Meachem Students Enjoy Reading through Unwrapping ‘Surprise’ Books

They say ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ – but at Meachem, students don’t have a choice!
 
In the school’s library, students will find an entire bookshelf filled with books – each one wrapped in paper and labeled only with a simple word or phrase: adventure, fairytale, a new start, dogs, cooking… the list goes on.
 
Library Media Specialist Elizabeth Jurkiewicz said she was at the local Hazard Library recently when she noticed a mystery book display. She knew she had to try it in her school library. After trying it in December, all of the mystery books had been checked out by the end of the first day – so the activity has continued!
 
“I picked a book that said ‘monster’ because I like scary things, mysteries, and surprises,” third grade student Emari shared. “I like the book and might have read it if I could have seen it, but I really liked the surprise! I would definitely choose another wrapped book.”
 
“I picked a fairytale book,” classmate Nevada said. “I like the characters! I’d even try picking a different topic next time!”
 
“I picked a book that said ‘humor’ because I want to make other people laugh,” second grader Heba said. “When I saw the cover, I wasn’t sure, because it said it was about boys! I wouldn’t have picked it out if I could see the cover, but I’ll try picking another book.”
 
“I like games – I’m a gamer,” Terry said. “I picked a book that said ‘games’ and I liked that it was a surprise what book I’d read. It turned out to be a Minecraft novel and I’d recommend it to a friend!”
 
“I picked ‘dogs’ because I have a dog and I like dogs,” Kylee said. “I like the book, but I wouldn’t have picked it if I had seen it on the shelf. Now, I’ll recommend it to a friend!”
 
What a great way to create excitement for reading!