‘One School, One Book’ at Roosevelt Elementary

Roosevelt Elementary School in the Medford School District is embarking upon a program called “One School, One Book.” Program details are summarized in the school’s March newsletter.

The children have received copies of George Selden’s The Cricket in Times Square to take home for family members to read aloud together during March. During school, the children will be invited to answer daily trivia questions to encourage and reward what the newsletter calls “attentive, aggressive listening.”

One School, One Book is administered by ReadToThem.org. The organization offers several books to choose from, with an advisory that some books are better aimed at younger readers while other books are more challenging.

The One School, One Book program provides supplementary resources for each of the books in its program. About The Cricket in Times Square, the website states:

“A Cricket in Times Square [sic] is filled with music that makes the story soar and takes it to strange unexpected places. And along the way, there are brief, eccentric moments of wisdom offered by a Chinatown shopkeeper and a New York Times music critic. All of which explains why A Cricket in Times Square has been charming families for 50 years. That’s what you call a timeless classic.”

As a long-term participant in common reads through a variety of affliations, I’m intrigued by the common read experience being brought into schools. I would love to see this program at Bellview Elementary School in the Ashland School District, where I work as a library assistant.