Book Quest is a partnership between Shropshire Libraries and local primary schools.
Library staff bring out 20 of the best new children's paperbacks to your school. The collection will be a mixture of latest titles and old favourites, including
- stories
- poetry
- fun information books like the "Horrible Histories"
- picture books for older children by authors like Anthony Browne
Book Quest visits are usually for Year 5 or 6 pupils. In very small schools, they might involve all Key Stage 2 pupils.
What happens
Library staff tell you a bit about each book and read extracts. They also ask you about what you like to read. The books are left in school to give everyone a chance to read and talk about them.
Some schools keep Book Quest diaries, vote for their favourites and do ICT (graphs, tally charts, presentations), art and drama work for the return visit.
When the Book Quest librarians come back the following term, it's your turn to do the talking and tell them what you thought about the books.
How Book Quest can support reading
Children are often at the peak of their reading enthusiasm in these middle years at school. Library staff believe it is vitally important to encourage this enthusiasm to grow. There is much more to reading than just being able to decipher words on a page. We all want children to become "real readers", reading with fluency, understanding and enjoyment.
These are comments from pupils at Bryn Offa CE Primary School:
"I really enjoyed it when you read extracts from the books, I especially enjoyed the Skullduggery Pleasant extract. When you left I went straight to the books and picked out Skullduggery Pleasant and I am currently on page 147."
"Thank you for giving us the opportunity to write about Book Quest. I am enjoying reading The Great Switcheroonie written by Alex Shearer. It's quite funny so I think I will read it right through to the end."
Book Quest is also a good way for library staff to:
- keep in touch with local schools and local children
- remind them of everything that libraries offer
Teachers appreciate:
- finding out about new books and authors
- the wide range of books, catering for all abilities, with plenty to appeal to "reluctant" readers
- observing pupils' enthusiastic responses to Bookquest
- that Bookquest complements the National Strategies