A buzz of chatter and excitement echoed into the hall outside Patrick Andrus’ fourth grade classroom at Prairie View Elementary on Feb. 9 as students settled in for Breakfast with Books. Inspired many years ago by Oprah's Book Club, Andrus started a monthly before-school book club to get students excited about reading.
Leading up to the meeting, students read "The Curious Mysteries of Eli Marks" by Minneapolis-based author John Gaspard. Each of the first ten chapters revolves around a different mystery for Eli (and readers) to solve, and each of the last ten chapters teaches readers how to perform a different magic trick.
Students watched curiously as John introduced himself with a magic trick. After hearing about his background and inspiration, our young readers had the opportunity to ask questions like:
- “Who is your favorite character in the book?”
- “What did you think readers like us would enjoy most about the book?”
- “What was the hardest part about writing the book? What was the easiest?”, and
- “Did you like reading as a kid?”
When asked what he hopes students will take away from the book, John replied, “that they want to read more. That they finish this and go ‘what’s next?’”
- Districtwide
- Prairie View Elementary