Could you commit to reading 21 novels in three and a half months? Nine MICDS 8th graders in the Elite Book Club did just that.
Members of the Elite Book Club, sponsored by Middle School Librarian Laura Matheny, accepted the challenge and signed up to be Truman Book Award Reader-Selectors, a title given by the Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL). Out of the 140 Reader-Selectors who participated across Missouri, MICDS had 10 participants. The Reader-Selectors’ job is to choose what 12 of the 21 books should be chosen for next year’s Truman Award books. After reading all 21 titles on the list, members of the Elite Book Club submitted their ballots to MASL, which collected the votes and announced the 12 Truman books for next school year.
On Thursday, the Elite Book Club held its reveal party where students found out which 12 books were the winning titles. Students enjoyed pizza, cookies and were given gift cards as prizes. This year, a record seven of nine students in the club completed the challenge. “I’m totally proud of them,” shared Ms. Matheny who also incorporated lessons on how to review a book with the group. The students have had lunch together every other week since mid-August where they’ve discussed the books leading up to the big reveal at the end. Congratulations to our largest group of Elite readers to date: Kareena Kanumury ’23, Penny Chen ’23, Livi Thomas ’23, Bea Talbot ’23, Allison Pfefferkorn ’23, Ash Aranha ’23, Owen Zhang ’23, Logan Donnelly ’23, and Avi Becker ’23!