Clara Hernandez has been a teacher at Crawford Elementary in Colorado for almost 20 years and has been implementing the Book Trust program for nearly half her tenure. In her fourth-grade classroom, every part of the Book Trust experience cultivates excitement and interaction!

It all starts with choosing books. “I use some class time for students to search for the books that they want, talk to each other, and just get excited about what’s available,” Clara explains. “For students who have special interests, I welcome them to come up and let me know so I can search for something specific that they’re looking for.”

The excitement only builds from there. “They start asking me when the books are coming 30 seconds after I hit the order button!”

When the book box finally arrives and it’s time for their classroom celebration, Clara picks helpers to pass out the books. Students then partner up to share their choices and read together. After they’ve had some processing time, students show the whole class what books they chose and explain why they’re excited to read them.

For Clara, empowering students with choice and creating an environment for thoughtful interactions builds reading confidence. “I could give so many examples of students over the years who say they don’t like reading. Then we find the just-right graphic novel about dragons and they’re like, ‘just kidding, I love reading!’ It can change mindsets.”

Clara is also working on building an understanding of the importance of book ownership with her students. “We talk about the preciousness of books and that they’re lifelong treasures that can be shared with the whole family,” she says. “Being able to choose books from Book Trust gives them that motivation to be the reader in their family for their little brothers and sisters.”