Barnes & Noble Kicks off Annual Summer Reading Program: “Imagination’s Destination” Encourages Reading All Summer Long

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), the nation’s largest retail bookseller and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced May 20 as the launch of its 2014 Summer Reading Program: Imagination's Destination, for children in grades 1-6. The Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program encourages children to engage their imaginations all summer long and to earn a free book by reading eight books and turning in a completed reading journal listing the books they’ve read. Free books include popular titles such as The Never Girl Series: In a Blink by Kiki Thorpe, Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon, I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011 by Lauren Tarshis and Spy School by Stuart Gibbs.

This year, Imagination’s Destination features special promotions to encourage young readers to explore their imaginations all summer long. From May 20 to July 14, or while supplies last, customers can purchase any two Geronimo or Thea Stilton books and get a Geronimo Stilton Official Junior Reporter Kit for free. The Reporter Journal includes a map of New Mouse City, a Press Pass for The Rodent’s Gazette, a pencil with cheese eraser and a notepad. From July 15 to September 2, customers can purchase any two books from the bestselling Who Was…? Biography series for kids and get a free deck of Who Was…? playing cards, which features 54 famous figures and a quiz question about each person featured in the deck of cards.

Parents looking for a terrific read for their child this summer can visit www.bn.com/summerreading and discover Staff Picks – recommendations by grade from Barnes & Noble’s expert Children’s Department booksellers. Additionally, to help prevent summer learning loss, Barnes & Noble is proud to offer the best selection of summer skills workbooks to keep learning alive all summer long.

Additionally, this summer, parents are encouraged to download the Free NOOK Reading App on Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, or Windows 8 tablets and PCs, and sign in with a new NOOK® account to automatically receive samples of current bestselling and soon-to-be-published books, as well as free magazine issues. To get this great offer, customers can visit NOOKapp.com from a smartphone or tablet. Customers can also visit the NOOK Reading App display at any Barnes & Noble store, or ask a bookseller for details.

“Our Summer Reading Program encourages kids and their parents to engage their imaginations all summer long so the learning never ends,” said Sarah DiFrancesco, Vice President, Business Development for Barnes & Noble. “It’s so much fun for a parent to see a child’s face light up when they turn in their completed journal sheet and get to choose a free book from the store display. Parents, educators and librarians love the program, too, because they also want to encourage children to read during the summer months. Add our reading groups, weekly Storytimes, Hands-On Learning events, special promotions and the best lineup of summer skills workbooks, and Barnes & Noble is the best destination for reading fun, learning and savings, all summer long.”

For Parents, Educators & Children

Free Summer Reading Activity Kit

Barnes & Noble’s Summer Reading Activity Kit is designed to reinforce learning, nurture imaginative skills and motivate students to extend their reading through their summer vacation. Summer Reading Kits are available in all Barnes & Noble stores nationwide or online at www.bn.com/summerreading. Activities in the kit include:

• Find Your Favorites: Children are encouraged to identify their favorite authors and illustrators. This is an important part of exploring the world of books.
• Fiction & Non-Fiction: Children can explore different genres of literature and understand the difference between fiction and non-fiction.
• Playing Roles: Reading allows us to imagine ourselves in the roles played by other people—historical figures or fictional characters. Children list five characters who captured their imagination and describe ways in which they are similar and different from themselves.
• Realms of Imagination: Our imaginations shape our sense of what is possible. Children are encouraged to plan their ideal summer vacation, mixing elements of real life with places they'd like to visit—maybe even a fictional destination from their favorite book.
• The Reading Journal: Children can choose eight books to read over the summer. Parents fill out the reading journal with the books a child has read and discuss who they would recommend each book to and why. Once they've read eight books, kids can bring the completed reading journal to any Barnes & Noble location to select a free book from the selection of books listed on the Summer Reading Journal.

For teens, Barnes & Noble is the source for summer or required reading titles. Whether it’s for school or personal pleasure, Barnes & Noble has what teens are reading now – Realistic Fiction, Fantasy & Adventure, Action & Adventure, True Teen Reads, From Page-to-Screen favorites – and numerous others books teens can immerse themselves in reading this summer.

The Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program ends September 2, 2014. For information about Barnes & Noble events, visit www.bn.com/storelocator for store locations and details. Events are free and open to the public.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) is a Fortune 500 company and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The company operates 663 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites, BN.com (www.bn.com). Its NOOK Media LLC subsidiary is a leader in the emerging digital reading and digital education markets. The NOOK digital business offers award-winning NOOK® products and an expansive collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the NOOK Store® (www.nook.com), while Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC operates 696 bookstores serving over 4.6 million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained by visiting the company's corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.