The Lexington Public Library partnered with Fayette County Schools to promote an author visit of C. C. Payne whose latest book is, The Thing About Leftovers and developed an Edible Book Contest to coincide with the event. The public library created a rubric for the contest and shared it with the schools in the district. Once everyone knew the logistics for the author visit and city-wide contest, individual schools worked backward to plan events in their own building.

At Henry Clay High School, we invited and promoted the HC Edible Book Contest for all students in our building. We publicized on social media, school broadcasts and announcements how the entries would be scored, using the exact rubric the Lexington Public Library would be using for their city-wide competition.Then waited for the entries to roll in.The top three entries, as judged by parents from our PTA, were then taken to the public library for the city-wide competition.

In all, 13 entries were submitted. Check out the pictures below to see some of the creations.

Reflecting back on the contest, I think it’s one that could be done independently at the school level, in conjunction with other schools or a public library. I loved the idea of having students write a paragraph tying their project back to the book. Next time, however, I may include guidelines for this part of the contest that include having students type their paragraphs, specifically requiring the name of their book, the author, complete sentences, and proofread for grammar and spelling before their final submission.

One of the great things about this contest is it can be any time during the year! Our information flyer is here.  

Guest KASL Blogger,

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