Children aged 4-11 are challenged to become ‘Gadgeteers’ this summer at Pembrokeshire Libraries.

The Summer Reading Challenge began ths month and this year’s theme is all about science and innovation and has been developed in partnership with the Science Museum Group.

The Challenge will celebrate the role of the imagination in both reading and the sciences.

The Summer Reading Challenge combines free access to books with fun, creative activities during the summer holidays.

To become a Gadgeteer, your child will be asked to read six library books over the summer.

At each visit to the library, they will receive free stickers and giveaways as an incentive to complete their reading mission.

To take part, drop in to your local library and ask to register your child. If you are not a member of the library, you will need to bring ID that includes your address.

The Summer Reading Challenge reaches over 700,000 children across the UK each year in partnership with public libraries.

The Challenge continued to reach well over half a million children across the UK in 2021 as lockdowns eased, motivating children to keep reading during a difficult time.

Families told The Reading Agency that taking part in the Summer Reading Challenge helped their children to enjoy reading more, feel more confident about reading and ‘feel better’ during a tough period.

Family use of libraries also increased amongst Challenge participants, with more than 130,000 children joining the library as new members.

Since 1999, the popular Challenge has encouraged children to read for pleasure over the summer holidays, building reading skills and confidence and helping to prevent the ‘dip’ in reading skills while children are out of school.

By providing fun reading activities, the Challenge will support families and teachers by providing free-to-access recreation and learning resources – all created to keep children inspired to read.

The digital Summer Reading Challenge platform will encourage children with limited physical access to the library to take part in the Challenge.

Karen Napier, CEO, The Reading Agency said: "We're delighted to see how library partners across the country are organising their own events and activities to support this year's Summer Reading Challenge.

“We are really looking forward to working closely with them to help get children reading, innovating, and sparking their imaginations this summer.”