Southern Indiana – Remember the ‘BOOK IT!’ Reading Incentive Program From The ’80s?

Was there anything better than getting that final sticker on your BOOK IT! pin, and taking it to Pizza Hut for a free pizza? Let me tell you, back in the '80s all you had to do to score free pizza was to read some books.

Solve This Equation

My fellow friends of the '80s and '90s you solved this simple picture quiz quite easily. We read books for a certain amount of time, and our teacher would place those lovely star stickers on our purple BOOK IT! buttons. Once the star spots were filled, our parents had to take us immediately to the nearest Pizza Hut to claim our reading prize - The Personal Pan Pizza.

Those Were The Good Ole Days

Guess What - BOOK It! Still Exists! I just figured that it was a thing of the past. The program has evolved since 1984 and even includes a Home School option, but the reward is still that prized personal pan pizza.

Are There Buttons?

In my research, I've found that many people are selling vintage BOOK IT! pins on eBay.

"BOOK IT!" 1985 PIZZA HUT, Inc PIN BADGE Pinback Book Club

Now, on the official 'BOOK IT!" website, there is a Teacher's Toolbox section. This includes a lot of neat coloring sheets and fun reminders to read through the month. Then I see what appears to be the button of today. Compared to our super-cool pins from the '80s and '90s, this print-out just doesn't feel the same. Or, as our kids might say, 'It hits different'.

Calling All Cool Parents

If your kids have the BOOK IT! program it would be neat to buy a button off of eBay and see if the teacher will accept it. If you know of schools in our area that are participating, we would love to hear from them to see if it's working. Of course, I really want to ask if they would prefer buttons and stickers again.

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