Book club reads to John B. Dey Elementary students

Bright eyes light up in excitement. Chubby cheeks are radiant and grins are wide as the “big” kids read to them. Some are shy and timid, while others can barely contain themselves, bouncing up and down. Some of them talk about the book, while some are purely spectators. But, most show an interest in the stories and enjoy this rare treat.

The school’s Book Club members recently took time out of their busy school schedules to attend a field trip to John B. Dey Elementary School. The elementary school’s Librarian Susan Hardesty was happy to let others read to her students for a change. Thus, Book Club members read books of their choice to some of the school’s kindergarten and first grade students.

Book Club’s sponsor and Media Specialist and Librarian Laura Dember and Hardesty combined resources to make the reading day a reality.

“I wanted Cox’s Book Club to participate in community outreach opportunities and promote literacy. The reason I thought students joined the book club was a love of reading and I wanted to share that with the younger students who are just starting to develop a love of reading. If the younger kids could see how excited we got reading books they might get excited about reading,” Dember said.

The Book Club has more than doubled in members from last year, allowing more opportunities to read to younger students and spread the love of reading. Five groups from the club attended the elementary school field trip. At least two readers were assigned to groups, reading books to three to seven students at a time.

The Book Club members, including sophomore Ella Geissinger proved to be as excited as the elementary students.

“It was a really great experience because the kids liked listening and they gave good answers to our questions about the books,” Geissinger said.

After hearing the stories, elementary students were asked comprehension questions. According to Dember, 90% of kindergarten and first grader students understood the first book read to them simply because the high school students read it to them, which seems to be a clear indicator that reading to younger children helps them.

The Book Club members, as well as elementary students, Dember, and Hardesty are eager for students to return next year.

“We look forward to going back in February for their reading week,” Dember said.