Download Summer Reading Bingo for Children
The summer holidays are just around the corner, bringing with them a chance for children to relax and enjoy themselves.
That’s why we’re thrilled to announce that BooksForTopics Summer Reading Bingo is back for 2026! This resource is designed to keep children engaged with reading for pleasure while they’re away from the classroom.
With flexible reading challenges that encourage reading in all sorts of creative ways, we’ve developed this summer reading bingo as a tool to help boost reading for pleasure. The emphasis in this fun and encouraging challenge is on reading experiences rather than specific word counts or text types – making it ideal for readers of all levels and interests to join in with! And who knows, readers might discover new ways that they enjoy reading even more, perhaps up a tree, by torchlight or reading to a pet – or even upside down?!
Plus, to inspire those summer holiday children’s books reading choices, we’ve got downloadable summer read sheets for every age and interest. Get ready to make reading an adventure this summer!
Summer Reading Bingo 2026
The BooksForTopics Summer Reading Bingo challenge is designed to boost reading over the holidays, putting the emphasis squarely on the experience of reading rather than specific titles or word totals.
Children receive a bingo card, with options for different levels of challenge (the different sheets have 9 or 25 squares and players can go for a line or a full house), featuring a variety of engaging reading activities. These might include “read in a den,” “read to a pet or a soft toy,” “read before breakfast” or “read outdoors.”
The joy of the bingo is that children can choose any books, graphic novels, magazines or even online material they wish, maintaining a sense of ownership over their reading journey. This approach encourages children to explore different ways to enjoy stories and discover their own unique reading preferences, ultimately making reading an appealing part of their summer break without pressure.
This keeps things interesting and encourages students to explore different ways to enjoy reading as well as to discover more about their identities as readers.
How to Run Your Bingo Challenge
Teachers can print out the bingo cards for pupils to take home over the summer holidays, or the cards can be shared online and printed by parents at home as a fun reading challenge.
There are two levels of difficulty to choose from – 9 squares or 25 squares. Children and adults participating in the challenge can fill in the squares over the holidays as they complete each reading experience challenge.
When pupils return to school after the holidays, they may be awarded prizes, house points or certificates for a completed line or a full house! Return to our website to find the official printable pupil certificates and remember to celebrate children’s summer reading.
Don’t forget – teachers can join the challenge too!
Download Summer Reading Bingo here.
Top Reads for Summer 2026
Complementing the engaging Bingo challenge, BooksForTopics also provides a set of 2026 Summer Read booklists.
These carefully curated summer reading lists are an invaluable resource for children, parents and teachers seeking book recommendations for the summer holidays. The lists are categorised by age group, starting from Ages 3-5, then Ages 5-7, Ages 7-9, and Ages 9-11.
These recommendations aim to guide children towards books they’ll truly enjoy, although remember that they can partake in the summer reading bingo with any reading materials they choose. For even more book recommendations, pupils might like to check out our recently updated Year Group Recommended Reads.
Download Summer Reads Sheets here.
Share Your Bingo Cards
Head to the BooksForTopics website to download your free Summer Reading Bingo sheets for your class and explore the summer reads list. You could even hand them out on transition day as a new class challenge for the summer.
Don’t forget to share your experiences with BooksForTopics on social media using #SummerReadingBingo and tagging @booksfortopics! We’d love to hear how pupils – and teachers – are getting stuck in.