Librarian’s Share: Whitefish Middle School throws a Gothic Tea Party!
By Dana Carmichael, Librarian at Whitefish Middle School.
In October, OverDrive held our most recent Big Library Read event where users around the world can enjoy the same titles at the same time, without wait lists or holds. The selections were from the YA genre which led to great involvement from our school partners across the globe. One such school, Whitefish Middle School in Montana not only joined the Big Library Read but capitalized on their students’ excitement by throwing a Gothic Tea Party in the library to fit the themes of the titles. What follows is an explanation of the party from one of Whitefish’s librarians, Dana Carmichael:
Whitefish Middle School enjoyed the October Big Library Read. Seventh and Eighth graders were all invited to select one of the two titles available for free in Overdrive. Hands down the favorite read was In the Shadow of Blackbirds, by Cat Winters. To cap the Big Library Read event, the library hosted a Gothic Tea Party for students.
The Dollar Tree proved a fertile place to buy black tablecloths, spidery ribbons, and black rose bouquets. We purchased ginger cookies from a local grocery store and added cream cheese frosting and miniature chocolate chips. Microwave popcorn starred as the sugar-free snack. Students chose between real black tea and hot Tang (a library favorite for winter).
Following snacks and conversation, students had the opportunity to grab a prop and pose in front of our new green wall. With an iPad and Green Screen App, students were transported to Gothic cemeteries, old London streets-capes, or a ghostly gazebo. All backgrounds were borrowed from the Internet from Flickr Commons and Creative Commons. Is there anything better than a room full of kids talking about books?
The event certainly proved to be a success as October was Whitefish’s highest circ’ing month to date. If you have stories on how your school or library celebrates digital reading events and you’d like to be featured on our blog you can write them in the comments or email asockel@overdrive.com!