BookBusters Reading Challenge
May – October 2026
Read Books. Earn Badges. Win Prizes.
In Planet Word’s Library, you can watch books come to life on our magical Story Table. Now, with our first-ever reading challenge, you can win prizes for reading them!
Join the BookBusters Reading Challenge to explore 100 awesome books for readers of all ages and interests. Complete the challenge by October 18, 2026, to be eligible to win exciting prizes at Planet Word’s annual birthday party — like books, gift cards, Planet Word swag, Lexicon Lane passes, and more!
The Planet Word BookBusters challenge is being hosted on Beanstack, a free reading platform. Click the link below to create an account, enroll in the challenge, and start reading! For support or more information, scroll down.
Join BookBustersAbout BookBusters
Click below to learn all about the BookBusters Reading Challenge! Have more questions? Check out the video below that walks through the sign up and enrollment process or email [email protected] with “BookBusters” in the subject line.
Readers of all ages are welcome to join the BookBusters Reading Challenge! If you’re 8 or older, you may be able to complete the challenge on your own. Families with younger readers are encouraged to participate together — you can read books aloud or divide the reading up depending on each reader’s reading level and interests. The more the merrier!
- Visit Planet Word on Beanstack at https://planetword.beanstack.com.
- Click the button that says “Register an Individual or Family.”
- Select whether you are registering yourself or a child. You can register more than one person under the same account.
- Follow the remaining prompts to create an account.
- Unless you are eligible for another challenge, you will be automatically enrolled in the BookBusters Reading Challenge.
Over the summer, Planet Word will be running another challenge on Beanstack called Literacy Liftoff. Young readers may see the Literacy Liftoff challenge as an option when signing up. Be sure to select the BookBusters Reading Challenge to enroll in our Library book challenge.When you’re signed into Beanstack and viewing the challenge, click on the “Badges” tab. Each activity badge includes a reading list from Planet Word’s Library, curated by reading level and theme. To complete a badge, read the required number of books from the list and answer two questions.
There are 18 total activity badges in the BookBusters challenge. Earn at least 8 badges to complete the challenge and become an official BookBuster! You will automatically be entered to win prizes at our October celebration! Want to keep going? You don’t have to stop there! Keep reading and earning badges to grow your chances of winning prizes in the BookBusters raffle.
All participants who enroll in the BookBusters Reading Challenge are invited to attend Planet Word’s birthday party on October 18 to enjoy special activities, meet other BookBusters, and pick up a free button. Display evidence of your participation at checkout on October 18 to receive a 20% discount in Planet Word’s gift shop, Present Perfect.
Everyone who completes the challenge will be entered into a raffle to win exciting prizes — you will be entered one time for each badge you earn. Earning more badges means more chances to win! On October 18, we’ll be raffling prizes like books, gift cards, Planet Word swag, Lexicon Lane passes, and more.
Beanstack is a free community reading platform used by organizations like schools and libraries. With your free account from Planet Word, you can participate in current and future reading challenges. You can use Beanstack to track the books you read throughout the year, even when we’re not running a challenge.
Beanstack collects reading logs, book information, and participation data to provide insights and track progress. All data handling follows educational privacy standards and regulations. For more information, see the Joyful Reading Company (Beanstack’s parent company) privacy policy.
BookBusters FAQs
Look for these books at your local library, Planet Word’s gift shop Present Perfect, and online booksellers like Bookshop.org.
Discounted BookBusters BookPacks are available for sale in Planet Word’s gift shop! Get 10% off a set of 2 to 5 books from the challenge, or 20% off a set of 6 or more books. At checkout, you’ll receive a code to unlock the BookPack badge and get one step closer to completing the challenge.
Absolutely! You are welcome to read (to yourself or aloud) and/or listen to audiobooks — whatever works for you!
Yes! You can access the BookBusters Reading Challenge through a web browser or the Beanstack app.
To download the Beanstack app, visit the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and search for Beanstack.
Open the app and click “Find your school or library.” Find Planet Word and follow the login instructions. If you haven’t already created your free Beanstack account, you can do so through the app.
Join the BookBusters Reading Challenge and get reading!
Pro tip: If you want to log your reading (encouraged but not mandatory), you can use a scanner in the app! Click the scan icon to scan the barcode on the back of your book and voila! You’ve done it.Logging your reading is encouraged but not required for this challenge. Logging your reading — either by page, minutes, or books — is a great way to track your progress. It’ll also keep a lasting record of all the reading you’ve done, and you can keep using your free Beanstack account even after the challenge ends.
The challenge operates on the honors system, but we ask that all participants only count reading you do while the challenge is active towards the badges. So, if you read a book on the list last year, it wouldn’t count. You are welcome to reread books that you’ve read in the past, but discovering new books is part of the fun!
Planet Word’s birthday party (or Wordiversary, as we like to call it!) is a free community event on October 18. You will be able to reserve timed museum entry passes starting on September 1. A limited number of same day walk-up passes will be available on a first come, first-served basis. Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to party time!
Everyone who completes the challenge will automatically be entered into the raffle. If you aren’t present at the museum on October 18, you will be notified via email and can stop by the museum to collect your prize in person through the end of the year. Unfortunately, we are unable to ship any prizes. The gift shop discount will only be available to participants who attend in person on October 18.
Yes, you’re welcome to participate no matter where you call home! If you’re unable to visit the museum in person, you won’t be able to collect prizes — but you’ll be rewarded with the experience of reading some great books!