Pizza Hut’s ‘Book It!’ Reading Programme Goes Digital

First established in 1984, Pizza Hut’s reading programme, Book It!, aimed to inspire more children to read by giving away free personal sized pizzas to children who read met a reading goal and read the number of books set by their teacher.

For schools to take part in the programme, teacher’s simply had to sign their class up and then set each student a reading goal based on their ability. Once the child met their reading goal, they received a ‘Reading Award Certificate’. These certificates could then be redeemed at Pizza Hut for a free, one-tipping Personal Pan Pizza ® at Pizza Hut ®.

These scheme to encourage reading is fondly remembered by 80’s and 90’s kids in America who shared jokes about it on Twitter. @Jae4rmTheGem wrote; My sister and I are convinced Pizza Hut Book It pizzas ruined an otherwise healthy relationship with pizza. They are the only acceptable reward. Get a new job? : PIZZA Get a raise? PIZZA Graduate? PIZZA New boo? PIZZA Kill a spider by yourself? PIZZA.”

While @Karnythia wrote, “If you never read books to win a personal pizza in school do you really exist?”

It’s not just these fond and funny memories that Pizza Hut’s Book It! Have achieved though. The statistics suggest that the programme really does inspire a love of reading that goes beyond free food. According to a 2017 poll conducted by Pizza Hut, “More than half of people who participated in the program as children read to their own children every day, compared to 32 percent of the general population.”

Meanwhile, at a booth Book It! hosted at the National Book Festival in Washington D.C., manager Natasha Collins recalls fans stopping by all weekend to pick up vintage branded t-shirts and talk about how much they loved the programme. Collins stated, “People came up and said, ‘I can’t tell you how much Book It! has had an impact on my life. It’s the entire reason I love to read today,'”

Now, Pizza Hut’s Book It! Reading Programme is getting an update for the modern era with the aim to continue to inspire a love of reading in America’s next generation. Previously, teachers could only award paper certificates which could only be redeemed when eating in the Pizza Hut® chain. With this latest update to the scheme however, starting this school year, teachers can reward their young reader with digital certificates which can be redeemed against a carryout or delivery pizza. For children from less privileged backgrounds who may not have the technology needed for digital certificates, the paper one are still an option.

An estimated 14 million school children from kindergarten through to sixth grade reportedly participate in Pizza Hut’s Book It! Reading Programme every year. The scheme which apparently reaches 1 in 5 Americans has been branded “iconic” by the food chain. It’s clear with this new digital version of Book It!, Pizza Hut plan to continue to inspire a generation to read through the free pizza incentive.