Children's Books

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Sharing the Love of Picture Books through Book Tastings

I love books. I love reading. I want adults and kids to share my love of reading. I want kids and adults to experience the places you can travel to and the experiences you can have with a good book. Today I had the privilege of sharing 80+ amazing books with a room full of wonderful Oasis tutoring volunteers.

I decided to host a Book Tasting for the Oasis volunteers. After looking online, I found several blog posts by teachers who had held book tastings with their students. Just a couple of the helpful resources I used in my attempts to hold a great event include:

Once I had the resources and outline of my presentation, it was time to start looking for amazing titles. Picture books aren't my specialty, so I went to the experts. Here are several places you can go for book suggestions:
My local public library became my lifesaver in this project. Their online catalog search feature allowed me to find books in the library circulation and reserve them online. The local libraries did all the hard work. They found the titles, pulled them from the shelves, and delivered them to my local branch.  All I had to do was pull up to the drive-thru window and pick them up.

The day of the book tasting arrived, and many hands helped get the tables ready for the festivities to begin. Tutors read through the books at their tables for about ten minutes. Then they had a few moments to discuss their favorites with their table mates. Tutors took their notes and moved to a different table for more time to read. More reading, and more discussion followed. Readers worked through three rotations before returning back to their original tables.

They had a final time to share about the books they experienced during the book tasting. I asked the tutors to give me some feedback about our time together. Here are just a couple of the comments:
  • "I absolutely loved this idea. What a wonderful way to be introduced to books that I might otherwise not encounter! I found several that spur my creative spirit for fun companion activities to enhance the books. - K. Knouse"
  • "It was fun to experience new books I had never read. You never know what you might like. Don’t judge a books by its cover. Very enjoyable. "
  • "I enjoyed being introduced to new books. It gave me ideas on types of books I could use or have my students read. Each story has a way a child could learn to face & solve problems. It is important to be able to do that."
  • "Great way to review lots of books in a short time and also to discuss with others. Huge variety of books. Love to find new books! This was fun. Thank you."
  • "I liked this book tasting because it gave me books to read I wouldn’t have picked out."
So what are you waiting for? Gather up an armful of great books, and host a book tasting of your own.

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