Bringing together feathery friends and exciting new books, the
Birds of a Feather Reading Challenge launches today.
Read NZ Te Pou Muramura’s annual reading challenge is native bird-themed this year to send the message: birds of a feather read together!
Launching on December 12, the Birds of a Feather Reading Challenge will run until January 13.
The Reading Challenge is an interactive website. Children aged five and up are invited to register for free and choose a bird team to play for, each named for a native bird including Forest & Bird’s Bird of the Year 2022, the pīwauwau rock wren.
Players log the books they read over the summer, along with a star rating and short review. A ‘readerboard’ keeps track of the teams as they move up and down the rankings accordingly.
Guided by children’s feedback, the Birds of a Feather Reading Challenge features a simplified book-logging system and teams arranged by age groups.
There’s also an analogue option this year, with the addition of a downloadable reading bingo card for summer reading fun away from the computer.
It’s the sixth time the organisation has run such a challenge. This year, there are multiple ways for children to win prizes, and only one is related to reading a large volume of books.
Among the prizes on offer are five memberships to KCC (Kiwi Conservation Club Hakuturi Toa), thanks to support from Forest & Bird. There are lots of books to be won too, including bundles of books about native birds and wildlife as well as chapter books for older readers.
To win a specially-curated set of new books, children can send in a picture of their favourite book or summer reading spot. The top readers in each team will also win Booksellers tokens at the end of the competition.
Read NZ Te Pou Muramura CEO Juliet Blyth says the reading challenge is always a fun way to address the well-documented ‘summer slide’ in learning over the holidays.
“We encourage the whole whānau to get into reading this summer and enjoy books alongside their tamariki in this fun challenge. Reading to and with your children is one of the best ways to grow a reader for life.”
Juliet has tips for bringing more books into our lives for joy and relaxation at a time of year that can be tough.
“We may have been asked to ‘cool our jets’ this summer but you can never read too much, and reading is one of the most accessible activities there is. Sign up at your local library, seek out the nearest little library in your neighbourhood, check out the second-hand shops in your area and your local bookshop and ask for books for Christmas! Reading is one habit you’ll never regret,” she says.
Read NZ is grateful for the generous support of Forest & Bird’s Kiwi Conservation Club and publishers for the prizes on offer.
Sign up for the Birds of a Feather Reading Challenge by registering at
reading-challenge.org.nz.About Read NZ Te Pou Muramura Established in 1972, Read NZ Te Pou Muramura has been inspiring readers for 50 years.
As Aotearoa's national agency dedicated to reading for pleasure, it seeks to build a strong reading culture by advocating for the transformative power of reading and its ability to improve social, cultural, and economic outcomes for everyone.
It does this by delivering programmes in schools and communities, including Writers in Schools.
www.read-nz.orgContact Melissa Wastney
Communications and Engagement Manager
Read NZ Te Pou Muramura
communications@read-nz.org 021512100 / 04 9097716
