Quick quiz:
When you read a great book, do you find yourself unable to contain your excitement?
Do your “booktalks” inspire the masses to head straight to the nearest library to check-out the book you just shared?
Do your students or colleagues come to you for book recommendations?
If you answered yes, to any (or all!) of these questions, you might have what it takes to be the next World Booktalk Champion!
Each year, Jennifer LaGarde and I co-host the World Championship of Booktalks. We start with a field of 16 passionate educators from around the globe: 8 Lead Learners (coached by @GustafsonBrad) and 8 Literacy Legends (coached by @JenniferLaGarde). Participants decide which side of the bracket to join.
Each educator shares a #30SecondBookTalk video clip for their favorite children’s (or young adult) book. Then the fun begins! We compile the 16 booktalk video clips into an epic podcast accompanied by a cool booktalk bracket.
Thousands and thousands of readers of all ages from around the world vote on their favorite booktalks. The winners from each team, go on to compete against one another in a second & final round of booktalks.
The booktalk that receives the most votes is named “World Booktalk Champion” and receives the highly coveted “Vince Lombooki” trophy. The Lombooki is actually a cool digital badge that you can display on your school website, blog, or Twitter profile. Because this entire event is all for the love of reading, Scholastic Book Fairs® has generously agreed to send $500 in free books to a school or classroom to be determined by the winning booktalker.
We know what you’re thinking! How do I sign up!?!?!?!
Like last year, we're opening up the championship bracket to authors and educators everywhere. If you're interested in taking a risk and creating an original 30-second booktalk please click HERE or go to tinyurl.com/BookTalkVolunteer(signing up takes only about 1 minute).
Jenn and I will host a live draft show in the next few weeks. As a fun token of appreciation, participating educators will be awarded some fun literacy-themed surprises as a small way of showing our gratitude!
So…don’t wait! You can sign-up today by completing the short form above. Throw your hat in the ring! Thanks for helping educators everywhere showcase the joy of talking about books.
Click HERE to download the printable classroom version of the #30SecondBookTalk brackets.
Special thanks to Scholastic Book Fairs® for being a proud sponsor of the #30SecondBookTalk!
