+ The bookcase

Bookcases are made by local carpenters. Every class receives a bookcase. The local carpenters receive instructions with the correct measurements and know how to build the bookcases. Included is a shopping list, so that the carpenter can buy the right materials, for example the right amount of wood and paint, to build a My Book Buddy bookcase for every classroom. The bookcase can be built in one day, the wheels and lock included . After the bookcase has been painted it will look like a book itself. The colourful logo is an eye catcher in every classroom. The back of the bookcase  is coated with chalkboard paint, thus giving the opportunity to visualise relative information. In schools where the classrooms can’t be locked, the bookcases can easily be moved to a room where the door can be locked, such as the teachers’ lounge. The production process is followed by many people, which makes the involvement of children, parents and teachers in the My Book Buddy programme very present in the community.

Download the carpenters intructions on this page

+ The books

Storybooks are available for every child to read a book once a week. The amount of story books per class has to be sufficient to provide a choice for every child to read a new book each week for the duration of the school year. This implies that with a minimum of 50 children per class 60 to 70 titles should be available, with 20 children there should be at least 40 titles. The selection consists of different categories: fiction and non-fiction, animal stories, poetry collections, fairy tales and folk stories, books on religion, informative and instructive books. For the highest classes a dictionary, an atlas, an encyclopaedia with lots of pictures and a Bible, Koran or book on world religions should be always available for use in class as a source of reference, and not be taken home. Additionally, every teacher will be supplied with a book to read from in class.

The level of the books should be matched with the age and development of the children. The pre-schoolers and kindergarten children should be supplied with books with simple and limited text and lots of pictures for the teacher to read from and books for beginning readers. The increasing difficulty of the books is visible in the use of language: from books with one sentence per line for the 4 to 5 year-olds to novels with sentences of more than 14 words per sentence and 3 or  more polysyllabic words for the advanced readers.

The books should be selected in the language which is used in school, and the amount of books in the mother tongue, if available, should be a maximum of ten percent. In a number of countries bilingual books are available for children to practice bilingual reading. The purchasing of books should take place in close coordination with a librarian, a professional bookseller and a teacher or director at the school in question. Guidelines on language, categories, publishers etc. for buyers for My Book Buddy are available.

Download the guide for book buyers on this page

+ The bag

For every child a bag to take the book at home. A waterproof rucksack in the colours light blue and dark blue with the logo of My Book Buddy protects the book during transport from and to school. The rucksacks are produced in sewing workshops in the country in which they are sold. Using this method we try to support the local economies. At the launch, every child receives one rucksack.

+ The flag and My Book Buddy song

The My Book Buddy flag, made from firm polythene, with the full colour logo, flies once a week on the school playground. The ceremony consists of the children raising the flag, a short introduction by the school principal about the importance of reading, and  the announcement that on that day a new book can be chosen. A self-composed My Book Buddy reading song will be heard regularly at the time of the ceremony.

Download the flag instructions on this page

+ The folder

Make a folder with the lending system for each teacher and a guide for the reading program. Including background information.

+ The stamp

A print of the My Book Buddy stamp is visible in every book to recognise the collection.

Download the stamp instructions on this page

+ The bookmark

On the reverse side of the My Book Buddy bookmark the children record and can see the number of books they have read. This encourages the reading   habits of children, and after primary school they are in possession of their own reading history, which often amounts up to 240 books. For children who in the past had no book resources  it is a true revolution, and a huge boost for their individual development.

Download the bookmark details instructions on this page

+ Library lessons

Become a teacher – librarian with reading activities in the classroom, the school and in the community.

Library lesson 1

• Stress the importance of free time reading
• Explain the system to take a book at home and bring it back
• Explain the difference between a note book, a textbook and a storybook
• Set the library rules for example don’t write in these storybooks
• Hand over a bookmark and let the children mark it
• Library lessons weekly
• Talk about their reading experience at home
• Write down some tips on the backside of the My Book Buddy Bookcase
• Let the children choose another book
• Keep your file up to date
• Ideas for a library lesson
• Let children write a book review and let them structure their story
• Organise a reading aloud competition
• Which books are the most popular and why?
• Make a top 5 of most informative and why?
• Suggestions for reading at home for example reading for family members.

** Involve the Community**

• Organise a parent evening class
• Organise a happening with children, teachers and parents and show them the My Book
• Buddy program
• Discuss the importance of reading
• Discuss the sustainability of the library
• Who will invest in this library in the future?

+ The contract

Make sure so sign the contract officially before the start.

+ Evaluation form

Please ask for the form and show My Book Buddy the results of the process after a year. The evaluation form, which must be completed by the school management each year, gives My Book Buddy an insight in the quality of the processes, the progress, the needs and problems, so that the system can be constantly improved. The school must be aware of their own role in the sustainability of their My Book Buddy library.

+ My Book Buddy book

A story for children to read aloud.

+ Activities for community involvement and parent participation

A reading culture at school and at home requires a number of cross-curricular activities which are innovative for existing schools with disadvantaged children and their teams. It will take time to bring about that change, because the frame of reference is completely missing. Reading aloud at home for family members and siblings, and looking at pictures together adds a new dimension to the oral culture that is widespread in many regions.