The HELL Reading Challenge
The HELL Reading Challenge is a well-established programme that has been hugely successful in getting tamariki reading and enjoying the pleasures of stories — with the bonus of free pizza rewards!
We are very excited to be continuing our partnership with HELL Pizza. Their enthusiasm for children’s reading and generous ongoing commitment is awesome.
Teachers, librarians and parents have been telling us how the HELL Reading Challenge has hooked so many reluctant readers into books. We want even more young readers to discover the thrill of a great book.
The HELL Reading Challenge is free, and it is so easy! Children receive a stamp on their pizza wheel for each book they read. Once they have read seven books, children can exchange their completed wheel for a free 333 kids’ pizza at HELL.
To find out more about how the HELL Reading Challenge works, download the 2026 HELL Reading Challenge manual here
Registrations for the 2026 HELL Reading Challenge are now open.
Schools and libraries can register and order pizza wheels here
If you're a parent or caregiver and want to get pizza wheels for your tamariki, please ask at your local library or school.
Here’s what our 2026 pizza wheels look like:
On the front of the wheel there are seven slices – once a child has finished a reading a book, the teacher or librarian should sign off or stamp the circle in that slice. Please don’t use clippers on 2026 wheels, because this will damage the QR code on the other side of the wheel.
When all seven slices have been completed, the teacher or librarian should authenticate the pizza wheel with the school or library stamp. Please put your school/library details in the rectangle in the centre of the wheel.
On the back of the wheel you will find a QR code and a voucher code, and also the terms and conditions. Be careful not to write or stamp over the QR code as this will cause problems when redeeming wheels.
Note each pizza wheel has a separate serial number and QR code, and can be traced to prevent fraud.
Downloadable resources for the 2026 HELL Reading Challenge
Download the 2026 HELL Reading Challenge poster here (English)
Download the 2026 HELL Reading Challenge poster here (te reo Māori)
Download printable 2026 HELL Reading Challenge book review cards here
Download printable te reo Māori 2026 Hell Reading Challenge book review cards here
If you have any questions about the HELL Reading Challenge or would like to be put on the mailing list to receive Reading Challenge updates, please email readingchallenge@nzbookawards.org.nz
You can also keep up to date with Reading Challenge news on the HELL Reading Challenge Facebook page
Completed 2026 pizza wheels can be redeemed at any HELL Pizza store throughout New Zealand until 31 January 2027.
Hell's Great NZ Book Trip
To add even more interest and incentive, we're offering libraries and schools the optional additional opportunity to take tamariki on Hell’s Great NZ Book Trip – where they can discover the rich tapestry of New Zealand literature that takes them all around the motu.
So come along on HELL’s Great NZ Book Trip around New Zealand – we hope you enjoy what Aotearoa has to offer!
Author events
As part of HELL’s Great NZ Book Trip, some of New Zealand’s most loved children’s authors and illustrators are being live-streamed to classrooms around the country.
The Violet and the Velvets books draw on Rachael's own experience of playing in bands, and follow the adventures of 12-year-old Violet Grumble and her friends as they try to make it to the BandChamps finals. The first book in this series, Violet and the Velvets: The Case of the Missing Stuff, was shortlisted for the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction at the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults.
In this session Rachael King will read from Violet and the Velvets and share a band poster activity - and may even play one of the songs from the book! She will also answer questions that have been sent in by tamariki around the country.
To take part in this event, you will need to register by completing this short online form, or by emailing readingchallenge@nzbookawards.org.nz with your name, email address, school or library name (and class if applicable). Registered participants will be emailed a webinar link for the live event.
And if you’d like to watch other author readings and Q&A sessions that have already taken place as part of HELL’s Great NZ Book Trip, you’ll find recordings of all events here.
2026 HELL Reading Challenge – Key dates
Registrations for the 2026 HELL Reading Challenge are now open.
Last date for ordering 2026 pizza wheels (stocks permitting): 3 December 2026
Last date for redeeming completed 2026 wheels: 31 January 2027
For more information, please email readingchallenge@nzbookawards.org.nz.
The New Zealand Book Awards Trust is very grateful to HELL Pizza for their sponsorship of the Reading Challenge. For more information on HELL and our other funders, click here.