Adventures in Booktalking

The booktalking season is almost over. I have one more session scheduled but otherwise we're done until the fall semester! This spring, PPLD has booktalked to over 2,000 middle school and high school students. Here are my Spring 2009 highlights.

Favorite quotes of the semester:

Booktalker: "Would you rather lose all of your teeth, or all of your hair?" Student: "Mah hair. I'd look goooooood."

Booktalker: "If you are ever stuck in a cow pasture over night, here's how to stay warm. Gather up a bunch of cow patties (ones with just a little bit of give in the center), line them up into a bed and lay down on them. Once your body warms up the cow patties, they'll keep YOU warm all night long." Student: "You might be warm, but you sure would be stanky."

Booktalker: "Would you rather have a piece of rice permanently stuck to your lip or a fly perpetually buzzing around you head?" Student: "the rice. If you get hungry, you could just lick it!"

Most catastrophic booktalking adventure:

Trying to find Mountain Vista Community School bright and early in the morning I almost crashed into another vehicle while trying to read the directions to the school and in the process spilled my coffee all over my steering wheel and my pants. The directions were wrong anyway and I ended up about a mile from where the school actually is (total Google Maps fail). Trying to call the phone number listed on the Google print out, I got a completely wrong number (another Google fail) but the lady at the other end was polite and gave me a better number. Unfortunately, this number took me straight to the absentee voice mail. When I finally found the school, the office had no clue we were coming and it took us another 10 minutes to find the right classroom. The students, however, were wonderful and the teacher was nonplussed at our tardiness.

Favorite school: Aspen Valley High School

The students at this small alternative high school in district 20 are independent and confident. In the small amount of time I was able to spend with them, they all seemed to respect each other, their teachers and us. They were not afraid to express themselves, express an interest in the booktalks or discuss their own interests. They were not intimidated by each other and I think that this last bit is the most important to me. These students are not crippled by popularity or wearing the right clothes or thinking the right thoughts or saying the cool thing. These students are free to be themselves in this school and they give each other that freedom. This school also gets props for Jack, the little terrier that spends his day on top of the receptionist's desk. He even has a little bed in the corner of the desk where he sleeps although he is also free to get up and move about the desk as he pleases. I cannot wait to head back to this school in the fall.