The Pizza Hut Book-It Program Still Lives
As a bookish and inquisitive child raised in a rural, working-class neighborhood in the 90s, my life revolved around three things: my football team, my library, and Pizza Hut. The latter two were inextricably linked for reasons that I will explain shortly (and the former certainly helped burn off the heat effects of the latter). You see, for six magnificent months of the year, I have had access to the most wonderful scam ever.
Every week I could bring a small piece of paper with the titles of the three books I read, along with my mom’s signature, and receive a special stamp from my teacher, who was always a little suspicious of how regularly I do this, but could not ignore the constant ones. stacks of books on my little table. Once my paperwork was in order, the exciting part came: I took my signed form to Pizza Hut in several cities and traded it for a free baby pizza, which I then ate myself .
It was absolutely magical, and it was also a huge help for my parents, who weren’t quite bathed in “let’s take the kids to dinner” money. It was called BOOKING! and finding an endless supply of free pizza (and rewarding my botanical habit) remains one of my warmest memories.
I assumed that, like my childhood innocence and the illusion of American democracy, BOOK IT! died out sometime in the early 2000s due to lack of interest, sent to the cemetery of corporate history. But you know what? I was wrong. Pizza Hut still does it! That’s right: this beloved program is alive and well, and they even have an oddly intense website built to help teachers and parents track their kids’ progress.
BOOK IT! exquisitely elegant in its simplicity: teachers set monthly reading goals, and kids who achieve those goals are rewarded with free pizza. Elementary and home school students in grades K-6 (ages 5 to 12) are eligible , and parents are encouraged to read with children who have not yet read on their own (this still counts towards the pizza bill). I remember being absolutely furious when I quit the program, but luckily I had a little sister close at hand and read fast enough for the two of us to go for a pizza ride for years to come.
So, adults and older siblings of America, take a note: if you have children in your life and you either want to encourage them to read more, or you have a hungry bookworm in your hands, grab a page from the Pizza Hut book and enjoy it. some good old bribery.