"Book It!"
Sun.Star Davao, July 12, 2008

As a parent, love for reading is a passion that I would like to inculcate to our children at an early age.

So, I was quite happy when last week, my daughter Anicka, who is in grade one, excitedly told me that the Pizza Hut staff visited their classroom inviting the students to join their Book It! Reading and Comprehension Incentive Program.

I wanted to know more about this laudable program so I got in touch with Pizza Hut-Gaisano Mall’s very accommodating general manager Harold Yap. He referred me to Manila-based Karen Cabreza who is Pizza Hut-Philippines’ Book It! Administrator.

Worldwide reading program

Book It! is a worldwide reading program by Pizza Hut which started in the USA in 1985. Millions of children have participated in Book It! over the years and there is current participation in more than 900,000 classrooms all over the world.

“In the Philippines, Book It! began in June 2007 with over 8,000 participants. The Philippines is the first ever Asian country to have this program and proud to be on its second school year”, shares Karen.

Karen explains that “Book It! is a reading incentive program for children. It motivates children to read more and have better comprehension skills by rewarding their reading accomplishments with praise, recognition, pizza, certificate and medal”.

Book It! is “simple for teachers to use, flexible because goals match reading ability, and fun because achieving a goal is a great reason to celebrate”.

This 2008, the Book It! Program is being extended nationwide. Moreover, unlike last year where only grade one students were eligible, higher grade levels and homeschooled kids are now welcome to join upon evaluation and approval of the Book It! Office.

Book It!

Book It! runs from July through December.

This unique program, endorsed by the Department of Education, is free to classrooms in both private and public schools and allows teachers to set goals that complement their reading curriculum and student's reading skills. The program provides teachers with tips, tools and free reading incentives to keep reading motivation high.
Frequent reader roster and other materials are also included to monitor progress easily.

Reading goals may change upon the teachers’ perspective of what best fits her students. For instance, a classroom goal is to read 240 minutes/month and answer 8 out of 12 questions correctly while the home goal is to read 15 minutes per day at home with the parents and accomplish the parents’ verification form.

According to Karen, “There is no reading material required by Book It!. Whatever reading books or materials that are used in registered schools/ classrooms may be used as references by the teacher. The reason behind this is that we don’t want to give additional cost to the school and to the parents because we all know how hard life is nowadays”.

“The schools usually use their Reading (subject)books with comprehension test after each story while reading books used at home usually are what the kids have like classic stories: “Beauty and the Beast”, “Cinderella”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Peter Pan”, “Toy Story” and even the book collection of “Harry Potter and “Lord of the Rings”, she adds.

Reading rewards

As incentives, the restaurant manager and team congratulate every child for meeting the monthly reading goal and reward them with a free, one- topping Buddy Pan Pizza, signature with remarks and sticker on their Book It! Recognition Card.

On each subsequent visit, the child is rewarded again with the same deal. Every child who meets their reading goal in all six months of the program receives a Book It! All-Star Reader Certificate Award and Book It! All-Star Reader Medallion from Pizza Hut.

There is no purchase requirement and the pizza can be taken to go. Substitutions are available and vary by location.

“Book It! is Pizza Hut’s Corporate Social Responsibility. Having been in the business for 25 years and being the only pizza innovator in the Philippines, Pizza Hut has thought of a way to give back to the community in a very meaningful and novel way which is the Book It! Reading and Comprehension Incentive Program”, enthuses Karen.

“Others may see that we’re throwing away cash by giving free Buddy Pan Pizza to our Book It! students but we’re actually not. It’s not about the free pizza we’re giving but the kids we were able to help in their early reading and the families we were able to give excellent service. Through the Book It! reading program, we have the opportunity to give the best Pizza Hut experience to their kids and families”, Karen concludes.

For more information, check out the Book It! Program website at www.bookit.com.ph.

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.mom-about-town.blogspot.com.