We are working on our annual Battle of the Books (BOB) program with third, fourth, and fifth graders. The kids have about 3 months to read eight novels specifically chosen for their grade level. I've been really talking it up with the classes, trying to encourage more student participation. In some classes, especially fifth grade, participation wanes, and I can't put my finger on why. The kids are SO excited about it in third grade, and then fourth grade is pretty good, but fifth grade always has the lowest participation.
So as part of my goal to have more kids participate, we've been talking about the books every time they come to library. I give the kids updates on their participation, and then I ask them to tell about their favorite book and why. We also talk about books they didn't like and why.
The other day, I had a fifth grade class that wasn't particularly excited to read the books, so I was really trying hard to build excitement. One little boy, Coleton, talked all about why he didn't like Fairy-tale Detectives. (I don't exactly blame him--it's a book with girl characters and I didn't love it, either--but I didn't tell the kids that!!)
So today, Coleton came in with a very dour look on his face holding another BOB book, Kensuke's Kingdom. He put it in the book return while saying, "You remember how I tried Fairy-tale Detectives and didn't like it? Well, this one (and he shook his head and frowned)....(and then he paused)... WAS GREAT!!! And he smiled a big smile, knowing that he totally got me!! I LOVED IT!!!! Then he told me all about why he loved it and exactly how long it took him to read it.
Coleton had no idea how he made my day today.
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