Students at Yennadon Elementary had more than 1,500 titles to choose from at the school’s inaugural book swap on February 12. 
“We came up with the idea for a book swap because it’s tied to our school growth plan of increasing student reading engagement,” explained Caroline Williams, a Grade 3 teacher.
Williams’ class, along with students from several intermediate classes at Yennadon, helped to collect and organize the books for the swap. “This event supports students in feeling the joy of discovering new books of their own choosing.”
All students in the school were invited to bring in gently used books for the swap and received one ticket for each donated book that could be used to select a new book at the exchange.
“There’s not too much left, but we started with 1,500 books, believe it or not,” said Williams.
Like most elementary and secondary schools in the Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows School District, Yennadon identified literacy as a key goal in its annual school growth plan this year.
“Teaching students to read is not enough to foster the love of reading,” said principal Lisa Lawrance. “The literacy goal of our school growth plan is about creating a culture in our community of people who love to read, know themselves as readers, and willingly share their reading lives with others.”
Lawrance said the school’s book swap event not only provided students with an opportunity to share and upcycle books but also gave students a chance to choose a good book and immerse themselves in their book choices.
“Over 1,500 gently used books were swapped to be enjoyed by new readers. That’s literacy engagement success! Our book swap is definitely an event worth repeating next year,” she said.
