By Krista Spence
At Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study Lab School, an elementary school in downtown Toronto, we fund our library purchases and author/illustrator/storyteller visits through donations and book fairs. For decades, we have been hosting a beloved event for our community to come together called “Book Night’. What began as a few poetry readings in a bookstore has become a fun-filled event in the gym. I thought I might share a little bit about how we invite families to join us in engaging in stories and celebrating reading. We include activity centers, engaging stations that include student clubs as well as opportunities to participate in fun literacy activities.
I thought I would describe how we set it up in case it helps someone else to have a Family Book Night! As it is a late afternoon/evening event, we usually encourage people to wear ‘cozy’ clothes and allow stuffies to come along! I brought a lot of textiles (old curtains and tablecloths) to cover about 9 folding tables that we had set up around the gym. Teachers sign up at a staff meeting to be at each station and usually we have two people per table. One teacher is in charge of ensuring students stay in the area we have open for the evening (the gym, the foyer and one set of washrooms). Another teacher is on ‘popcorn duty’, filling bags and giving out popcorn. Doors to other areas are closed or blocked off with tape.
On Book Night, excited children and families arrive just before six, to browse the ‘Another Story Bookshop’ which has been set up for a day before the Book Night event. When the doors to the gym open at six o’clock, the families rush in to explore and enjoy a number of stations set up around the room.
The first station is ‘Books in a Jar,’ where books that are unable to be used anymore in the library (due to their declining condition) are shredded or paper cut into strips horizontally. They are then put into a clear jar and the top is closed. The jars are numbered 1 through 12. Students take turns picking up the jars, letting the slices of pages slide around so they can see enough clues (character names, language, fonts, colours, illustrations), that they can figure out what book is in the jar. I include graphic novels, novels, and picture books that the students and adults might recognize. There is a ‘cheat sheet’ for teachers running the station.
A second station is based around the book by David Kirk, ‘The Library Mouse’, in which a mouse that lives behind the wall of the library writes tiny books and puts them on the shelves for the children that visit to discover. I share the book with the JK-Gr.2 in their library time, and ensure that they know that at Book Night, they can make their own little books! I get volunteers to cut paper and fold it (8.5X14 inch) into small books ahead of time. I needed around 50 for the event. Pencil crayons and pencils are available for authors.
A third station is a ‘Found Poetry’ station, where students can choose from cut out words and use glue sticks to affix them onto construction paper and create poems. The words come from non-fiction books and titles that I was weeding from the library collection.
A fourth station is the ‘Puppet Theater’ station. We borrowed a puppet stage from the Pre-school classroom and had a bin of puppets available. We set up a few gym mats in front of the puppet theatre, and students had great fun playing with them and making funny little shows. I also had a feltboard with ‘The Three Little Pigs’ available in that area.
A fifth station was a ‘Cozy Reading Corner’ with some gym mats, cushions, and a small rug, as well as a mini couch from a primary French classroom. Child-sized seating and a corner to settle into the books was needed in a busy gym!
A sixth station was a collection of costumes with a backdrop and set up as a photo booth. It is so joyful to see students expressing themselves and playing with costumes, some wore them the entire evening!
Finally, we had our student clubs represented at a few tables. The Newsletter Club (students who gather one recess per week to research and write newsletter articles) had a table with giveaway newsletters. In this newsletter, articles ranged from research about the school’s history, playground reports, quizzes about the teachers, science fiction book recommendations and reports on recent lice checks and picture days.
Our school GSA was collecting donations for Rainbow Railroad and offering beautiful bookmarks, the ‘Kids Who Care Club’ was running a ‘Children’s Rights Bingo’ game, as well as selling small crafts for donations to the Sick Kids Hospital and UNICEF.
I had a ten minute slideshow going on the big screen of pictures that were taken over the past year in the Library. These show our students in the Library, choosing books, sharing stories, making plays, helping younger students write stories, puppet play, planting beans, as well as photos from our Junior Grades’ trip to Forest of Reading Festival at Harbourfront. These images bring to life how important the library is and all the services it provides for our students and families.
Finally, one works up a bit of an appetite with all this reading and writing, so we had a popcorn station outside the gym. Lots of spills happened, but popcorn is relatively easy to pick up, and we had ordered large bags, so it wasn’t too greasy.
The Book Fair was on for two days, but the Family Book Night was on a Wednesday from 6 – 7 pm, so that caregivers could join after work, and everyone could get home and into bed at a reasonable time. At about 6:55, the principal of the school used a microphone and thanked everyone for coming, the vice principal thanked everyone for supporting the various causes. Tables were put away, all the classroom supplies and library items were returned within about twenty minutes. A large sweeper broom was helpful to remove the majority of the popcorn quickly!
One parent, who is a published author, said “My favourite event of the year!”. Another parent who was new to the school thanked me for creating such a lovely event. A grade three student who stopped by as she came in to the school on the brisk morning after the event asked, “Was Book Night a success, Krista?” “Yes it sure was! Did you have a good time?” I said. “Oh yes!” she replied. Another student in Grade Six reflected “Book Night is a good gathering for everyone to come together whether or not they read. It’s a place to learn about books and see reading not as a subject, but something that we do together.”
On that wonderful note, I encourage you to host a Family Book Event at your school or library!
Krista Spence is a Teacher-Librarian, Technology Integrator, and Land-based Resource Teacher at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study Lab school at the University of Toronto (Pre-K-6). She is dedicated to helping students discover meaningful stories that inspire empathy and support them in understanding both the world around them and their role within it.