Sell the Series Sunday

Because of our shortened 20 minute library special, I have made an effort to make book selection quick and easy for my students.  I also want them to find books that will interest them.  So, I have tried to chose a series every week and highlight it.   I call this strategy Sell The Series. I start with a book series talk and display the rest of the books near the front desk.  As a librarian and as a parent I love series books, because once a child finishes a good book, they have their next read all picked out just by reading the next book in the series.  And I like to remind my students that often good books are made into series because they are so well loved.  

As a librarian, sharing these book series talks has had a side benefit I did not anticipate:  peer promotion.  When I share a series, students often pipe up with their love of the books and this generates more check outs for for students new to the series.

To make these book easier for my students to find, I have made small signs with logos or graphics that make these series books easy to find in the library.  I then display the sign on the shelves.  We also have many series books in book bins for quick and easy access.  Our children are often times visual learners and so many today, are getting screen time!  So, I feel these signs are helpful to navigate our book shelves.  My hope is to create readers, and I hope they will move to books with no sequels after they do so!

Series books can also be a wonderful option for reluctant readers!  These books are usually well known by peers, so they are valued by these peers and often times this will move the reluctant reader to read them.  You can also, get the first book in a series as an audio book, and play this for your reluctant reader.  Once your reluctant reader is involved, hand them the next book to read!  You can also play a portion of the book, and swap to the book mid-book!