State Launches 10 Million Book Challenge for Students
North Carolina's 1.5 million public school students will collectively aim to read 10 million books in 2027.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Primary Education
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North Carolina State Superintendent Maurice Green announced the 10 Million Book Challenge, which asks the state's 1.5 million public school students to collectively read 10 million books in 2027. The challenge begins January 1, 2027, with students logging books through an online platform.
Why it matters
The campaign aims to encourage children to read for fun at a time when fewer are choosing to pick up a book outside school. Reading proficiency among grades three through eight rose to 55.7% in 2025-26, but the share of children reading for fun almost daily has declined sharply.
Third-grade reading proficiency rose from 48.6% in 2023-24 to 55.3% last school year, while 45% of third graders still are not reading on grade level. Guilford County Schools students read 1.1 million books in the first year of a comparable challenge and 2.6 million the following year.
The players
Maurice Green
Maurice Green is the North Carolina State Superintendent who announced the 10 Million Book Challenge and oversees the state's Department of Public Instruction.
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is the state agency that built the online platform for logging books and oversees public education statewide.
Book Harvest
Book Harvest is a Durham-based nonprofit that has distributed 3.4 million books since 2011.
The details
Books count whether read independently, read aloud by parents or teachers, or in formats such as picture books, graphic novels, and audiobooks. Participation is voluntary and students are not tested on what they read, with the Department of Public Instruction's online platform using automated checks and school-level coordinator reviews to verify submissions.
Timeline
2025-26 school year: grades 3-8 reading proficiency reached 55.7%.
January 1, 2027: The challenge begins and students start logging books.
January 7, 2027: A statewide launch celebration is scheduled.
Season Trajectory
The statewide effort applies the Guilford County Schools model, whose logged books more than doubled from 1.1 million to 2.6 million between its first and second years. Its outcome will test whether a voluntary, untested reading challenge can reverse the decline in daily recreational reading documented between 2012 and 2025.
Families can count picture books, graphic novels, audiobooks, and books read aloud by parents or teachers toward the goal, so every reading format is eligible. Because participation is voluntary and untested, families can log reading at their own pace once the platform opens.
The takeaway
Reading for pleasure outside of school has become less common among children, so consistent encouragement at home and in class can matter. Families can start building a daily reading habit now, ahead of the January 2027 launch.
What happens next
The statewide launch celebration is scheduled for January 7, 2027, and the challenge begins January 1, 2027.
Further reading
Explore more on Primary Education for context on how early reading programs are shaping student outcomes.
Source note: This article includes information reported by NC Newsline.
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