Blind Date with a YA Book
This year, we started a monthly book swap at school. Students are encouraged to bring gently-loved, age-appropriate books to trade for other books. We quickly learned that many students don’t have books to exchange or are unwilling to part with what they do have (Thank you #booktok for reviving the popularity of personal libraries!). Therefore, our monthly event has become more of a monthly pop-up book shop and we are more than happy to accommodate the students’ interests.
We chose a theme (or genre) to celebrate each month. However, for the month of February, we planned a “Blind Date with a Book” display. Here’s our take on the popular event.
The Book List
Each image below is the tag that was placed on each wrapped book. When you find a description that interests you, click on the image for the title to be revealed.
The Tags
Use the following template link from Canva to print your own set of these tags or to use the layout for additional titles.
The Presentation
Once the tags were made and printed, I numbered my list of the titles, wrapped each book in festive wrapping paper, wrote the number on the backside of the book, and adhered the tags to the front side using the heart stickers. I originally planned to wrap the books in festive ribbon, but thought the paper, tags and stickers were enough. Instead, I cut the ribbon into strips and created garland I hung using magnetic clips.
Ever since our Friendship and Gratitude event in November, our department has started wearing themed shirts to our monthly book swaps. This month, I wore a Book Lover shirt and Book Lover earrings.
The Event
We held our Blind Date with a Book event on Thursday, February 2nd during lunchtime in our school’s courtyard. Even though I had almost 2 copies of every title, we ran out of Blind Date books halfway through the event. The students LOVED the theme and asked if each month’s swap could be like this one.
It was so cute to see the students decide whether to unwrap the book there at the event or wait to see what title they got later. Knowing the students and their personalities, I was happy to see that the titles each teen got was what I would have recommended for them myself. I am thrilled with the way the tags turned out and the selection process they lent to the experience.
We’re Making a Difference!
To date, we have distributed 321 books to students this school year. This is a major accomplishment for which we rely on the generosity of community members. Thank you!