Hosting Guide
This section will guide students, educators and parents around the toolkit so that young readers may create local reading celebrations by using the resources provided in this Web site. Students should work with their parents, teachers and librarians and follow these easy steps to organize book festivals in their classrooms, libraries and homes.
Choose the Authors
- Read the authors' bios to get an idea of who you would like to learn about at your book festival.
- Check out the author scoop and discover the stories behind their stories.
- Read, read, read!
Prepare for Your Book Festival
- Get others involved in your book festival! Collaborate with your school's media specialist or the librarian at your local library and share this website with your friends.
- Choose a date for your book festival.
- Download and display the National Book Festival poster in your home, school, local library and community.
- Download photos of the authors who will be featured at your book festival.
- Keep on reading!
Promote Your Book Festival
- Get people excited and invite them to come to your book festival by getting permission to make announcements over your school's PA system, putting up flyers in your library and classrooms and emailing your friends.
- Continue reading!
During the Book Festival
- Share and discuss your authors. If you could meet any of the authors in person, who would it be and why? Do you share any of the authors' favorite books? Who's your favorite character of all the authors' books?
- Read aloud your favorite pages or chapters from the authors' latest books.
- Play the author podcasts and discuss what you heard.
- Organize a book club with your friends to read and discuss your favorite books each month.
- Practice your writing by using the suggested writing topics from your favorite authors and discover new ways to write.
- Ask your teachers if you can pick one of the National Book Festival author's books for your next book report.
- Create National Book Festival flashcards and bookmarks, then trade and collect them with your friends.
- Don't stop reading!
Share Your Book Festival
- Tell the Library of Congress about your book festival by working with your teacher or parent to post comments on the Library of Congress blog.
- Promote Lifelong Literacy with your teachers, friends and family.
- Print out the list of book awards and take them to your local library to discover more great books!
- Enter writing contests like Letters about Literature to compete with students around the country for prizes.
- Celebrate reading every day!
Last Updated: 08/27/2008