Suncoast Summer Reading Challenge - This Book Is Cool!

The Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading welcomed back our 10-week THIS BOOK IS COOL! summer reading program. This FREE summer adventure is designed to engage the minds of incoming students in grades PreK–3.

THIS BOOK IS COOL! is a series of 100 webisodes to encourage a love of reading. It premiered on June 1, 2020, and since then, thousands of children from across the Suncoast region have qualified to receive free books thanks to the generosity of The Patterson Foundation. In 2024, 4,180 kiddos participated. Two thousand six hundred eighty-five completed the challenge, with a total of 106,700 books read!

Participating children received:

20 free books

Access to THIS BOOK IS COOL! online webisodes for each book with bonus content

An activity guide with activities and word puzzles that correspond to the books

Regular contact with a Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Engagement Team member

Invitations to family engagement events throughout the summer

SCGLR distributed books and handed out rewards to qualifying children (grades PreK–3) who were registered and fully participating in THIS BOOK IS COOL!

To maintain an active status in THIS BOOK IS COOL!, parents submitted the total number of books their child read biweekly.

*To qualify for THIS BOOK IS COOL! in 2025, you must be:

A resident of Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, or Sarasota counties

Entering PreK-3rd grade

Enrolled at a Title I school, eligible for free/reduced lunch, or have other demonstrable need

Remember friends, reading is the key to succeeding!