We've been creating Literacy-O-Lanterns for our school's media center for several years now. As fun as the pumpkins are to paint, it's seeing the sparkle in students' eyes as they're discussing the different characters that's the most magical.
Over the years, students have guessed, debated, and stared at 42+ different reading-themed pumpkins. Some of our students have joined the tradition, and each year they paint more than 100 pumpkins to display as well.
If you or your students are interested in joining the fun please post pictures to #LiteracyOLanterns on Twitter. We'd love to see what you and your students are reading and creating. (Some schools even paint pumpkins during October staff meetings!) Without further ado...
Introducing the 2017 Literacy-O-Lanterns
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
Jack and the Geniuses by Bill Nye (The Science Guy) & Gregory Mone
Going Places by Peter & Paul Reynolds
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton
Jennifer LaGarde (a.k.a. Library Girl)
You'll notice several newer releases and one classic in the line-up above. The classic I'm actually talking about is none other than Jennifer LaGarde. Jen is a good friend of mine and she also co-hosts the #30SecondBookTalk podcast series with me each year. I wonder if having your face painted on a pumpkin is the Librarian's version of an Academy Award?! (Probably not.)
In any case, thanks for reading and thanks to everybody for creating school's that promote the joy of reading.
If you'd like to receive a free poster featuring 42 of the characters I've painted over the past decade just sign-up to receive this blog directly to your inbox. (I'll e-mail the poster to you closer to Halloween.)
Click HERE to see all of the #LiteracyOLanterns
