🍎 Welcome to September Reading!

September is the perfect month to settle back into reading routines. School is underway, evenings are starting to feel a little cozier, and there’s something about the first hint of fall that practically begs for a book, a blanket and a comfy spot to curl up. 📖🍂

But our 30 Days of September Reading isn't about assigning 30 books or turning reading into another chore.

Instead, we're making reading fun, flexible and a little unexpected.

Some days we'll read outside. Some days we'll explore nonfiction, poetry or graphic novels. We'll read to someone else, revisit an old favorite, learn something completely new and even sneak in a few early-fall stories as September rolls along.

Toddlers can participate with picture books. Independent readers can choose their own adventures. Tweens and teens can join in too, and several challenges are perfect for the whole family.

Ready?

Find a book, find a cozy spot and let's read our way through September! 🐝📚💗

📖 30 Days of September Reading

🍎 September 1: Back-to-School Story

Age: 3–12
Choose a book about school, teachers, friendship or starting something new. Talk about one thing you're excited to learn this year.

🌳 September 2: Read Outside

Age: All Ages
Grab a blanket and take your book outside. Try the backyard, porch, park or favorite shady tree.

😂 September 3: Make-Me-Laugh Book

Age: 3+
Choose the funniest book you can find. Silly voices are highly encouraged. Dignity is optional.

🐝 September 4: Buzz Into Nonfiction

Age: 5+
Choose a nonfiction book about something you're genuinely curious about: bees, dinosaurs, space, sports, sharks, volcanoes... anything!

👨‍👩‍👧 September 5: Family Read-Aloud

Age: All Ages
Choose one book or chapter and read it together. Older children can take turns being the reader.

🖼️ September 6: Judge a Book by Its Cover

Age: 4+
Yep, today we're breaking the rule! Pick a book only because the cover looks interesting, then see whether the story lives up to it.

🔦 September 7: Flashlight Reading

Age: 3+
Turn down the lights, build a blanket fort and read by flashlight.

📚 September 8: Library Treasure Hunt

Age: 4+
Visit the library and find a book you've never noticed before. Bonus points for exploring a section you normally skip.

🐾 September 9: Amazing Animal Adventure

Age: 2–12
Read about a favorite animal or discover one you've never heard of.

👵 September 10: Read an Old Favorite

Age: All Ages
Pull out a childhood favorite. Parents can choose a book they loved when they were little and share it with the kids.

🦸 September 11: Real-Life Hero

Age: 6+
Read a biography or true story about someone who helped others, overcame challenges or made a difference.

💗 September 12: Grandparents' Story

Age: All Ages
In honor of Grandparents Day weekend, read a book about grandparents, family history or generations.

🐝 Bonus: Ask a grandparent to read the story!

👵 September 13: Story From Another Generation

Age: All Ages
Ask a grandparent or older relative about a favorite childhood book, then read it together if you can find it.

Even better? Ask them to tell you a real story from their childhood. 💗

🌎 September 14: Around-the-World Reading

Age: 4+
Choose a story set in another country or learn about children living somewhere different from you.

🔬 September 15: Science Story

Age: 5+
Read about weather, the human body, animals, plants, inventions, chemistry or another science topic.

📕 September 16: Graphic Novel Day

Age: 6+
Comics and graphic novels absolutely count as reading! Explore one today and pay attention to how pictures help tell the story.

🍎 September 17: Apple Story

Age: 2–10
It's apple season! Read a story or nonfiction book about apples, orchards, Johnny Appleseed, harvesting or how apples grow.

✍️ September 18: Read It, Then Rewrite It

Age: 6+
Read a short story and invent a different ending.

What if the villain became the hero? What if the character made the opposite choice?

🎭 September 19: Character Voice Challenge

Age: 3+
Read aloud and give every character a different voice.

The stranger the voice, the better. 😂

🏔️ September 20: Colorado Reading Day

Age: 5+
Choose a book about Colorado history, wildlife, mountains, Indigenous history, famous Coloradans, mining, dinosaurs or geography.

🍂 September 21: Nature Book

Age: 3+
Read about trees, leaves, forests, insects, birds or changing seasons, then head outside and see what you can find.

🍁 September 22: First Day of Fall Reading

Age: All Ages
Welcome fall with a book about autumn, changing leaves, harvest time or cooler weather.

Blanket strongly recommended. 🍂

📝 September 23: Poetry Day

Age: 5+
Read several poems aloud. Try funny poems, nature poetry, rhymes or something completely new.

Bonus: Write a four-line poem of your own.

🔍 September 24: Mystery Reader

Age: 6+
Choose a mystery, detective story or book involving clues.

Stop before the ending and predict what happens!

📖 September 25: You Pick Mine, I'll Pick Yours

Age: 5+
Family members choose books for one another.

Nobody gets to complain about the selection until they've actually tried it. 😉

🧸 September 26: Read to Someone

Age: All Ages
Read aloud to a sibling, grandparent, stuffed animal, pet or friend.

Beginning readers especially benefit from having a very patient stuffed-animal audience.

🚀 September 27: Travel Somewhere Without Leaving Home

Age: 4+
Choose a book that takes you somewhere you've never been: another state, country, planet, historical era or imaginary world.

👻 September 28: Not-Too-Spooky Story

Age: 3+
October is creeping closer! Choose a funny monster, friendly ghost, mystery or gently spooky story appropriate for your reader.

🎃 September 29: Pumpkin Book

Age: 2–10
Read about pumpkins, farms, harvests or how pumpkins grow.

🐝 Bonus: Predict how many seeds are inside a pumpkin, then test your hypothesis later!

🏆 September 30: Reader's Choice!

Age: ALL AGES
You made it through 30 days!

For the final challenge, there are no rules.

Choose whatever you want to read: picture book, novel, comic, magazine, cookbook, joke book, biography, audiobook paired with the text or the same beloved story you've already heard approximately 4,782 times.

Today is simply about reading because you enjoy it. 💗

🐝 Make It a Buzzy Reading Challenge!

You don't have to complete these in order, and you definitely don't have to finish every challenge.

Print the list and:

📚 Check off each challenge you complete
⭐ Add a star beside your favorites
❤️ Circle books you want to read again
✏️ Write down new words you discover
🏆 Celebrate when you reach 10, 20 and 30 challenges

For reluctant readers, keep it especially light. Ten minutes counts. Audiobooks can be a valuable part of literacy and family reading time. Reading a graphic novel counts. Reading instructions for a science experiment counts.

We're building readers, not filling out a timesheet. 📚💗

🍂 And That's 30 Days of September Reading!

Thirty days of books can take us from Colorado to another continent, inside the human body, millions of years into the past or clear across the universe, all without leaving the couch.

That's the wonderfully strange thing about reading. 📖✨

Don't worry about how many pages your child reads or whether every September challenge gets a checkmark. Instead, use this month to help kids discover what they actually enjoy reading.

Maybe it's dinosaurs. Maybe it's graphic novels. Maybe it's biographies, mysteries, joke books or stories about ridiculously naughty pigeons.

When kids discover that reading can belong to them, something changes.

So visit the library. Build the blanket fort. Read under a tree. Let them stay up a few extra minutes to finish the chapter.

And when September ends?

Keep reading.

There are thousands of adventures still sitting quietly on those shelves waiting for somebody to open the cover. 💗📚

Happy Reading!

🐝 The Buzzy B | Find Your Family Buzz!