An Exhibition of Bookish Art

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As a Library Educator, I am always thinking about encouraging thoughtful responses from my students. In a world that is thriving with AI being encouraged for even the youngest children, or for librarians to use it to ease their work, I despair at losing out on our spontaneous creativity and want to hold onto it as long as possible. It is not easy to find others whose work resonates with you, so when I do, I ensure that I follow their work and keep in touch with them, sharing. a mutual respect and admiration for each other's efforts in the school library space.

So, when I read a fellow Library Educator's post about ‘The Museum of Bookish Things’ that she had planned with her students, I knew that it was something that I would want to explore with mine. I drew from her explanation to my understanding of the idea and it took shape according to the responses and enthusiasm of our children. 

As we planned out school Book Day, the best suggestion that I received was to have a build-up over the month leading up to the day itself. This was the perfect time to hold ‘The Exhibition of Bookish Art’. 

Children of stages 7 and 8 were asked to create a piece of art in connection to a book that held some meaning for them. 

They could choose to work in pairs or alone. Once announced, they had to select their books and stick with their choice, while they worked on a plan. 

The brief was that their artwork should be on a book that spoke to them in some way and their work should serve as an ‘advertisement’ for the book, to encourage their peers to read them. 

There was much negotiation and searching for partners to find the perfect match…another who gelled with a book the same way they did. 

I collaborated with their teachers, and with their support and encouragement, the children began to plan and work on their pieces. The work began a month before the scheduled date and about a week before, they were encouraged to work on their presentation...what they would say, as they would need to present their art to the visitors. 

It was wonderful to see them write out 'scripts' that were carefully planned by those who were working in pairs, some humorous, some insightful, some bearing their hearts.

When I looked at each piece of art and heard them speak, I was delighted to see how deeply children had connected to their books. It was not just about creating pieces of art of characters or objects in the book, but also about what the story meant to them, the form their art took was inspired by the book or personal preferences, or even how it connected to their lives. They shared openly and freely, answering questions from the visitors with insights about how deeply they had connected with the book. 

Often, as the library educator, I see how children connect with the books they’ve read when they speak to me, ask for recommendations, come back to share excitedly how my recommendation worked, and ask for more.

Here it was the children recommending to me…well and a host of others who visited their exhibition.

It was a beautiful, deeply meaningful exercise for the children. It created an interest in their book choices amongst their peers and the other children who visited their exhibition...the books are moving off the shelves and being consumed with joy and delight.

For me, their library educator, it gave me a sense of satisfaction and pride to see just how beautifully their work showcased their growth as readers, how they collaborated with each other, stuck out the month-long planning phase, how a library activity went beyond the walls of the space itself.

Some of the children's artwork is pictured below...enjoy!!