Bringing Back the Book Pass

I often see posts encouraging patrons of libraries and book stores to have a "blind date with a book." The concept is simple: a book is wrapped in plain paper and several attributes are listed on the outside. Patrons check out or purchase the book based on the description alone without, in effect, judging it by its cover. On the other hand, I have always wanted to invent bookshelves that allow all covers to be out because I think kids are more likely to pick up books when they can see the covers. However, covers can also be a turnoff and some don't tell the whole story, so librarians have the job of hand-selling and booktalking many titles that may otherwise sit on the shelf without any readers.

During his first library visit this year, one of our seventh graders told his teacher that he likes the Origami Yoda series and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Those series are both popular and all of my copies were checked out, but I offered several other options including Charlie Joe Jackson, The Clone Chronicles, and I Funny and Middle School. None of these were deemed acceptable substitutes which led me to a discussion with the teacher about how students often need a push to step out of their comfort zones. We decided to do a book pass on her next visit.

A book pass is an activity I have used in the past to introduce kids to new books. I arrange four books at each table and provide a form that the students use to take notes. Each book is passed in a clockwise direction based on a timer. Students are asked to look at the front cover, back cover, inside flap, and read the first page or two. We then have them write about whether they might check that book out and tell why or why not. I purposely put out books that they students may not have seen and carefully provide a mix of fiction and nonfiction.

Following the activity, I survey the students about the books and the activity:

• Did they find a book that they might like to check out?
• Were they surprised by the content of a book based on what they might have thought seeing the cover only?
• Was there a book on the table that they had no idea our library owned?
• Did this activity help them think about different types of books they might explore?

There were some tables that had to negotiate (rock-paper-scissors) to see who got to check out a particular book first and who would go on the hold list. At other tables, no one wanted any of the books. I like to see which books are coveted and which draw little interest because that helps with both marketing and purchasing.

My next step was to collect all of the forms and read them. Yes, I do participate as an equal teacher and expect myself to read and comment on assignments that happen in the library. I never want to add to the workload of our staff, but instead find ways to enhance what they are already doing. Reading the forms gives me insight and allows me to have conversations with the students around books that might not otherwise happen. 

This student make a connection to his life and decided to check out the book following the activity. I am looking forward to talking to him about how he liked the book.

I am looking forward to our next visit and the opportunity to talk about which books were favorites and which ones ended up not working out. I have also planned to do this activity with another team in the coming weeks. Reader's Advisory is an important aspect of creating lifelong readers and helping students work toward self-advocacy and independence. I plan to continue exploring different methods of putting books in my students' hands as the year continues.