Celebrate National Children's Book Week!
Event Description
Children's Book Week encourages children to enjoy new authors and books, and is celebrated in schools, libraries, homes, and bookstores during a selected week in May and November. During this event, celebrate children's literature with storytelling, parties, author and illustrator appearances, and other literacy events in your school and community. As part of the celebration, children are invited to help select the top children's book of the year by voting online or at their school or library.
Classroom Activity
The winners of the Children's Choice book awards will be announced during National Book Week. Before the winners are announced, children across the nation will be able to vote for their favorites. Invite your students to show why their favorite finalist should win by designing a promotional book cover.
- First, have students read Children's Choice finalist books in their grade range. Younger students can read all five finalists, while older students may read fewer.
- Then, ask each student to select his or her favorite finalist and brainstorm reasons why it is so good. Encourage students to consider specific elements, such as characters or plot.
- Next, have students look at their brainstormed lists and select the ideas that could be depicted on the book cover. Challenge each student to design a book cover that will convince others that his or her favorite should win.
- Finally, have students use the Book Cover Creator to create their book covers. They can then display their book covers with the book in a classroom or school display or on a bulletin board.
Websites
Access information about this annual event on this site from the Children's Book Council. Included are dates for this event for the next five years, book week materials and information, and more.
Help children find the perfect book with these children's, teachers', and young adults' choices booklists from the International Literacy Association.
This resource from Scholastic provides a collection of suggestions for holding a successful Book Week event in your school.