Book Talk from your Checkout Desk!

Here is what students used to see when they walked up to my checkout desk:

Bookmarks for them to take to a table and color, my name (although I still get called “mom” occasionally), and the ugly cords and other parts at the back of my computer.
I saw a pin on Pinterest where a teacher created a bulletin board with printed covers of all the books she’s been reading lately. I thought that would be really great, but knew I wouldn’t take the time to find, print and laminate all those book covers.
I came up with a super simple answer that WORKS!

I printed out this sign, put it in an acrylic sign holder, and put a book I like next to it. I’ve used it all this week so that I could report the results to you. Here’s how it has worked. A student sees the sign and asks what it means. I launch into a short (but very enthusiastic) book talk. Sometimes the book is a match for them; sometimes it’s not.
So far, the book has always been checked out on its first day on the desk. After a student checks out the book, it takes about a minute to walk to the shelf and grab another book to display.  I’m really enjoying the opportunity to have book conversations, prompted by a simple sign.
The sign is a free download at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. If you use it, let me know how it works for you. If you are one of those really talented graphic design people and you come up with a more beautiful sign, please share it with us!