Skyview Elementary hosts weekly “book tasting parties” to help students discover new books and learn book selection skills.
LIZELLA, Ga. — Students at Skyview Elementary School in Bibb County are getting a special reservation every week — to a café inside their library.
It is part of a “book tasting party,” a program designed to help students discover new stories and learn how to pick the right book for them.
Media specialist Kathleen Gettmann said the activity gives students a fun way to preview books.
“They sit down and they have a selection of books and I tell them that we’re just going to taste the books,” Gettmann said.
The process is looking at the cover, the author and reading the first few pages.
Fourth grader Harmony Carter said the best part is seeing what’s new.
“We get to see new books and like if we want to read them, we could,” Carter said.
Books are the treat that never runs out at our School of the Week. Gettmann said the book tasting parties help take the pressure off.
“Students struggle with finding books in the library and just knowing how to select a book — that can be challenging,” she said.
Fourth grader Josie Murray said she loves checking out books each week because reading gives her a chance to imagine herself in new places.
“Sometimes reading can just take you places even though you’re sitting right where you are. You just have to imagine where the characters are and put yourself in their shoes,” Murray said.
Skyview encourages students to read at least two books a week. Gettmann said the school celebrates word count milestones and typically has 20 to 30 “millionaire readers” each year who log more than a million words.
For some, like fourth grader Zaeden Dixon, that taste of reading has turned into a daily habit.
“As soon as I walk in, the first thing that I do is my attendance,” Dixon said. “I don’t even open my computer, but I immediately pull out my book and then I start reading.”
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