Dragon Strong Reading Academy 2026

What's going on, you ravenous book dragon tamers!

The moment you've been waiting for is here -

Dragon Strong Reading Academy sign-ups are officially open!

Last summer, over 1,000 cadets joined the program and 750 of them graduated by completing their summer reading. That kind of response blew us away and this summer, we're ready for more! We're opening the program to 2,500 students, which means more dragons, more reading, and more chaos in the best possible way.


A FEW THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU SIGN UP

Who can join: This summer we're opening sign-ups to District 6 students first. If we don't hit capacity, we'll open it up to neighboring schools so share this with friends, but know that spots will go fast!

Choosing your dragon: Starter and Level 2 dragons work exactly like last year with five color options, your pick. For the final dragon, we're doing something new this year and we think you're going to love it. Last year we noticed that a lot of kids picked a color at the start of summer and then walked in on final pickup day, saw the full selection, and wanted something completely different. So this year, we're letting them choose in person. You'll come to pickup day and select your final dragon from a large display of warm-toned or cool-toned dragons, whatever calls to them in that moment. Think of it like adoption day. Final dragon selections are made on pickup day and are final, so come ready to choose!

Pick-up only this year: To give every family the best experience possible, the program is pick-up only at our locations. Those pickup days have become some of our favorite events of the year and we want to make sure every family gets that moment.

One small ask: When you sign up, please use your child's full first and last name. It helps us find you quickly on pickup day and keeps the line moving for everyone.

AMBASSADOR PROGRAM

High schoolers and adults - your program is back too. Ambassadors take on a bigger reading challenge, and every Ambassador essentially sponsors three kids through the full program. The second link below has everything you need.

THREE LINKS BELOW

The first link is for Dragon Strong Reading Academy sign-ups. You may need to submit separately for each child.

The second link is for the Ambassador Program.

The third link is for those interested in supporting the program, but not wanting to participate in all aspects of the reading logs and pick-up days and such.

[DRAGON STRONG SIGN-UP LINK]

[AMBASSADOR SIGN-UP LINK]

[COMMUNITY SUPPORTER LINK]

We cannot wait to see you this summer. The dragons are printing. The pages are waiting. Let's go!

— The Midnight Oil Bookstore Team

P.S. If you have any interest in some behind the scenes numbers of what this program looks like, I wrote a piece here. Feel free to check it out. - Pablo