The Central Otago Libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge has wrapped up for the season with five happy winners from throughout the district.

They may have been on holiday, but their minds stayed active, Central Otago District Council’s Community Engagement Librarian Aurora Schmale said.

“Our aim through the Summer Reading Challenge is to encourage children to continue reading during the summer and have fun while doing it.”

Participants tracked the days that they read during the holidays and took part in activities and challenges through their local library. Their entry forms went into a grand prize draw for $50 vouchers donated by the Alexandra and Cromwell Paper Plus stores.

"It's great to be involved in such a proactive programme that encourages youth literacy in our community. We really value our local libraries and have enjoyed being part of this program," Paper Plus Cromwell retail manager Aimee Paardekooper said.

The winners were Tasman Froggatt (5), Alexandra Library; Rylee Bennett (9) and Lily Henderson (8) Cromwell Library; Jorja West (9) Clyde Library, and Grace Paterson (12) Maniototo Library.

Here’s what some of the young readers had to say about the challenge:

Rylee Bennett (9) Cromwell Library.

"I had so much fun doing the challenge and all the activities. My favourite book I read was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I read the first four Harry Potter books over the summer holidays. I'm on to book 6 now. I liked that Harry learnt that Sirius Black is his godfather. The activities were really cool and gave me lots of different things to do. My favourite activity was cooking a meal for my family, I had to read and follow the recipe myself. I made my family beef tacos".

Grace Paterson (12) Maniototo Library

"I was very excited to win the voucher. I love reading! My favourite book was Gangster Granny Strikes Again by David Walliams. Something exciting happened every chapter and it was funny. The challenge gave me motivation to read every day. My favourite activity was making dinner for my family".

Tasman Froggatt (5) Alexandra Library and Jorja West (9) Clyde Library

"My favourite books was 'How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli' and 'Snake Hill' by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts. I liked how they went on camp and that there was a guy that everyone called Booger-Eater. I loved how you had a list of things to do during the challenge that involved lots of reading".