For many students over the past 40 years, an incentive to read at home has been a personalized sheet pan from their local pizza chain. Now parents who have fond memories of time spent with the program are helping their children record their latest readings.
Since 1984, Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! program has rewarded students who read a certain number of minutes/pages each month with a free personalized pizza. The program has changed somewhat over the past four decades, but at its core, the program remains about recognizing reading achievement with a free pizza.
The News-Leader contacted several school districts in the area – Springfield, Nixa, Republic, Stafford and Ozark – and none reported having teachers participating in the program. Individual teachers participate in the program, not entire districts.
The BOOK IT! program is for children in preschool through sixth grade. Educators, parents, and homeschooling families can all sign up for the free program, which runs from October 1 to March 31.
When the program is implemented in a classroom, teachers set monthly reading goals for their students. These goals can be tied to either the number of minutes, number of pages or number of books read in a month, according to the BOOK IT! program website. When a student reaches the class goal, they receive a Reading Award Certificate that can be exchanged for a free, personalized one-topping pizza at Pizza Hut. Students can earn six Reading Award Certificates each year, and each certificate is valid for 30 days.
A new innovation from the 1980s is that educators, parents and students can track their reading performance and save their rewards on the digital BOOK IT! program dashboard, accessible through the program website.
Greta Cross is the Springfield News-Leader’s trending reporter. She has more than five years of journalism experience covering everything from the history of the Ozarks to the LGBTQIA+ community in Springfield. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].
