JI Reads
School-wide reading program
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What is JI Reads?
What is JI Reads?
JI Reads is a school-wide reading program designed to promote reading for pleasure at JICHS. Each year, a committee of readers reviews dozens of titles and selects 5–7 high-interest books we believe students will truly enjoy.
Every student, faculty, and staff member is offered a free book of their choice, which is distributed during visits to English classes the following year. The program is supported by activities, book discussions, class reads, author visits, and community connections that encourage students to see reading as something personal, enjoyable, and meaningful.
Selections for 2025
Selections for 2025
Author Visits-
Author Visits-
Past Events @ JICHS:
Past Events @ JICHS:
Visit with Wendy Mills, author of All We Have Left (Sept. 2025)
Visit with Mindy McGinnis, author of Heroine and Be Not Far From Me (Sept. 2024)
Visit with Gretchen McNeil, author of Murder Trending (Oct. 2022)
Visit with Ibi Zoboi, author of Punching the Air (Apr. 2022)
Zoom with Britteny Morris, author of Slay (Nov. 2021)
Zoom with Claire McFall, author of The Last Witness (Oct. 2021)
Zoom with Scott Reingten, author of Nyxia (Oct. 2020)
Visit with Dashka Slater, author of The 57 Bus (Nov. 2019)
Visit with Corrie Wang, author of The Takedown (Oct. 2018)
Visit with Daniel Josè Older, author of Shadowshaper (Oct. 2018)
Visit with Jason Reynolds, author of Boy in the Black Suit (Mar. 2018)
Visit with Kimberly Derting, author of The Body Finder (Sept. 2017)
Author Mindy McGinnis with the winner of the art contest redesigning the cover of her book Be Not Far From Me!
Author Jason Reynolds captures attention during autographs!
Author Daniel Josè Older paints a mural with JICHS art students.
Author Corrie Wang chats with JICHS students during lunch.
What our students are saying:
What our students are saying:
"I really enjoyed listening to (Older) and how he loved writing so much. I write for fun and am considering becoming an author. I hope we can get more authors who inspire people our age to come and talk to us again."
"I think (Older) was a really great speaker with a good presentation. He kept me interested the entire time and taught me new lessons such as things about being rejected and not giving up. I’m glad he’s putting a new light on including people of color into literature."
"Ms. Wang was very inspiring. Although I did not attend the talk, I was invited to have lunch with her and I’m so honored to have met her and to have spent time with her. Her book is absolutely amazing, and I’m so thankful that I had the chance to read it. I really appreciate this amazing opportunity."
"I think (Reynolds') story is very relatable to all kids but more importantly, less privileged kids. Both my parents have low paying jobs, and my whole life I’ve been told that I’m going to be just like them. I disagree. Jason Reynolds related to me because he did what everyone told him he wouldn’t and even though he faced hard times, he eventually pushed through it and made his dream a reality. I think kids need to hear his story because many adults preach there’s only one way to success— perfect grades and college."
"These are necessary for reading development. Bring more authors in!"
"(Reynolds') speech was absolutely phenomenal. Attending his talk made me rethink the way I thought about reading. I hate reading, but meeting him made things a lot fuzzier. I don't hate reading. I hate reading books that don't have diversity... his writing style is just WOW and seeing him talk about his life and motivations just transformed how I look at books."
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