This is why we work

For years, Erin has been talking about wanting to do a book swap. Unable to visualize Erin's concept, for years Mary has been humoring her.  "Yeah.  That would be cool.  Uh huh.  Yup." 

CRLs stand ready at the grand opening

Posing with the Bibliosaurus

This past Thursday night, Erin's idea came to fruition under the most unexpected circumstances.  We certainly didn't plan for it to happen this way, but the Crazy Reading Ladies are not known for planning ahead anyway. When opportunity knocks, we've decided it's best not to ask too many questions. We simply say "yes" first and figure out the details later. We just work well together. And we know we work. And we have way too much fun doing it.

So how did our (Erin's) book swap opportunity present itself?  Well...

Horace Mann Middle School  recently hosted singer and songwriter Chadwick Stokes and his charity Calling All Crows.  Chad worked with students to workshop some songs they'd written and teach them the songwriting process.  One lucky girl had her lyrics turned into a song, and it was performed by Mr. Stokes at a benefit concert that evening.  (How cool is THAT?!)

Staff Recommended

Because Calling All Crows emphasizes service to others, every student in the school was engaged in some form of community service for the second half of the school day on June 4th.  Teachers were given the opportunity to put forth ideas for community service, and students were then given their choice of service activity.  Animal-loving teachers helped kids make homemade dog treats to be donated to animal shelters.  6th grade teachers worked with students of all grades to create Welcome to 6th Grade informational pamphlets to be given to current 5th graders.  Students planted flowers on school grounds, read books to preschoolers, made cards for the troops, and turned old t-shirts into reusable shopping bags.  It was a super cool afternoon for teachers and students, and the CRL took advantage of the opportunity to pull together a book swap.

Okay, full disclosure.  Erin took advantage of the opportunity.  Mary, suffering from a condition known as 8th-graders-in-June, whined, "I don't care what I do, just please put me with Erin."

Voila! A scrumptious book buffet!

That night, before the Chadwick Stokes benefit concert, the doors of the Book Buffet opened (while Mary and and Erin were enjoying hot fudge sundaes and losing track of time), and students were able to fill bags with 100% free, no strings attached, new-to-them books. 

We're totally working.

Before we inundate you with photographs of the event, it's worth mentioning that the event was such a success that we've decided to make the Bibliosaurus a permanent fixture in the HMMS hallways and hope to make the Book Buffet a semi-annual event.  Hey, we're the CRL.  Go big or go home. 

"Can we take more than one?"

Shopping for summer reading