Book Tasting Anyone?

A couple of  weeks ago I tried out something I've seen on several TL/SLMS blogs within the last year...a book tasting.  It was a fairly easy lesson to create, but it does take some time to plan.

First I created a short PowerPoint about how to browse  or "taste" a book. 

Then I put together a "menu" for the tasting based on a menu created by Mrs. Lodge of Mrs. Lodge's Library blog.  You can see her post here.  

Next I ran a STAR Reading report for each 2nd-5th grade class and divided them into four to five like reading ability groups.  This is probably the most time consuming part of planning/preparing this type of lesson.

Finally, I pulled 6-10 books for each group that would fit their reading ability and placed them on serving tray on a table along with a flower vase and some battery operated candles, just to set the mood.  I pulled non-fiction books since that is our Genre of the Month.  Also since most students don't usually go straight for non-fiction, this was a great chance to show students that non-fiction can be enjoyable, too.

After the first book tasting lesson with a second grade class, I realized it might be helpful to have a list of adjectives to help fill out the menu, so I created this list, laminated it and placed several copies of it at each table.  It took the second grade class longer to fill out their menu, so I also thought it might be better to do a guided "tasting" and only "taste" one book.  So I created a shorter menu for 2nd and 3rd graders.

If you're interested in how other TL/SLMS have done their book tatstings, you might like to check out these blog posts:

Mrs. Lodge's Library: "Book Tasting"  (This is the blog post that the book tasting menus are based on.)
The Unquiet Librarian: Book Tasting posts
Barrow Media Center "Book Tasting"
Miss Liberry Teacher "Book Tasting"

So have you ever done a book tasting?  If so, how did it go?