Reading Faces in your Library

Hi friends!

Have you seen this TED video?

How to Design a Library That Makes Kids Want to Read

The video’s title, “How to Design a Library that Makes Kids Want to Read,” caught my attention. A design expert, not a reading expert, narrates the TED Talk. It shows how he renovated the school libraries of several New York City public schools, with the help of professional artists and illustrators.

When I watched this video, I LOVED the look of the children’s faces super-sized above the book shelves. Wow! I can imagine how students in those libraries must be inspired by the artwork they see, showing students like themselves, happily reading.

Here are a couple of screen shots from the video, so you can get a good look at the art.

Wow! Amazing! But I don’t have the budget for anything like that at my school. Do you? There is no way I can pay professional artists or illustrators.

Enter the Book Fair

By a happy coincidence, I ran a photo contest in our school library asking students to send me photos of themselves reading with a pet, inspired by the Scholastic Paws for Books book fair theme for Spring 2018.

Our school families AMAZED me! They sent in the most incredible photos of our students (from preK through 5th grade) reading with all kinds of pets: dogs, cats, turtles, fish, chinchillas, lizards, guinea pigs, and more!

I won’t share their faces online to protect their privacy, but here are a few sneak peeks to show their creativity and cuteness!

The photos of students and their pets reading together are just adorable! They make my heart happy every time I look at them.

Scholastic Book Fair Photo Contest

Here’s how I got the photos. I sent home a half sheet note asking students to email their photos to me, reading with a pet or stuffed animal. It would be too much trouble and expense for our families to  have to find a color printer and ink. I printed out the photos myself.

On the morning announcements, our principal drew four names to win $20 gift certificates for the Scholastic book fair, paid for with my Scholastic dollars. Who could ever judge which photo was best and award merit prizes? They were all terrific!

I sent the blue thank you note and a small consolation prize from Spirit Monkey to ALL of the students who sent me a photo. I truly appreciated their generosity in sharing their pictures.

Going Big

Now, these two ideas come together.  I’ll take these student photos and have them made into giant canvases. When our students walk into our school library, they’ll be surrounded by happy reading faces (and fun pets), but at a much lower cost than originally painted artwork. I think our family-created photos will make the cheerful, inspiring atmosphere that I’m looking for!