Why Book Parties?
Why dress as a bird for school? Why drop off a bale of straw with your student? Why transform a classroom into a fantasy banquet hall?
One unique thing that we do at Valley Classical School is hold book parties. A book party, according to us, is a class celebration when a certain read-aloud is finished. Students are invited to dress up as their favorite character from the book. Parents and staff plan activities, snacks, and decorations to fit the story.
The goal? To bring the stories of literature to life.
At least, that’s one way to answer the question of, “Why book parties?”
To get a more complete answer, we asked our teachers and staff to share their perspectives. Their answers have some common themes, but also some unique highlights:
Book parties are the perfect way for the students to celebrate after finishing a book. They have the opportunity to remember all the best parts of the book with games, food, and crafts related to the story. The Pre-K students really enjoy dressing up as Stuart Little, Snowbell the cat, or even Margalo the bird, and digging through trash, shooting a bow and arrow, and eating yummy book-related treats.
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Students cultivate a love of reading by celebrating a book we’ve read together in class. They also encourage reading comprehension as students listen for silly characteristics or scenarios of characters in the book to represent at our party. Time for book parties in class is time well-spent!
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Book parties bring the book to life -- hopefully spurring the interest to read other books, to open thoughts of creativity in one's own writing. The kids really like dressing up as the characters. They always have fun making the projects that have been created to go along with the book. They enjoy the downtime interacting with their friends. In The Cricket in Times Square, the kids really enjoyed the animal characters and their friendship.
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Our read-aloud literature time is a time for students to sit, listen to good books, develop their listening skills, and just enjoy a good story. It is fun to stop and discuss the story, the characters, the themes, and the things that make these books interesting. We get to make predictions as well as make connections to our own lives. Being able to wrap up a good book, with a celebration of what we've read, is a wonderful way to instill a love of learning in our students.
By having book parties, the students get to pretend they are a character for the day, each fun snacks that remind them of the story's events, and do activities that engage their minds and take them back to the book! In 2nd grade, our book Peter Pan and Wendy, offers a whimsical and adventurous story filled with excitement, danger, and fun. It's a great way to start our year in literature, and the perfect story to dress up to and celebrate!
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One of the many things that make these book parties worth it and why I love them is because it's a group celebration! The whole class gets to experience the book read aloud to them at the same time, we all look forward to the party together, and the party is enjoyed together as a class. I appreciate this more than a book report or a solo book project because it keeps the purpose of good children's literature -- wonder, awe, enjoyment -- at the center; and wonder, awe, and enjoyment are even more impactful when multiplied and shared with friends.
Book parties are awesome because the sole purpose is enjoyment. I structure my daily schedule so we read our book at the very end of the day, making it so that reading and literature is a reward, something to look forward to, a delightful way to finish a long day of work. Likewise, the book party is the perfect way to celebrate completing the book, and enjoying it for pleasure's sake! It is good for our students to taste and see the pleasures of feasts, and celebrations that exist simply for the goodness of wholesome enjoyment. While they may not fully know it in the moment, I think the highest goal of the book parties is ultimately pointing these students to taste and see the good pleasures God delights to give, the banquets He prepares for us. When I see the looks of pure glee on their faces at our book party, I can't help but think of what God must feel when he gives us good gifts for no reason at all but for us to enjoy them!
A few things my students like about book parties: looking forward to something for weeks, getting a special day set aside for your own class's party, and finishing your schoolwork early for such a fun break from the normal, scheduled, rhythm of a typical campus day -- all of this feels extra special when you're a young student. My students start talking about what character they will dress up as and what treats from the book they hope to see long before we finish the book -- so I think there's something to be said for the expectancy of the book party just as much as the party itself!
In 3rd grade, we read My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. The book takes place entirely out in the Catskill Mountain wilderness, so it makes for a really simple setting to come to life at our party -- all we need are the outdoors! I love that our book party is both a celebration of the great story, as well as the beauty and wildness of creation.
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Having a book party is a fun way for students to have the opportunity to get excited about reading in general, and about the world(s) reading a book allows them to experience. I have found that my students really enjoy the fun games and activities and the delicious food that come with book parties. Some students get pretty excited about the possibility of being able to come to school dressed as a goblin; no one has done that yet, but it's the idea that it's ~possible~. Something fun about my grade's book? We read The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald in 4th Grade and I've always enjoyed being able to try out new goblin voices each year. My students get a kick out of these and it helps highlight the goodness of reading a book when the characters are brought to life.
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From a parent’s perspective, book parties offer the opportunity for my children to relive the story in reality. They eagerly plan the character they want to dress as, often changing their minds as the story develops. Along the way, we discuss why they want to be “that” character, and what has been a favorite part so far?, why is that their favorite part?, and other similar questions. Book parties allow the children’s creativity to flow into costume design and imagining what crafts and activities they might partake in that day. Book parties allow some of the best attributes of childhood (imagination, creativity, anticipation) to come into the realm of possibility.