It’s an unfortunate reality of adulthood that summer doesn’t mean what it used to. There’s no months-long break from school or work, you don’t get to turn off your alarm and sleep in every day, and you definitely can’t get chocolate wasted on a whim like you used to anymore. You don’t even get to participate in those summer reading programs like Pizza Hut’s ‘BOOK IT!’ that reward you with free pizza. Lame.
Le Creuset now makes products for food on the go
On the bright side, at least those of us with kiddos can experience the secondhand joy of seeing our little ones crush their reading goals this summer in exchange for free food from a growing list of chains. In addition to news that Pizza Hut is finally bringing back its reading rewards program, several other brands have jumped on the summer reading bandwagon, proving that it pays to be a bookworm.
Panda Express ‘Read With Me Program’
To participate in the Panda Express Read With Me Program, a teacher must first enroll their class online to receive all materials, including bookmarks and awards that grant students who read at least 5 books a coupon for a free kids’ meal. Fortunately, this program is ongoing, not limited to the summer, so educators can enroll and reward their students year-round.
Pizza Hut ‘BOOK IT!’ Program
There’s nothing more millennial-coded than Pizza Hut’s legendary BOOK IT! program, which rewarded you for reading books with free pizza. And now the brand is encouraging a new generation of bookworms to expand their minds by bringing the iconic program back. To participate in the Program, parents and teachers simply need to download the BOOK IT! app and enroll their students or kiddos, set reading goals and then watch the free pizza roll in. You can find out more by visiting the BOOK IT! Program website.
Chuck E. Cheese
Chuck E. Cheese might be making moves to recapture its adult fans with its recently launched Chuck’s Arcade concept, but that doesn’t mean it’s leaving the kiddos in the dust. To get kids excited about turning pages this summer, Chuck E. Cheese is offering little bookworms 10 free play points as a reward for finishing books. All you have to do is go to the Parent Resource Center on the Chuck E. Cheese website and look for the Page Turner Pro Award to download. You’ll also find tons of other certificates and rewards to help mark all your mini-me’s milestones. And the best part is this program is evergreen, so you can get started today!
Nothing Bundt Cake ‘Bundts & Books’
Nothing Bundt Cake is promoting its Bundts & Books program ahead of the summer, which rewards pre-K through elementary school students with free Bundtlets in exchange for about 400 minutes of reading. The only catch is that participation is on a location-specific basis, so you’ll need to check with your nearest bakery to confirm the details.
Although it might take some convincing, it’s hard to say no to free orange chicken or a delicious red velvet Bundlet in exchange for flipping a few pages. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for more summer reading deals and freebies, but in the meantime, hope you and your kiddo get lost in a really great book.
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