Today was a big day at our elementary school. Today we revealed the title of the book we will read for our annual whole school community reading experience.
The children were gathered in the auditorium. There was a palpable energy in the crowd. I overheard kids talking:
“I think I know what the book is!”
“I thought I had it, but that last clue really threw me!”
“I’m thinking Magic Tree House because of the time travel clue.”
“I honestly have no idea! I sure hope it’s a good one.”
“Well, it’s about a dog, so how bad could it be?”
A group of teachers gathered on stage. We would be announcing the title, doing a fun skit from the first chapter, and then sending kids off to get their copies of the book back in their classrooms. The program began. We welcomed everyone. We went through the clues one by one. I encouraged the kids to start a soft drum roll by tapping their hands on their laps. I turned the mic over to my colleague for the big announcement…..
“And our One School, One Book title for 2023 is……..Ranger in Time: Rescue on the Oregon Trail by Kate Messner!”
The kids went wild! Jumping up, cheering, giving high fives and thumbs up!
It was so exciting to see so many children this excited about reading and discussing a book as a whole school community. In that beautiful moment, we all felt part of something special, something powerful, something bigger than ourselves.
Writing to Learn, Learning to Write 
So fun! I remember reveals in that auditorium. Such a great community space. Hope it’s fun!
Love that you do this, and I also love how you’ve written this, revealing it for the readers in much the same way as it was done for students.
The reaction sounds great, and that’s a great book choice, given the visit in May.
You can feel the schools anticipation in your words.
It’s always an exciting day. Thank you for your hard work on this!