This summer, a boy from south Shropshire surprised library staff and himself. Nine year-old Ben worked his way through not just one, but six Summer Reading Challenges in six weeks, in six different libraries! His determination and love of reading spurred him on throughout the summer and he has become an inspiration to others.

A flying start

It all began when Ben visited his local library at the beginning of the summer to sign up for the Summer Reading Challenge. He started reading straight away and in less than a week, he'd managed to complete it.

Library staff were impressed by Ben's efforts but when he announced that he planned to complete five more challenges in Shropshire they were amazed.

"He made a binder detailing what he'd read, what authors he'd enjoyed, and obtained stamps from each library to prove he'd completed the task. We were incredibly impressed by his determination," said Nicola Dawson, Library Commissioning Manager, Children and Young People at Shropshire libraries.

Reading for pleasure

Why did Ben want to take on such a feat? His answer is that he "just likes to read." It's brilliant to hear that Ben chose to spend his spare time reading for pleasure.

Ben explained that the best thing about the challenge was finding new authors like Guy Bass and Jennifer Gray. His favourite book of the summer was Shift by Jeff Povey.

In recognition of Ben's hard work and dedication, Shropshire library staff attended his school assembly to present him with a trophy. But this is not the end of Ben's reading journey. He remains a regular at the library, reading an average of ten books a week and more in school holidays.

What's more, he is already making plans for next summer and is talking about attempting to complete the Summer Reading Challenge in 14 or 15 libraries!.

Get involved

Find out about the record breaking results for the 2014 Summer Reading Challenge.

Children can find competitions, challenges, author interviews, news, and the book sorter which recommends what they might like to read next on the Summer Reading Challenge website throughout the year.

Follow all the latest news on the Summer Reading Challenge Facebook page