Still Hooked On Books

By Larissa Lytwyn

Hawley School recently commemorated its highly successful “Hooked on Books” summer reading program with a schoolwide assembly in which each classroom was awarded a brand-new book.

“I’m very proud of all of you,” said Principal Jo-Ann Peters. “And today we have some very exciting information for you!”

Library Media Specialist Doris Papp drew laughter as she read Book, Book, Book, by Deborah Bruss, the tale of lonely farm animals who decide to cure their doldrums with a trip to the library.

“Books take you to all kinds of places,” Ms Papp said. “It can take you to a happy place, a sad place, even a silly or scary place!”

As demonstrated in Book, Book, Book, a juicy read can also be the perfect anecdote to that classic childhood complaint: ennui.

More than half the school, Ms Papp said, participated in the voluntary program. The title of each book read was inscribed on a construction paper bookworm and color-coded according to the reader’s grade. They were then posted in a dizzying, rainbow-colored line that twisted through every Hawley hallway. Ms Papp said that 66 third graders read the most with a total of 557 books; 64 fourth graders were close behind, reading a total of 423 books.

Ms Papp emphasized that books were meant to be enjoyable. Students who participated in the program were permitted to read any kind of book they chose. “The point is that it makes you smile, or make you feel something,” Ms Papp said.

A student representative from each classroom went up, grade by grade, to receive a book from Ms Peters.

“There is a special label in each of these books,” Ms Peters said. “It says, ‘This book is in honor of the students who participated in the Hooked On Books program.’” Each book also included a stack of honorary certificates for readers and a bookworm-shaped bookmark.

“It doesn’t matter if you read one book or 100,” laughed Ms Papp. “You still get a certificate.”

It looks like lots of Hawley students will still be hooked for a long time.