You guys remember Book It?

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

Book It was that program that gave you free personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut. I remember it back in elementary school back in the 90's. I went to do a quick google search on it just to see what I could remember about it and turns out its still a thing. I never would have thought it was still around since Pizza Hut itself has been dying out (at least around me) for a long time. So here's a link for any members with kids maybe you guys can utilize it to help motivate the kids to read.

https://www.bookitprogram.com/

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

I remember having a button as a kid and I think you got a free personal pan pizza with 5 gold stars. The Pizza Hut here still has something called First Book, which I'm guessing is similar.

[Chuppa | 60]

My daughter is in first grade and she came home with a coupon for it the 1 week for reading a certain amount of minutes in a month I think.  We saved up a couple coupons and used like 3 at once, our Pizza Hut didn't care that we used more than one.  I dunno man those little pizzas, the crust or something, are delicious, way better than pizza hut regular pizza imo.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

2 minutes ago, Chuppa said:

My daughter is in first grade and she came home with a coupon for it the 1 week for reading a certain amount of minutes in a month I think.  We saved up a couple coupons and used like 3 at once, our Pizza Hut didn't care that we used more than one.  I dunno man those little pizzas, the crust or something, are delicious, way better than pizza hut regular pizza imo.

For some reason, I swear the personal pan crust tastes even better than the full size pizzas.

[ICrappedMyPants | 302]

Yep, it’s the only thing that actually motivated me to read. I hated the stupid summer library programs that gave you pinwheels, pencils, and other crap.

[Estil | 1,264]

13 minutes ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

I remember having a button as a kid and I think you got a free personal pan pizza with 5 gold stars. The Pizza Hut here still has something called First Book, which I'm guessing is similar.

Actually you get a star and free pizza with each month you meet your goal.  And you get a certificate if you get all five (i still got my mine from 3rd grade; hee hee) and I think if enough in the class make their goal for at least four out of five months the whole class gets a pizza party!   Those were they days, back when Pizza Hut was a really special distinctive place.  The local Pizza Hut I used to redeem all my Book It! coupons at back in the late 80s/early 90s is now an Enterprise Rent-A-Car  

Here is what the buttons/free pizza coupon looked like back in my day (this is only a sample; obviously there are not my own):

Edited April 29, 2020 by Estil

[Estil | 1,264]

Just now, ICrappedMyPants said:

Yep, it’s the only thing that actually motivated me to read. I hated the stupid summer library programs that gave you pinwheels, pencils, and other crap.

Don't even get me started on that Accelerated Reader...that probably did more to KILL children's love of reading more than anything *shudders*

[TDIRunner | 2,735]

I remember it for sure.  My oldest son just started reading this spring, so I'll have to look back into it.  

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

aaahhh book it. yes i remember. still didnt care to read. pizza at pizza hut was pretty good insentive but i still wasnt trying to read a book fuuuuuuuck that. nintendo power? now thats some reading i can do a couple sentences a page and pictures of nintendo games. yes.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

I remember the free Pizza Hut personal pan pizza coupon on the back of the TMNT 2 manual. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I got a new game and a free pizza!

[profholt82 | 60]

I loved the Bookit program. Really cool to see the pic of the button and certificate, that brings me back. My Pizza Hut had a jukebox and a Neo Geo candy cab with Samurai Shodown and Neo Turf Masters, so getting to go to Pizza Hut to redeem my Bookit stars for a personal pan was always a special night. I lived for the Goosebumps series in those days. 

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

14 minutes ago, Estil said:

Actually you get a star and free pizza with each month you meet your goal.  And you get a certificate if you get all five (i still got my mine from 3rd grade; hee hee) and I think if enough in the class make their goal for at least four out of five months the whole class gets a pizza party!   Those were they days, back when Pizza Hut was a really special distinctive place.  The local Pizza Hut I used to redeem all my Book It! coupons at back in the late 80s/early 90s is now an Enterprise Rent-A-Car  

Here is what the buttons/free pizza coupon looked like back in my day (this is only a sample; obviously there are not my own):

That button on the bottom is just like the one I had as a kid in the late '80s. It may be in one of the boxes of my old school stuff in the garage. The Pizza Hut I went to as a kid is still there. It even still looks the same on the inside minus the jukebox and Frogger tabletop machine.

Edited April 29, 2020 by Bearcat-Doug

[Jeevan | 8,910]

used to have a pizza hut that looked like a hut .  It is long gone tho   They had a table arcade, but not sure what one it was, those were certainly the days, and i remember redeeming as many book it stars as i could   Was very delish!!!!

[Boosted52405 | 178]

Indeed, I lived for the Book It program as a kid lmao.  We were broke so promotional stuff always stood out to me and I loved them.  One year I think I got a sweet March Madness basketball in addition to the Pan Pizza - score!

Another thing that I took a heavy advantage of was the "Free 20oz" pop caps haha.  For one, when fairly young I worked a short time at a recycling center and could find pockets full of them with ease everyday...but secondly, you could actually take a bottle unopened, tip it sideways and read under the cap before you bought it.  One summer I had free pop the whole time

[The Count | 527]

Here's one of my old buttons. I used to read a lot in elementary school and would fill these pretty quickly to earn a personal pan pizza. I definitely recall also getting TMNT II stuff such as a poster and music cassette tape from the Pizza Hut that, since torn down, was in town.

 

[a3quit4s | 4,097]

Never heard of it.... I was in elementary school in the early 90s so I would have been a target. Maybe not in the mid NY market?

[RH | 4,903]

If you have a local Sub Way that has pizza (branded now as Mama Deluca's), you might want to check it out.  My wife and I both agree their small, pepperoni tastes just like a Book It! pizza.  I like their pizza alright, but that's what I get when I want my pizza with a touch of nostalgia.

Of course, you can just get a personal pan from Pizza Hut, but I think it's changed in 30 years, and Mama Deluca's is much closer to the old Pizza Hut recipe, or so it seems.

[zeppelin03 | 314]

11 minutes ago, RH said:

If you have a local Sub Way that has pizza (branded now as Mama Deluca's), you might want to check it out.  My wife and I both agree their small, pepperoni tastes just like a Book It! pizza.  I like their pizza alright, but that's what I get when I want my pizza with a touch of nostalgia.

Of course, you can just get a personal pan from Pizza Hut, but I think it's changed in 30 years, and Mama Deluca's is much closer to the old Pizza Hut recipe, or so it seems.

Do they have the old breadsticks and textured cups for pop?

[RH | 4,903]

1 minute ago, zeppelin03 said:

Do they have the old breadsticks and textured cups for pop?

Lol, no.  I guess you could stop by Pizza Hut first, though, and grab the cup.  I mean, you'd have to steal it, but you have to do what you have to do.  I can't help with the breadsticks.  Pizza Hut bread sticks aren't the same, and Mama Deluca's aren't the same either.  In fact, just skip them.  Those can be avoided all together.  Just get your small pizza and be happy with it.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

12 hours ago, RH said:

Lol, no.  I guess you could stop by Pizza Hut first, though, and grab the cup.  I mean, you'd have to steal it, but you have to do what you have to do.

No need, just work with somebody who's done it for you, lol!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pizza-Hut-Plastic-Glass-Collectible-Ruby-Red-Restaurant-Cup/383510334418?hash=item594aff4bd2:g:MjYAAOSweoReLiIg

[RH | 4,903]

14 minutes ago, darkchylde28 said:

No need, just work with somebody who's done it for you, lol!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pizza-Hut-Plastic-Glass-Collectible-Ruby-Red-Restaurant-Cup/383510334418?hash=item594aff4bd2:g:MjYAAOSweoReLiIg

These were actually quite popular where I went to college. We had these exact cups in our cafeteria and since everyone loved them (probably because of the Book It! nostalgia feels) we all had a cup or two in our dorm rooms. 

[drxandy | 3,225]

I loved bookit as a kid!! Would always be trying to fill the pins up. Strangely it may have influenced teenage me into working at the actual Pizza hut that I would redeem my bookit pizzas and get ps1 demo discs at haha. 

[Gloves | 11,777]

No.

[Deadeye | 1,596]

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

Book It was great.

The only reason we would ever eat at Pizza Hut, since they were SO SLOOOOWWW with their service back it those days.

Their breadsticks were way better than their pizza, but I was mostly just interested in pumping a couple bucks worth of quarters into their Aliens arcade game or their Neo Geo cabinet.