A generation of young readers who once proudly carried BOOK IT! buttons and pizza certificates home from school may soon be sharing the experience with their own children.
Pizza Hut has announced the return of its popular “Summer of Stories” reading initiative through the BOOK IT! program, offering free personal pan pizzas to children who meet reading goals during the summer months.
The program, which officially runs from June 1 through Aug. 31, is open to children in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. Enrollment opens May 1 through the BOOK IT! mobile app.
Students who achieve their reading milestones will receive digital Reading Award Certificates redeemable for a free one-topping Personal Pan Pizza at participating Pizza Hut locations. Children may redeem one certificate per month, and the student who earned the reward must be present.
Pizza Hut officials say the program is designed to encourage reading during summer vacation while adding a fun incentive familiar to many parents who grew up with the program in the 1980s and 1990s.
The company announced the program’s return with a social media post declaring, “SUMMER OF STORIES IS BACK!” and encouraging families to “turn reading time into pizza time.”
The BOOK IT! program began in the mid-1980s after then-Pizza Hut president Arthur Gunther and marketing executive Bud Gates discussed ways to support literacy efforts encouraged during the administration of President Ronald Reagan.
According to the program’s history, Gates considered what might motivate his own child to read more, helping inspire the idea of rewarding students with pizza and classroom pizza parties.
The concept quickly became a nationwide success. A Los Angeles Times report noted that within its first year, roughly 7 million students in more than 233,000 classrooms participated in the initiative.
Though originally centered in schools, the modern version of BOOK IT! has expanded to include resources for parents, teachers and homeschool families. The summer reading effort remains free for participating families.
The revival has also sparked nostalgia online among adults who remember earning pizzas for reading books as children. Some fans have even called for an adult version of the program.
More information about the program is available through [the BOOK IT! website](https://www.bookitprogram.com
Source: People