Timothy Bell Jr. spent about 136 hours with a book this past summer over the course of just 10 weeks. On Sept. 18, he was honored for his literacy voracity at a school assembly at Merrol Hyde Magnet School as the 2026 Tristar Reads Elementary School Division winner.¶
The third grader received a $1,000 college scholarship from Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS), sponsored by Atmos Energy. Bell also received a proclamation from the Tennessee General Assembly recognizing his achievement. Steven Bergman, of TSS, was on-site to present Bell with his official legislative proclamation. Brian Stewart, a candidate for Tennessee House District 45, assisted with the presentation.¶
Bell, a first-time winner, logged an incredible 8,172 minutes of reading over the summer.¶
Tristar Reads, a TSS initiative created in 2016, invites every Tennessee student in grades K-12 to read at least 20 minutes a day over the summer. The program is open to students across Tennessee and aims to head off the “summer slide” through consistent independent reading practice. Nationally, children read about 10 minutes a day outside of school on average, according to TSS.¶
Across Tristar Reads 2026, participants logged more than 550,000 minutes this summer, and students have read more than 3 million minutes since the program began. Each year the contest names four winners, one each for elementary, middle, and high school, plus an overall winner, and each is awarded a $1,000 scholarship. This year’s four winners read a staggering 85,159 minutes combined.¶
TSS announced the winners in August. President and CEO Lana Skelo said participants averaged nearly 600 more minutes of reading than last year. Atmos Energy again partnered with the contest to sponsor scholarships and provide access to digital books through Vooks.¶
Timothy Bell Jr.’s fellow winners are overall winner Wesley Martin, a sixth-grade homeschooler from Hamblen County; high school winner Tallen Haag, a 10th-grade homeschooler from Robertson County; and middle school winner Srinehal Thumu, an eighth-grade student in Wilson County Schools.¶
Bell said the scholarship matters to him because of what college costs. “It means a lot to me, because college costs a lot. This is just the beginning of my scholarships,” he told TSS. He said the length of a book is part of the appeal. “What I enjoy most about reading is the challenge of how long a book could be. The longer the book is, the more I want to read it,” he said.¶
Bell found time to read by working around his family’s schedule. “I did things like waking up early to read before my little brother and sister got up. I also read during their nap time. I just wanted to read every chance I got,” he said.¶
His favorite book of the summer was “Eragon” by Christopher Paolini. “It was my favorite book to read this summer because it was the beginning of a new series for me,” Bell said.¶
