One School, One Book
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This school year St. Thomas More is once again participating in a community reading project called
“One School, Two Books”.
This year the “One School, One Book” program at St. Thomas More is changing to the “One School, Two Books” program. We have tried for the past 5 years to find a book that would appeal to students in all grades K-8. This has been quite a challenge. In order to keep our middle school students interested in reading, we feel a change needed to be made. This year we have chosen two books, with similar themes, but definitely meant for two different audiences. In making this change, we hope to better meets the needs of all our students.
“One School, Two Books is still a program designed to create a shared reading experience within a group of students and their families. A single chapter book is chosen for every family in the K-5 group or the middle school group. Each family receives a copy of their book and every family reads that book at home over the course of a single month. Activities at school coordinate, promote, and enrich the shared reading experience.”
The book we have chosen to read for grades K-5 is Wishtree by Newbery Award winning author Catherine Applegate. We feel that the values in this book reflect our school values of understanding, acceptance, friendship and hard work.
From the publisher
“A wise old oak tree that stands as the neighborhood’s “wishtree,” where people write wishes on cloth and tie them to her branches, shares her days with her crow friend and helps the community embrace differences when new neighbors move in and are not warmly welcomed.”
For Middle School we have chosen The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman. This book won the Global Read Aloud Award for 2019.
Author Padma Venkatraman will visit our school on October 8th.
From the Publisher
“Readers will be captivated by this beautifully written novel about young people who must use their instincts and grit to survive. Padma shares with us an unflinching peek into the reality millions of homeless children live every day but also infuses her story with hope and bravery that will inspire readers and stay with them long after turning the final page.”
The PTO has very generously offered to purchase a copy of these books for every family in the school.
All families, from Kindergarten to 8th grade, will have one month to read the book at home. The teachers will have a kick-off assembly and begin the discussion Thursday morning, September 5. Look for the books to come home that day. They will be sent with the youngest child in each family. Thursday, October 8th we will have a concluding assembly.
Again, I want to thank the PTO for agreeing to work on this project and for their generous donation to the families of STM.
If you have any questions about this program or about the library, please feel free to email me at:
Sincerely,
Mrs. O’Rourke, Librarian
1 School – STM
2 Books – Wishtree by Catherine Applegate for grades K-5 and The Road Home by Padma Venkatraman for grades 6-8.
15 minutes – read every night
One month – to read the entire book