Pizza Hut revives its popular BOOK IT! reading incentive program with a summer edition designed to encourage children to read while earning free pizza rewards.
Summer of Stories Details
The Summer of Stories campaign launches enrollment on May 1 through the BOOK IT! app for children in Pre-K through 6th grade. From June 1 to August 31, participants track their reading milestones to earn digital Reading Award Certificates. Each certificate redeems for a free one-topping Personal Pan Pizza at Pizza Hut.
Parents redeem one certificate per month, and the student who completed the reading must be present. The program promotes reading, learning, and love for books, turning pages into pizza rewards, as highlighted in an official Instagram post: “Get ready to turn reading time into pizza time!”
Origins of BOOK IT!
The program began in the mid-1980s when Pizza Hut President Arthur Gunther and marketing executive Bud Gates discussed ways to support literacy, inspired by calls for better reading skills. Gates suggested using pizza and classroom pizza parties as motivators for his own child.
Within a year, it engaged 7 million students across 233,080 classrooms nationwide.
Excitement from Gen X and Millennials
Nostalgic adults express enthusiasm and envy over the revival. One commenter pleads, “Millennials are begging you to include adults please!” Another asks, “Where is the BOOK IT! program for parents?! Please bring it back.”
Fans reference keepsakes like purple pins, questioning, “If we still have our purple pins, can we do an adult version??” A childless participant notes, “What if we don’t have kids and want to participate? Asking for myself and my inner child who loved this program.” Others chime in, “Gen X and millennials need this too—big kids crave pizza!”
