FAME 2024

The Art of Storytelling with Florida Teens Read (FTR) Book Celebrations

Thursday, November 21, 2024 1:45 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. - Nautilus B Room 

Ever wonder what some Media Specialists do to draw in avid reading enthusiasts along with incognito reading lovers and even some of the most reluctant readers? Take a look at this year's events to get the whole school involved! 

The Art of Storytelling weaves the themes found throughout several books from this year's FTR book list. At the beginning of each year, the FTR books are promoted through our English/Reading department. Students come to the media center for our FTR Book Premiere Event which showcases the new list of titles. Books are presented as book trailer previews at the theaters to grab their attention while students rate each one with x number of stars or play various games from Guess the Quote or Flip-Flop & Figure It Out. These quick and easy hooks introduce a variety of genres by engaging our students in a non-intimidating way that even our reluctant readers enjoy. The glamor of magic is what ignited this year's book celebration ideas. From this year’s Florida Teens Read Pick 3 comes a day of magic, escape rooms, games, and a customized menu for our students to experience thereby bringing these stories to life. The idea for our Fall term book experience spotlights the book “Midnight at the Houdini” by Delilah S Dawson since October 1st is National Escape Room Day and October 31st is National Houdini Day. 

Our Spring term book experience called Operation DONC: Make Your Dreams Come True focuses on a student's dreams and making those dreams come true. This theme is at the heart of these three FTR books: “Breathe and Count Back from Ten”, “The Do-Over” and “Seven Percent of Ro Devereux”. The author of “Breathe and Count Back from Ten”, Natalie Sylvester, has agreed to do an author visit on January 13 National Make Your Dreams Come True Day. Students will once again be able to experience a day of fun book-themed games, collaborating about their dreams and how to make them happen, meet and greet with a famous author, and enjoy a lunch based on the foods mentioned in the story. 

Our goal with these projects is to cultivate a culture of readers and to bring excitement to our students so they can experience the variety of adventures that books can offer. Students experience books with their peers that generate conversations and discussions about real-world possibilities, it ignites creativity and imagination and maybe even a future author.