Summer Reading Challenge includes adults in 2026

Rebecca Steffen needs no motivation to read.  

The retired executive assistant says she usually has three or four books going at a time on her Libby app. That includes the title she’s reading for the Owls Book Club she runs, too. 

Rebecca will never say no to a good challenge. 

“It keeps me going every day to make sure I do it,” she says. “I think the challenge is fun.” 

This winter, Rebecca was the winner of a Bird in the Hand restaurant gift card in Elkhart Public Library’s Winter Reading Challenge. She read nine books in January and February.  

She picked up her prize at Osolo Branch, where she comes at least weekly with her 6-year-old grandson, Noah. Rebecca and her husband moved to Elkhart in 2023 to be closer to family and watch Noah after school. 

“We come and pick out books every week,” she says. “He likes me to read to him while he eats dinner. He’ll eat if I read.” 

This year, EPL’s Summer Reading Challenge brings adults into the mix, encouraging reading alongside kids. It’s a welcome addition for avid readers and families looking to spend time together. 

Summer fun 

Kids seeing their parents reading for enjoyment backs its importance, according to United Through Reading. That group is a not-for-profit committed to expanding connections – particularly within military families – by reading together. 

By including parents and caregivers in the Summer Reading Challenge, EPL seeks to build on success. 

Parents don’t need the same kind of motivation as their children to read every day. But having a reason to pick up a book daily helps. 

“It’s fun to see what you’re reading and see what you can achieve in that time,” says Libby Stout, a frequent participant in Winter Reading and other EPL challenges. “I’ve never won anything, but I read every day.” 

Between Hoopla and Overdrive, Libby says, typically has three different books going at a time. 

Libby’s children, 6-year-old Rosalee and 9-year-old Frank, have made the Summer Reading Challenge an annual event in their home. 

“It fights the summer slide,” she says. “They’re growing in their reading skills. It’s fun for us.” 

Bringing families together 

Rebecca says if she counted kids books on her Beanstack app, her book count would be 80 or more each month.  

“It puts families more together when you do that,” says Rebecca, who enjoys historical fiction and inspirational nonfiction. “I know sometimes adults, particularly working parents, it’s hard to find time. Having something to encourage them to read alongside their kids or pre-teens is a really good idea.” 

Flexible options for participating appeal to families, too. 

For Libby, as her kids get older, she says reading chapter books together will be a part of their routine. 

“I picked out some chapter books I thought we could read this summer,” she says. “If we did a chapter a night, it could be really fun.” 

Parents and caregivers can use the Beanstack app or a paper gameboard, just like kids. Adults will earn raffle tickets throughout the summer and be entered in drawings for gift cards at the end of the challenge.