Malley's Chocolates is putting a new twist on traditional summer reading lists—with some sweet incentives. The chocolate retailer is launching the second year of its summer reading program, partnering with local libraries to encourage young readers.

"I remember when I was a kid, the teachers would always try to give you a summer reading list," says chief strategic officer Mike Malley. "They would send you home saying, ‘you're supposed to read X number of books for the summer.’”

The Malley's Read Yur Way to a Sundae game cardMalley took that idea and added a fun game board for kids to track their reading progress and earn Malley’s Chocolates rewards, like Malley chocolate bars and ice cream sundaes. The program, which is now underway and runs through Aug. 3, is open to readers aged 18 years and under, and Malley’s will distribute 5,000 game boards through its 18 locations.

"It's all on the honor system," Malley explains. "I thought it'd be a kind of a fun way to get kids engaged with Malley's Chocolates as a brand and parents could have some fun by having a little incentive."

When participants have read for one hour, they have a parent initial the game card and then bring the card to Malley's for a validation sticker. Participating readers can get one sticker per visit for one hour of reading.

This is the second year Malley’s has done the summer reading program—working with local libraries and librarians for on-site programming. Malley says last year, he and his mother, former Malley’s CEO Adele Malley, tried to read stories to the kids before they realized that the libraries are a great resource in facilitating the success of summer reading programs.

“Last year when we started, the summer was already rolling, so to speak,” he says. “We recognized that libraries, especially librarians, are pretty darn good at this. The librarians who came out were phenomenal. They brought puppets and really brought some stories to life. So we're encouraging all of our managers to work with their local libraries.”

Mike Malley draws the factory tour winner for the 2024 Summer Reading program.After four hours of reading, participants earn a free Malley’s chocolate bar. The game board is complete after eight hours of reading, and participants earn a coupon for either a free child's size sundae or a chocolate bar.

When readers complete the game board, they can register to win the grand prize: A tour of Malley’s Brook Park Chocolate Factory and a treat bag.

Super readers who complete an additional two bonus hours of reading, above the eight hours on the game board, can earn up to two entries into the grand prize raffle—one entry can be earned for each extra hour of reading, up to two entries.

The grand prize winner will be drawn on Friday, Aug. 8, and the tour will be scheduled during the week of Aug. 11.

Throughout the summer, Malley’s will host Sweet Story Times at each location, and give out free treat samples, of course. Story Time attendees will each earn one sticker for their Read Your Way to a Sundae game board.

All children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to Story Time and attendees should bring a beach towel or blanket. Go to Malley’s Facebook page to RSVP to Story Time and keep up with other reading program events and updates.