even more than that, it is a story about what grief can become when it is gently shaped by memory, kindness, and hope.
When loss first enters life, it can make the world feel quieter, heavier, and unfamiliar. Ordinary things can suddenly seem changed—a window, a moonbeam, or a favorite object on a shelf. Even bedtime can feel different when someone you love is no longer where they used to be.
In the end, Lily and the Moonlit Rescue becomes a gentle story about courage, kindness, and carrying love forward. Through her moonlit dreams with Ben, Lily discovers that even the smallest acts of care can make a difference—helping a frightened animal, listening closely, being brave in uncertain moments, and choosing kindness when it matters most. As the dreams guide her back into the real world, Lily begins to understand that Ben’s spirit lives on through every good thing she does. The story closes with hope, reminding readers that love does not disappear when someone is gone; it becomes a light we carry, a promise we keep, and a reason to help others whenever we can.