By Kristen LeFevers
Sixth graders filed into their first-period English class in East Bank Middle School’s library one morning near the end of the school year.
“I’m your barista today!” called Renita Cook, a reading specialist with Kanawha County Schools. “Coffee or hot chocolate?”
At first hesitantly, and then eagerly, students balanced cups of decaf or cocoa and maneuvered to one of the many high-top tables stacked with Descendants novels, Julius Lester, Rick Riordan, and other volumes.
Cook and fellow Kanawha County English Language Arts Specialist Amy Thompson had put together a special cafe-themed book tasting for students, an opportunity to browse books, sample excerpts, and swap recommendations in a relaxed atmosphere.
They called it Starbooks.
Thompson reached out to Read Aloud West Virginia a couple months earlier about hosting a book tasting at East Bank Middle after hearing about a colleague who had held a virtual book tasting with Read Aloud Executive Director Dawn Miller.
Like many schools, East Bank is dealing with a shortage of teachers and substitutes. Vacancies are difficult to fill. Teachers are teaching outside their areas of expertise. Recent years have been especially stressful, for both faculty and students.
Thompson and Cook chose to play on coffee chain Starbucks to create an environment of literacy and good reading habits. When forming their own habits, developing readers need good models to look up to.
“We were looking to lifelong readers for examples – how do they behave and interact with other readers? We wanted to make reading fun,” said Miller. “We knew we wanted a recreational atmosphere for them.”
“Amy took this idea and called it ‘Starbooks,’ and made hot chocolate and decaf coffee for the students.”
She and Cook covered the tables and added centerpieces and placemats. Black bulletin board paper became a chalkboard menu sign, tempting students with different “flavors” – mystery, biography, non-fiction, and realistic fiction.
A local Starbucks donated cups and supplies. A “Starbooks Cafe” banner hung from the ceiling.
Read Aloud supplied the books, a wide selection casually spread around the tables for students to browse.
“The kids loved it,” said Thompson. “The event helped us to model lifelong behaviors [of good readers]. It was something practical we could do.”
Miller and Thompson each did a couple book talks for the four English classes that rotated in throughout the morning. The rest of the class period, adults and students mingled and chatted about what they had read, and what they were interested in reading.
“We know that students who read for pleasure over the summer prevent summer learning loss,” Miller said. “They can even gain skill. We also know that lifelong readers make plans about what they are reading next. They also share what they are reading with friends. We saw students do that at the book tasting.”
At first, the event was more structured to prevent behavior problems. But as the morning went by and it became clear that students would engage with the books, Thompson said, they let students move about as they wished, as readers do in an actual bookstore or coffee shop.
“They became more relaxed, and conversations became more natural,” Thompson said. “It worked out so nicely.”
“Students were so appreciative,” Miller added. “It was lovely. I had conversations with students about books, careers, and college plans. A couple students even commented on their own behavior. They seemed surprised that their classmates were so well behaved.”
By the end of class, each student was able to choose two books to take home.
“I look forward to doing it again,” said Thompson. “I’m really grateful for our partnership with Read Aloud and what they do for our schools and teachers and students.”
Kristen LeFevers is a graduate of Marshall University and lives in Huntington, West Virginia.