Shelf Talker Center

Here is a library center that will help your shelves talk students into picking up books. Really! Take a look at this photo.

See my inspiration? I went to an awesome independent book store in Austin, Texas called Book People. As you can see, they have these cool shelf talkers created by their employees, to help you get an idea of what the books are about. In the midst of all those lined up, professionally designed spines, the cards give you a splash of color and handwriting, providing a personal connection to another reader.
Don't they look great? I decided to create a library center to let students create their own shelf talkers. This work station allows them to get creative with art materials AND it helps build a community of readers, where we're all sharing books together!
I use this workstation in two different ways: as a contest, or as a follow-up to a library lesson. Sometimes I have a "book poster" contest, and the winners get to choose a poster from the Scholastic Book Fair.