Track your summer reading hours in North Texas

Are you motivated by prizes? Many North Texas public libraries have summer programs to incentivize reading for children and adults.

Why it matters: Texas children's reading skills are declining.

• And polls show that even adults are consuming fewer books despite studies linking reading to longevity.

The big reader: The Dallas, Denton and Fort Worth public libraries are hosting reading challenges to track pages and learning activities for a chance to win prizes.

How it works: In the Dallas challenge, for example, kids log when they read for 20 minutes in a day. For every 10 days of logged reading, they get a free book up to three times.

• Kids can also track learning activities, which gives them the chance to win a free food coupon.
• Adults can participate in their own challenge. After logging 15 days of reading, they can get a free book, up to three times.

The intrigue: The programs aren't just about reading. They're also about learning and creating.

• Adults and kids can track activities, including drawing, writing a story and creating a recipe. They can also track discoveries, such as going to a library event, visiting a museum or learning a language.

Zoom in: Fort Worth has also launched a Fun Tracker on Beanstack, an app many libraries are using to log reading.

• The program encourages residents to attend free cultural programs throughout Fort Worth.