Booktalking at Northgate Reads

Well. This did not work out quite as planned.

Originally we intended to get the kids used to returning the uncatagorized books to us each week and then we would bring in regular library books for them to check out. But…technical difficulties. So, I never got a chance to booktalk the several library books I selected with these kids in mind (so many gems! Graphic novels, nonfiction, Frozen movie tie-ins, etc…).

Because, unfortunately, this was our final day at Northgate Reads. Instead, Erika and I raced through the Summer of Learning prize books to find ones we thought the Northgate kids would enjoy.

Our weekly time with the 2nd-5th graders amounted to 30 minutes with each group over 6 weeks–not a very long time to build relationships wit the kids. Originally our plan with Northgate Reads Summer Academy was to work with the kids, yes, but also to meet with the teachers to align books to the summer curriculum and gain feedback from the kids themselves. Instead, we relied solely on the uncats available at the library. At least the kids were always excited to see us and often enjoyed the books, even if we had to sell some of them hard!

Once we gathered a number of SoL prize books and got to Norhgate Elementary, Claire had us choose 8-10 books from this selection to booktalk.

Some of which I’ve read. Many of which I’ve not.

Did I mention I needed to choose these books 20 minutes before the 2nd and 3rd graders arrived?

For the 2nd and 3rd graders, I chose a range of nonfiction early readers (plants, rivers, tornadoes), a Squish graphic novel, Those Darn Squirrels picture book, and a couple early chapter book series books. I selected these because the kids have loved any graphic novels (particularly Babymouse, Squish, and any superheroes), series books, and more than anything–funny books.

For the 3rd and 4th graders, I again chose a range of nonfiction books (planets, bugs, storms), A Tangle of Knots, In a Glass Girmmy, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, another Babymouse graphic novel. Like with the 2nd and 3rd graders, these kids loved graphic novels (like Smile and Babymouse) and nonfiction (the more extreme, gross, or creepy the better). Several of them have finished longer novels, so I thought selling them on two (Tangle and Grimmly) action-packed with compelling narratives would capture their attention.

I kept my booktalks short–between 30-90 seconds–and tried a mix of plot description and drawing similarities between these books and what the kids may like. (e.g. If you liked x, then you’ll love y.) For some of the nonfiction books, I also showed pictures and read interesting pieces of information out of them.

For the most part my booktalks went pretty well. The kids listened and some shouted responses or questions, that I easily incorporated. The best part was at the end when the kids raced up to me to ask for specific books I talked about. The funny books, graphic novels, and the middle grade books all got snatched up, although not everything worked.

I definitely felt like this experience had real-world implications, since sometimes I’ll need to booktalk on the fly or discuss books I’ve not read. It helps to know I can do this and now I’ve picked up some great techniques from Claire.