Book Buddies is a student led, service based reading program for Preschoolers and Middle Schoolers within the Orange City School District. The goals of Book Buddies are to:

• Expose younger students to different types of age appropriate literature

• Develop an appreciation for pleasure reading

• Foster a lifelong reader/learner through positive interactions.

Book Buddies began as a high school initiative under the direction of Librarian Mrs. Joanna McNally with high schoolers eager to mentor younger students. In collaboration with Mrs. Kelly Borders, Mrs. Maria Hill, and Mrs. Betsy Ploenzke from the Orange Early Childhood Center (OCER) and Ms. Betsey Lee at Brady Middle School, the high school students meet with their buddies weekly throughout the school year. Now in our 6th year, this collaborative program has grown at OCER from one classroom working with a handful of high school students to five school classrooms involving more than 60 preschoolers, at Brady it has grown to involve more than 35 middle school students, and over 170 high school students in total participate, making it one of the largest clubs at Orange High School.