(Above: Marcus from Barking Library has asked kids to help him name the library's newest arrival.)

Over on the Summer Reading Challenge website the Christmas Mini-Challenge is just kicking off. Children are invited to read three library books between 12 December 2013 and 6 January 2014 in order to earn a special badge and a secret reward video!

To encourage children to take part a team of librarians from Essex, Havering, and Barking and Dagenham have taken up residence as guest bloggers. Librarians will be posting Christmas-themed questions and activities, responding to queries and recommending books.

Encourage your kids to sign up and say hello here!

Get Involved

Libraries and schools can promote the Christmas Mini-Challenge by downloading our special promotional poster. There's a space at the bottom for you to add your logo and any other messages should you wish to do so. We've also produced a second version of the poster with a plainer typeface.

Parents can join us on our Facebook page for all the latest Christmas mini-challenge news.

If your child has enjoyed taking part in the 2013 Summer Reading Challenge please consider donating to our campaign and help us reach more children in 2014. It only costs £3 for three disadvantaged children to take part in the Challenge for free. Please donate £3 to our campaign by texting READ06 £3 to 70070 or by visiting justgiving.com/SummerReadingChallenge.