Blind Date with a Book
Blind Date with a Book
~contributed by Rayna Hyde-Lay, Shawnigan Lake School
A few years ago, I spent the best part of the start of the year planning a few fun events to encourage students into the library, and entice them to try something new! I found many ideas from the library community on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram but one that seemed the most interesting was Blind Date with a Book. Students found the idea captivating and for the past three years we have offered Blind Date with a Book in February, to coincide with Valentine’s Day.
How it works:
A.) I pre-choose books in a variety of genres which have either been popular during the course of the year, or have interesting fun titles or ones which I think have been overlooked and need consideration. Because it is February I try to include as many light and positive books as I can. I also enlist the help of a variety of students at different grade levels to choose a book they would recommend to their peers.
B.) Books are wrapped in regular brown paper. We try and save packaging from book orders as well as use paper bags, and other materials as a reduce and re-use initiative.
C.) This is the fun part! Each title gets a description of the book. Not a summary but rather a little personal ad, or bullet points of intrigue, or sometimes just a drawing. The title is never mentioned and the details are intriguing but intentionally vague.
Then I put them in a prominent spot in the library and students come in to choose a book, without judging it by the cover. I usually start with 20 or so books, then add to it as they are checked-out.
Tips:
I have learned that this works best when they do not use the self-checkout so that they cannot see the title until it is unwrapped, which I encourage them to do at a later point. Also, write the barcode on the back of the book if your barcode label includes the title or author.
The adventure is in choosing something which might be different from their usual reading but, based on the description students think they will enjoy. Many students have come back claiming to have read something they never would have picked up if it hadn’t been wrapped in paper! After our first year a student wanted me to wrap every book in the library in paper so we couldn’t judge a book by its cover! Although I haven’t gone to those lengths, it is always a good opportunity to have the conversation about making assumptions and judgments.
Let me know how your Blind Dates go and be sure to post any tips your library has for this fun activity.
A few years ago, I spent the best part of the start of the year planning a few fun events to encourage students into the library, and entice them to try something new! I found many ideas from the library community on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram but one that seemed the most interesting was Blind Date with a Book. Students found the idea captivating and for the past three years we have offered Blind Date with a Book in February, to coincide with Valentine’s Day.
How it works:
A.) I pre-choose books in a variety of genres which have either been popular during the course of the year, or have interesting fun titles or ones which I think have been overlooked and need consideration. Because it is February I try to include as many light and positive books as I can. I also enlist the help of a variety of students at different grade levels to choose a book they would recommend to their peers.
B.) Books are wrapped in regular brown paper. We try and save packaging from book orders as well as use paper bags, and other materials as a reduce and re-use initiative.
C.) This is the fun part! Each title gets a description of the book. Not a summary but rather a little personal ad, or bullet points of intrigue, or sometimes just a drawing. The title is never mentioned and the details are intriguing but intentionally vague.
Then I put them in a prominent spot in the library and students come in to choose a book, without judging it by the cover. I usually start with 20 or so books, then add to it as they are checked-out.
Tips:
I have learned that this works best when they do not use the self-checkout so that they cannot see the title until it is unwrapped, which I encourage them to do at a later point. Also, write the barcode on the back of the book if your barcode label includes the title or author.
The adventure is in choosing something which might be different from their usual reading but, based on the description students think they will enjoy. Many students have come back claiming to have read something they never would have picked up if it hadn’t been wrapped in paper! After our first year a student wanted me to wrap every book in the library in paper so we couldn’t judge a book by its cover! Although I haven’t gone to those lengths, it is always a good opportunity to have the conversation about making assumptions and judgments.
Let me know how your Blind Dates go and be sure to post any tips your library has for this fun activity.
I love the pictures on your wrapping. Do you draw them or do you have students do it?
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