Blind Date with a Book

What a cool idea!

source: by Unknown @ http://cheezburger.com/7013239296

Summer Reading Displays

With Spring just barely arriving, Summer seems a long ways off.  But for those looking to create dynamic summer reading displays, now is the time to start gathering ideas.  Whether you have limited space, resources and time or are blessed with many bulletin boards and counter space, perhaps these ideas will inspire you.

Short on shelf space? Try bringing in a prop that will grab everyone's attention!
 From the Summer Reading Program display Lake Benton Library

Keep the light with this cheerful sign! From  rachelmoani.com

Use summertime props to bring atmosphere to your display:

This display uses coffee grounds, foamboard,
a fancy planter and some creativity. 
From: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/161777811587293477/

Use colourful towels, Kites and big, bright letters to catch the eye.
by Hackley Public Library on Flickr

Entice your audience with a reusable cloth or felt tablecloth and set the stage for for a summertime adventure...between the pages of a good book,
From Pinterest

Found on librarydisplayideas.pbworks.com

Different textures and bright colours add interest to this display. 
From  Enokson on Flickr

A Broader view of the same display
Enokson on Flickr

You can always uses these ideas in a display cabinet too!

From Montana State Library

Here are some Bulletin Boards that help catch the eye and the imagination.

Found on schoollibrarydisplays.blogspot.com

Found on lorri6303.blogspot.com

Another version. From Pinterest.

Books were placed with the "destination" or where the reader will go when they read the book over their summer vacation. From Pinterest.

Oakridge Branch (Vancouver Public Library) added life to their 2013 Summer  Reading program with an 'Up, Up and Away' theme. From Pinterest

Another version. From Pinterest.

Great 3-D balloon display  for the library  or a classroom bulletin board. Add book recommendations from your library. Found on bulletinboardideas.org 

With a blank book template, students can take lead and recommend books to each other.   Found on meri.verymeri.com

A Love for Reading: Lead by Example

A great way to encourage reading and teach students how fun it can be is to model reading.  One of my schools created a picture wall in the library.   Since then, other schools have customized it for their needs.  Some made a simple display, others turned it into a contest and one asked students to bring in their own pictures to add.

This is a mock up of a contest where students are challenged to match the book cover to the staff member who read it.

It started as a promotion for Summer Reading and was easy to create. Ask your staff - teachers, custodians, support staff, principals, volunteers - to bring in or email photos of themselves reading over the summer. Encourage people to get creative. It doesn't just have to be of the person sitting in a chair holding a book, although that is fine too. As you can see from some of these pictures below, there are a lot of options. The only limitations is the reader's creativity.  I have seen pictures of people holding a book on a roller coaster, dressed up in tuxedos and others dressed in vibrant PJs or onesies with fuzzy bunny slippers.  Do anything to have fun with the picture.

Is your staff camera shy? Don't let them miss out on this!  I have had people submit pictures of their pets reading or pictures in silhouette of them reading, or even pictures of the book from their point of view with the book on their lap and their feet stretched out in front.  They can set up a scene of where they read such as reading at the beach with a snap of  the book with sunglasses, a sunscreen bottle and  a sun hat. 

If people are reading with their families but don't want the kids pictures to show publicly, they can take pictures from behind,  showing the backs of their heads.   Model co-reading by including the whole family.

Include an info bite.  The captions can say anything, again,  be creative.  Tell where you were reading, the title of the book, a quote from the book,  what you liked about the book or author.  Add recommendations or what you will read next.

Have fun with it and create a great display for back-to-school.  Or reading week.  Or any time!

Poetry Month Display Ideas for April

April is Poetry Month!

2014 marks the 16th annual celebration of poetry in Canada. It was established in Canada in April 1998 by the League of Canadian Poets. "National Poetry Month brings together schools, publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, and poets from across the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in Canada’s culture." (poets.ca)

This years theme is "Poetry City"

How will you promote Poetry Month? Here are some display ideas to engage students and excite them about poetry.

Students can copy out a favorite poem to add to the display; or better yet, write their own!

Poem in your pocket 08 by Love Your Library :-) on Flickr

Have students create poetry lines with magnetic words:

from bifocalsandbuns.wordpress.com 

Have some wall space?  Create an interactive Poetry Wall.  Have Students fill in the spaces with their writing. 

Found on indulgy.com

Create a Poetry Tree:

Found on bulletinboardideas.org

Found on schoollibrarydisplays.blogspot.com

Found on google.ca

Dr. Seuss Day is March 2nd

A mini biography of the beloved Dr. Seuss

So, how can you celebrate Dr. Seuss Day? You can simply just pick up a book and read or read together with your family and friends.

Create some excitement with a party atmosphere.  Highlight the many Dr. Seuss books.  Add some activities and contests and watch your students 

found on genconnect.com

Try some of these celebration ideas from sunflower storytime.com:

Make Cat In The Hat hats

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish guessing game

Serve Green Eggs and Ham

Decorate a pot and grow a plant with this Lorax inspired idea found on Found on catchmyparty.com

Kids can make their own Thing 1, Thing 2 bookmarks 
 idea from  Victoria Saley @obSEUSSed

Kids love gooey Ooblecks!  The recipes can be found on sunlitpages.blogspot.ca

There are lots of online games and activities available from

click to go there

However you choose to celebrate, remember to have fun and spread the wisdom of this favourite children's author!

Banned Book Week Ideas

Banned Book Week (USA) September 22-28, 2013

The American national book community's annual celebration of the freedom to read

Freedom to Read Week (Canada)  February 23-March 1, 2014

Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Check out these display ideas!

Take pictures of staff reading banned titles.  Get creative with your poses.                                                                 

Have students pose for mug shots when they sign out banned titles, or use mug shots to make a display promoting these titles.

Here's some ideas from the ALA source: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/display

DISPLAY—The Illinois State Library displayed banned books behind brown paper, carefully ripped to illustrate the display.

DISPLAY a small collection of "dangerous" book in a prominent location under a sign that provocatively exclaims, "Don't Read These Books." Wrap "banned books" in brown paper, print the title and reason for the banning on individual cards, and tape a card to each book.

DISPLAY—The University of New Mexico Bookstore displayed widely known books that have been challenged or banned in a small black “jail” built expressly for the purpose with red and black CENSORED signs woven through the “prison bars.” University of Indiana-Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN, bookstores placed books in bamboo bird cages with the sign “Banned Books are for the Birds.” The display windows at Blue Ridge Books, Roanoke, Virginia, was bare during Banned Books Week, representing the attempts by various people or groups during the past year to keep books they deem objectionable from being read.  People stood on the sidewalk outside the Main Street store and read excerpts from books recently challenged.  Inside, store owners Bob and Teresa Lazo displayed books challenged or banned in the past 12 months.

PROMOTE your books and displays. Chapter One Bookstore in Pittsford, New York, printed brown-and-white T-shirts depicting a gagged William Shakespeare and used a “Tom Sawyer” type fence (made from brown paper) with a knot hole and the inscription “Caution—if you look through here you may see some banned books!” Some booksellers placed bands or stickers on books, store bags, or receipts saying “banned.”

INRIGUE customers or patrons by painting a display window almost entirely black, leaving only a small peep hole; then paint the word “caution” in large red letters, which will encourage them to peer in and see books that have been banned or challenged in the past.

DISPLAY the dust jackets of banned books with accompanying cards explaining the challenged and listing a favorable review. The School of Library Science at the University of North Caroline found this to be a very effective display for their bulletin board.

DEMONSTRATE the inaccessibility of banned books by roping off a section of the bookstore or library and allow into the area only those customers or patrons with an entry ticket. The Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, found this to be very effective.

DISPLAY books on and by persons who valued intellectual freedom—Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Maya Angelou, John Peter Zenger, Henry Thoreau, Judy Blume, James Baldwin, Thomas Paine, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, John Thomas Scopes, etc.

DISPLAY—Anne’s Book Shop in Sharon, Massachusetts, had a store window painted “graffiti-style,” “Warning! These Books Are Dangerous,” with titles of banned books scattered over the glass. Inside the store, four shelves of books were covered with brown paper and ripped open. Red ribbons (“red tape”) crisscrossed the display. Lots of books were sold from the display!

CREATE a bulletin board display using a top ten list as used by David Letterman. Use this book to compile a list or try the following suggestions.

Ten most farfetched (silliest, irrational, illogical) reasons to ban a book.

1. “Encourages children to break dishes so they won’t have to dry them.” (A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstien)
2. “It caused a wave of rapes.” ( Arabian Nights, or Thousand and One Nights, anonymous)
3. “If there is a possibility that something might be controversial, then why not eliminate it?” ( Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown)
4. “Tarzan was ‘living in sin’ with Jane.” ( Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs)
5. “It is a real ‘downer.’” ( Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank)
6. “The basket carried by Little Red Riding Hood contained a bottle of wine, which condones the use of alcohol.” ( Little Red Riding Hood, by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm K. Grimm)
7. “One bunny is white and the other is black and this ‘brainwashes’ readers into accepting miscegenation.” ( The Rabbit’s Wedding, by Garth Williams)
8. “It is a religious book and public funds should not be used to purchase religious books.” ( Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, by Walter A. Elwell, ed.)
9. “A female dog is called a bitch.” ( My Friend Flicka, by Mary O’Hara)
10. “An unofficial version of the story of Noah’s Ark will confuse children.” (Many Waters, by Madeleine C. L’Engle)

CONSTRUCT a “Graffiti Wall” made up of large sheets of paper upon which students are encouraged to “write” about their own thoughts and responses to censorship and banning. The sheets can be organized by topics and themes that could change periodically. The “graffitied” paper can be saved for later displays.

WRAP a display of books in yellow CAUTION tape.  Maureen Irwin at the Roland Park County School in Baltimore, Maryland, stated that “The year I did this, the Mother Goose and Grimm comic strip had a clever comic about censoring fairy tales. I posted that on the door, and added “It gets worse . . . Come in and follow the yellow tape!’ With the displayed books, I put a poster that said, ‘Don’t Read These Books!: Some People Think They Are Dangerous!’ This display also included the ALA’s Banned Books: Resource Book, so kids could look up and see why their favorites were banned.  It was a big hit, especially with the teachers.”

“ BRING a stack of books with you to classrooms,” suggests Sarah Applegate at the River Ridge High School in Lacey, Washington, “and talk about them. Afterwards, throw them in the garbage can.” Another dramatic suggestion from Applegate is to “Give a book talk about banned books and then have an administrator come in and ‘get the teacher in trouble’ for talking about banned books.