About

The Great Kiwi Bookathon inspires a passion for books 

Throughout the month of June, when your kids read the books they love, they can win cool stuff, and earn rewards. The Great Kiwi Bookathon is all about getting kids and their whānau reading LIKE MAD and having fun, while raising awareness and much-needed funds for Blind Low Vision NZ.

It’s quite simple. Kids read the books they like throughout the month of June and share their world of books with friends and family. They simply log all the books they read on their own special dashboard – and we guarantee to keep your kids on fire with fun challenges along the way.

Raise a few dollars for children who are blind, deafblind or have low vision and their families, so they have a great start in life and can get on with living life to the max. While fundraising is entirely optional, we hope you can encourage friends and family to throw a few bucks of sponsorship to fuel that thirst for reading!

When did you read your first classic?

Can you remember when you read your first classic? Maybe with a torch in bed or under a tree at the beach? Remember the excitement of turning the pages to find out what was next?

Wouldn't you want your kids to experience the amazing world of books by inspiring them early and supporting them to read all the while supporting others who experience blindness, deaf blindness, or low vision? Taking part in the Great Kiwi Bookathon is a lot of fun! Have a look at our website where kids can earn badges, log their books and rate their favourite ones. Kids will love the Great Kiwi Bookathon, and it's easy and exciting to take part. Fundraising has never been more fun!

The inspiring world of books

The Great Kiwi Bookathon introduces you to a world of magic voyages and excites even the most reluctant reader. Who wouldn't want their child to be excited by a great book? Especially in today's world where there can be so much distraction. This is why we designed the Great Kiwi Bookathon website to enhance the joy of reading, making it easy and making it fun.

The Great Kiwi Bookathon is designed as a challenge at home. It’s an activity to share with friends and family and kids can even get all their classmates involved. It is a great way to get kids reading more books. Reading inspires the imagination and can take you on incredible journeys of discovery. We've created this new website, so jump in, join up and we’ll send you a welcome pack that will fire up that passion to get started on a journey of reading.

Raise funds for kids and families living with vision loss

Our kids are unstoppable – even during a pandemic. The same goes for our support services that help kids who are blind, deafblind or have low vision and their families. With this great Kiwi Bookathon, you can make sure we're always there to help transform more Kiwi kids and their families’ lives. Funds raised from the Great Kiwi Bookathon will help fund vital support services, like our fully accessible library service, counselling to support the family adjusting to changes in family life and the outlook ahead. Our services help kids and their families to live the life they choose.

Read as many books as you can

The Great Kiwi Bookathon inspires kids to enter the world of books, read and log any books they like. Collect the fantastic badges by logging your books, do a bit of fundraising or introduce a friend. Need some inspiration of books to read? Have a look at what other participants are reading, and you might see some cool books your kids might want to read too.