Book Lover Day
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Dr Suess
What is Book Lovers Day?
Book Lovers Day is an unofficial holiday observed to encourage bibliophiles to celebrate reading and literature. People are advised to put away their phones and every possible tech-based distraction and pick up a book to read.
Interestingly, both the origin and the creator of this day is unknown, but whoever this mysterious figure is, they have certainly brought the simple act of reading a book into the limelight
Preparing for the day!
Firstly, preparing the classroom. You want to make this day seem as magical as you can for all those excited children about to enter your classroom in their costumes!
One idea I saw during my research is the #DoorDressingChallenge– I have to say, I Love It!
You and your class vote for their favourite book cover and you try to recreate it as a class. This is fantastic, as it brings a community feel to the event which inspires younger ones to start reading, to get out there and discover a genre they love. Here are just a couple of amazing examples that I found!
Another thing you can try is creating an amazing book display to inspire more reading. These are fairly easy to get up and running – we particularly love the ‘Bookflix’ idea! Children are fully aware of the world of Netflix, and by making visuals that link to their own interests and hobbies, half the battle is already won!
Wall Displays
If you’re looking for some inspiration to help make learning more fun and engaging for kids in their own time, why not try and a splash of creativity to a spare section of the classroom and make a dedicated display area where the children can pin up their favourite pieces of work.
The next thing you need to do is get that library in working order! Many of us have them within the corners of our rooms and let’s be honest… when was the last time you managed to take a good look at it and make it appealing? Don’t worry though, it doesn’t need to be groundbreaking! Gather a few baskets and pop some labels on (linking to genres) to give it a quick boost. Our story genre pack is a great starting point!
Lesson Ideas
YouTube is a fantastic resource for videos explaining genre, book reviews or online reading sessions. A great idea is to use your class iPads to film pupils giving their own reviews on a book they have read.
We have had a good look around for some inspiring lesson ideas and videos you can use. Here are a few of our top picks:
Costume Ideas – The Teachers
So your classroom is ready, the library has had an uplifting makeover and you have some games and activities planned, the last thing on your list – the costume!
Remember – Some of the most fantastic costumes above were simple and easy to make using household items (old t-shirts are great to cut up!). It’s also a good idea to have a look around some charity shops to see what you can find – many Halloween costumes end up there (You’ll be surprised how easy it is to find a cape!).
Resources
We here at Teacher’s Pet have a long list of amazing resources all to do with encouraging book reading. Click here to see all of our Reading Resources.
Below I have picked out a handful of resources in order to help you get started.
Have a great day!
We hope these ideas have given you some inspiration for how to celebrate Book Lovers Day.
If you have any great teaching ideas for this topic, feel free to comment below (they might even get added into the topic calendar!).
