By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Getting a classroom of kindergartners to sit still is an unrealistic goal. Throw in a bunch of battling bears, lobsters, sharks and lions – and forget about it.
But Jessica Edens’ students at Kenwood Elementary School did their best Thursday afternoon as they waited for the big reveal of which 1BookBG they would be reading this year.
Edens prepped the children with a student-created video showing some of the rivals in the “Who Would Win?” books by author Jerry Pallotta. There were brown bears vs. polar bears, wolverines vs. Tasmanian devils, and hornets vs. wasps. The slow-motion action scenes added to the drama.
As kindergartners are known to do, their imaginations wandered and predictions were made about the victors.
“Definitely the hornet,” one student said, predicting the winner of that match. “I got stung by a hornet once and had to go to the doctor.”
The book reveal kicked off the annual 1BookBG program, being held in all public and private schools in Bowling Green this year. Each class voted for their favorite match-up in the vast series of “Who Would Win?” books.
The winner by a landslide among kindergartners was the book examining the possible battle between a Killer Whale and a Great White Shark. The books explain each species’ physical characteristics, their intelligence, their fighting skills and other factors that could determine the outcome.
Then came the best part of Edens’ announcement to her class.
“Everybody’s going home with one of these,” she said, holding up the book. “It’s yours forever.”
That brought out the “oooooohs” and “aaaaaaahs” of the young readers.
Edens showed that in the front cover of each book is a student’s name and a signature by the author.
“He’s still alive?” one student asked incredulously.
Edens assured the students that Pallotta is indeed alive – and will be visiting each school building and the Wood County District Public Library as part of the 1BookBG program.
Edens cautioned the children that no matter how excited they are about the books, they must be careful to not spoil the endings for others. Once they complete the whale vs. shark saga, there are plenty of other books in the series, she explained.
“Everyone can vote for who they think will win,” but don’t spoil the surprise, Edens said.
Schools have several activities planned – such as a day when students wear green if they think a rattlesnake would win over a secretary bird, whose supporters will wear orange.
All across the community, elementary students will be cracking open the same books. Stores throughout the city have signed up to be part of the reading project, offering prizes to students who stop by the shops.
“I’m going to ask my parents if we can do it,” one kindergartner blurted out.
In the case of kindergartners, the families are a vital part of the program, having to read the books aloud to them.
Edens is hoping the “Who Will Win?” series offers something that interests all the children.
“We always do our best to get books in their hands,” she said, noting this series is perfect for piquing kids’ interests. “If somebody really loves dinosaurs, there’s a book for that. If somebody really loves sea animals, there’s a book for that.”
Community support helped pay to put a book into the hands of nearly 1,800 kindergartners through fifth graders this year. And Wood County District Public Library is bringing the author, Jerry Pallotta, to each school and to the library.
The “Who Would Win” series was selected because the books are proven page turners among local elementary students, according to Crim teacher Stacey Higgins, who helped coordinate the 1BookBG program this year.
“It is a very popular series with our students,” she said. “They love that competition part of it.”
And teachers love that young readers are learning a lot of facts while having fun.
“They are learning without realizing it,” Higgins said.
The hope is that students will be so hooked by the series that they will trade them with each other to learn about other animals – like hyenas vs. honey badgers, and a Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. a Velociraptor.
