Review and Giveaway: Reading Chest, The Reading Book Rental Service

How We Are Improving My Daughter's Reading With Extra Reading Books 

AD Last year I went to the library looking for books to work with my 5 year old on her reading over the holidays. They have lots of books of course, including reading books but I found it really hard to find anything at the right reading level for her. I ended up getting a few books, but the easier ones didn’t push her enough and others were too hard which made her frustrated and give up.  We get a reading book from school, but one at a time isn’t enough for holidays or some weekends and she often forgets to ask for a new one when she is finished. This is where Reading Chest is really helpful. 


My daughter opening her latest delivery of Reading Chest books received to review
Review of Reading Chest


Reading Chest Review - What Is It?

Reading Chest is a book rental service for children. It easily helps you increase the number of books your child is reading by sending books at the right level for them. You can keep the books as long as you want and send them back when ready to receive a new selection. The number of books you receive initially and the number of swaps you get each month depends on the package you go for.

It is so easy to get new books you just have to put the ones you are finished with in the provided envelope (up to 3 at a time) and pop them in a postbox. A few days later new books and a new return envelope arrive. You don’t even need to fill in a form or select which books you would like next, although you can state preferences if you want.


Putting reading books which have been read back in an envelope to send back to the rental service
When you have read the books you pop them in the provided envelope...

Putting the Reading Chest envelope in a post box
...and then put them in a post box


How Do Reading Chest Levels Work?

When you initially sign up to Reading Chest you choose the appropriate reading level or band for your child and all the books sent will be suitable for that level, but across various reading schemes. If you want to stick to particular reading schemes or exclude some books you can, that means no Biff, Chip and Kipper if you want! Is it just me that hates those books? 

If you aren’t sure of the right reading level you can use the descriptions and sample pages to guide you. If after you receive the books you realise you were wrong, or your child is ready to progress to the next band you can easily change the level in your account. You can also select books from other bands you are particularly interested in or if you want to see how they get on with a different band before moving them up. 

If you have more than one child (and depending on the package you choose) you can have up to 3 lists, one for each child, and receive books at a suitable for each of them within the maximum number of books allowed.

With the basic package (Bronze) you can get up to 6 books a month for 1 child. This is a nice boost to school reading and helpful for holidays. There is a Silver package where you can get a maximum of 12 books a month and the Gold package allows you to have as many swaps as you want each month (or as many as the postman can bring).

Children receive a certificate after reading 20 books or when they move up a book band and you can see a record of all the books that have been returned so far in your account. You can even leave a book review with your child if you want. This is a nice way for older children to practise their typing and comprehension.


The Reading Chest book bag and a selection of Yellow Band books received
You get sent a bag to keep all your books safely together which is really helpful


What You Get Sent With Reading Chest

In your first delivery you receive:

📚 Your first lot of books which will be 4 or 6 depending on your package. Unlike many of the books we get home from school all the books are in really good condition. If a book happens to get damaged or lost while you have it then you pay a small fee for replacement.

📚 A book bag to keep everything in. This is a great idea because it means that (so far) we haven’t lost any books or return envelopes. 

📚 A reward chart and stickers so children can keep track of how many books they have read. My daughter loves putting a sticker on her chart after she finishes each book. There are 3 different reward charts available so when you complete one a different one can be sent out or you can download them from the website.


A pirate themed reading book tracker and star stickers from Reading Chest
Keeping track of how many books my daughter has read from Reading Chest


What We Think Of Reading Chest

Reading Chest is working really well for us. As well as the book we get sent home from school we have access to various reading books online, but reading books online can be difficult. It is harder to find time to sit in front of a screen together and having physical books gives us far more flexibility so we read more often. I also don’t like to encourage my children to spend any more time on a screen than they already do.

So far we have received our new books about 3 days after posting our completed books. Reading Chest normally send out new books the same day they receive them, but our post can be patchy at the moment so I never know when to receive them. We have been given the Gold package for our review which is great because you get an initial delivery of 6 books and unlimited swaps. We try and be in a routine where we have 3 books at home and 3 books in the exchange process. 

My daughter and I have been reading together far more since we signed up with Reading Chest. Having a choice of different books each time we come to read is helpful because she can choose the best one to suit her mood. Little also loves putting the stickers on the tracker when she completes each book. We are really enjoying the Reading Chest subscription and I feel she is making faster progress with her reading since we started it.

Reading Chest Giveaway

To find out more check out Reading Chest on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. To try Reading Chest for your family you can sign up here or enter my giveaway to win a Bronze package for a 3 month subscription.  Giveaway is UK entry only and closes midnight Sunday 17th April. All other terms and conditions are in the widget.


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