I’m sure y’all remember the Summer Reading Program at your public library? Kids compete to see who can read the most books during the month of June. It can get pretty heated*.

Cynthia Rylant is the hands down favorite author. We’ve got a whole shelf just for her.

Ellie set herself a goal of 100 books and completed it in a week and a half. So we did some math, factored in camps and trips, and she set a new goal of 300 books by the end of the program.

The tent is from Ikea. You can fit a lot of books in a tent.

She read 345 (partially because I numbered an entire page wrong and she had more on the list than she thought she did).

Ellie not only won her category (2nd grade girls) but she also won the medal for Top Overall Reader by about twice as many as the next highest reader!

It’s fancy and ENGRAVED! oooOOOooo

The best part (for me) is that she didn’t spend a whole lot more time reading than she usually does, she just chose “short books” instead of her typical chapter books. Ellie says she is glad to be back to reading for fun and that she has retired from “Competitive Reading.” Other competitions would be OK.

*More about competitive academics another time.