Idaho Teen Reading Challenge
8 Books. 7 Months. 1 State.
More than 700 Idaho teens and tweens at 62 different libraries completed the 2023-24 Idaho Teen Reading Challenge – nice work! Check out the map below for locations of the libraries that had a teen finish the challenge. Registration for the 2024 – 2025 Challenge is now open.
New Categories for the 2024-25 School Year
The Idaho Teen Reading Challenge is a chance for school and public libraries to challenge teens to read books outside of their comfort zone. Here’s how it works:
- During the months of October – April, teens are challenged to read 8 books from the following 10 categories:
- New Genre: try a new genre.
- Sports Book: read a book about or featuring a sport.
- Memoir/Biography: read a book by or about a real person.
- Same Book as a Friend: read the same books as one of your friends.
- Setting You Want to Visit: read a book set somewhere you want to visit.
- Mystery: read a book with a mystery.
- 1-Star Review: read a book with a 1-star review.
- Look to the Future: read a book that makes you think about the future.
- Help Yourself: read a book that helps you learn something new.
- Free Choice: read whatever you want!
- Register your library to participate in the reading challenge. When you register, you will have the chance to request tracking forms, bookmarks, and reading journals to hand out to teens. We will also send a custom sticker that you can give to teens who complete the challenge and two 8.5 x 11 posters to help advertise the Challenge. Registration will open in mid-August. Many libraries pre-registered when they filled out their evaluations last spring – you can see if your library is already registered here.
- We will mail you a set of tracking forms, bookmarks, journals, stickers, and posters. You can decide how much interaction you have with teens who take the challenge – you can set up a spreadsheet or other method to track their progress or just check in occasionally. When they have completed the entire challenge, they need to turn in their tracking sheet to you. You do not have to keep the tracking sheets. Do you need more materials? Reach out to Jennifer to request additional materials: jennifer.redford@libraries.idaho.gov.
- Keep track of how many teens complete the challenge. In May, you will be asked to submit a short evaluation with the total number of teens who finished the challenge at your library. You will also be able to send feedback about the program and suggestions for next year’s categories. As an incentive for participation: In May, the ICfL will randomly select three libraries who have teens complete the challenge to receive a set of books – one school library, one public library, and one library from the total list of libraries with at least one finisher.
That’s it! Hopefully this will be a fun way to engage with teens and encourage them to discover books they love.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Whoa! The ITRC has a new look – what’s up with that?
A: Based on feedback from librarians around the state, the logo and look of the ITRC was updated in the summer of 2024 to appeal more teens. We hope you (and the teens) like it!
Q: Why are there 10 categories if you only need to read 8 books?
A: Giving teens a choice is important and having extra categories builds a little bit of flexibility into the program. The hope is that teens are challenged to read something new and not turned off by having to read in a category that doesn’t work for them.
Q: I need more tracking sheets / bookmarks / journals/ stickers – can you mail me some?
A: Yes – we have leftover printed materials and will send them to any library that requests them until we run out. Just email Jennifer to get more tracking sheets, journals, bookmarks, or stickers: jennifer.redford@libraries.idaho.gov.
Q: Will the ICfL provide an incentive for teens who complete the program?
A: Yes! Teens who finish the challenge will receive a custom sticker and earn an entry for their library to receive a set of free books in a drawing at the end of the program. One public library, one school library, and one library from the total list of finishers will be selected at random to receive a set of free books of the library’s choice. The more teens that finish, the more chances a library has to be selected to receive the books.
Q: Didn’t you used to have a drawing for gift cards for teens who finished the program?
A: During the first year of the ITRC (2021 – 2022), we did give out Amazon gift cards in a drawing of teens who finished the Challenge. We used one-time funding for this incentive to kick off the program. The ICfL is currently exploring options for additional limited funding to revive this incentive – stay tuned!
Q: Can my library provide additional incentives?
A: Yes! Feel free to use the framework of the challenge and modify this program in ways that work for your teens.
Q: What types of books qualify for the reading challenge?
A: ALL types of books qualify – audiobooks, e-books, graphic novels, instructional manuals, etc.
Q: Who can participate in the challenge?
A: All Idaho teens, ages 12 – 19, can participate.
Q: What about sixth-graders who are 11 but will turn 12 this year?
A: They can definitely participate in the challenge!
Q: Can my library use our own tracking system, like Beanstack, instead of the tracking sheets?
A: Yes! You can just send your stats to Jennifer in May to get counted.
Q: Can I print off my own stuff?
A: Yes! Here are PDF’s of the printed materials:
Q: Can I edit these in Canva and add my library’s logo?
A: Sure! Here are Canva links:
- Bookmarks
- Tracking sheets
- Journals
- Poster (8.5 x 11)
- Poster (11 x 17)
Q: Is there a way to get a copy of the Idaho Teen Reading Challenge logo?
A: Yup! You can download the ITRC logo and other ICfL logos here.
An Info Session for the 2024-2025 ITRC was held on Thursday, September 5, 2024 – check out the recording here:
Questions about the Challenge? Contact Jennifer: jennifer.redford@libraries.idaho.gov
