Kids Can Earn Free Pizza By Reading This Summer

Gentle Reader, here’s a summer activity that pairs perfectly with sweaty afternoons and a deep craving for carbs.  Or maybe that one is just me. Anyway, I'm sure you guys remember the famous  "Book It!" program from back when we were kids.

Yes, you remember that magical Pizza Hut program from the '80s and '90s where reading books earned you free pizza? Well, it's back. And it’s been upgraded for the touchscreen generation.

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Yes, Pizza Hut has officially taken Book It! digital for the first time in its 40-year history—because let’s be honest, if it doesn’t involve an app, your kid’s not interested. But don’t worry: they’re not reading on the app. It’s just for tracking progress, not swiping through Harry Potter like it's Tinder.

The idea behind this is to combat the “summer slide,” which sounds like a fun waterslide but is actually the depressing amount of reading skills kids lose over summer break. By middle school, some kids have reportedly lost the equivalent of two years of reading thanks to this annual brain leak. So Pizza Hut is stepping in with the only thing more powerful than a parent’s concern: melted cheese.

Just like the old-school version, kids read books, hit their goals, and score one Personal Pan Pizza per month in June, July, and August. All you have to do is visit BookItProgram.com, set reading goals, track your kid’s progress, and brace for arguments about whether graphic novels count.

So fire up that app, crack open a book, and let the scent of literacy-smothered-in-pepperoni motivate the next generation. I'm sorry I didn't see it earlier, but you've still got two months of reading, kids.  Get to it!

Bookingly yours,
Behka