The long days of summer were made for reading. The library is a cool retreat from the hot outdoors, and an armful of books are the perfect companions on a hammock in the shade. Though bibliophile adults savor their quiet hours of reading, they are often faced with the herculean task of persuading their children to do the same.

Yet these astounding acts of persuasion, when successful, reward book-loving families with more than a peaceful afternoon’s literary idyll. According to the Scholastic books website, school-aged children who read four or more age-appropriate books over their school’s summer break score far better than their book-eschewing friends. Summer readers’ comprehension scores are higher in general. Reading over the summer keeps kids’ verbal skills from atrophy.

To help parents keep their kids’ reading skills sharp, Scholastic has issued a challenge. Kids may download a log to record their reading minutes, just as they’d log training for a serious sporting event. They can share these minutes online. The school whose students log the most hours will receive an honor that most schoolchildren dream of—the school will be featured in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The internet-based book challenge uses a number of motivating ploys that the Nike + iPod community has successfully pioneered. The book challenge offers a method of quantifying reading effort, and a public means of comparing successes. In every sense except the physical, reading challenges turn summer reading into a sport.

The idea of a summer book challenge is very savvy because it makes reading appealing to the very youngsters who might usually pass it by—kids who get a thrill out of challenges and competitions. The passive act of reading becomes sweeter when it comes in the guise of a game. These world record contenders are likely to discover a latent love for books in the process.