Here Comes the Book Truck! Book Tasting Event

Do you want to introduce your students to new genres or new choices of books? Hold a BOOK TASTING in your classroom! This event will get your students motivated and excited about reading! Hold this event during Read Across America Week in your classroom, or make it an evening event for parents to “sample” new books with their children.

What Is a Book Tasting?

A book tasting is an interactive and engaging way to introduce readers to new books and genres. It is typically organized as a literary event where readers can sample different books in a particular genre or theme.

Readers are given a small selection of books to preview during a book tasting, usually organized into different courses or stations, with each book “served” as a sample. Participants can browse the books, read a few pages, and get a feel for the writing style, plot, and characters, all within a fun “Food Truck” themed atmosphere.

How to Prepare for the Book Truck Book Tasting Event

You can go as big or small as you like. A fun atmosphere and unique decor are great ways to excite readers about the event and the new books they “taste.” Here are a few ideas to get you started

• Hang the Book Truck event sign outside your door before your students arrive. 
• Decorate! Inexpensive tablecloths, streamers, fun lighting, and music are great ways to transform your classroom and set the stage for your students to taste all the new books. 
• Place table tents around the room on small groups of desks or tables, along with a trifold book review menu and a book boat template for each student. You could even add a small snack to their book boat for them to enjoy during the event.
• Stock each genre station with 5-6 different books for students to check out and review while they visit.
• Have students decorate and assemble their book boats. They will use these to carry their menu, pencil, and writing utensils to the different stations. (Or, you could have these prepped before you start the day to add to the atmosphere)
• Students will start the book tasting by choosing three book-truck tasting stations to visit. They will then spend 10-15 minutes visiting each of their selected stations to look at new books, read a bit of the story, and write their overall impressions of the books they chose.

Download and Print Your Book Tasting Room Transformation Kit

Use the dropdown arrow on the Download button to download the different components for your classroom event. We recommend printing your table tents and door sign in color if available. Student materials and book boats are in black and white. We have provided separate PDF files for the different parts for you to choose from.

This resource was created by Katy Blevins, a teacher in Georgia and Teach Starter collaborator.