The My Own Book Program :: Program Survey

Last year, we embarked on an evaluation project intended to convert the anecdotal evidence of the success of the program into real responses from the teachers, parents and, most of all, the kids. Spearheaded by Joanne Brannon, her team created questionnaires that were answered by 28 teachers, 269 parents and 478 students! One statistic stands out as a testament to the success of the program: 92% of parents reported that their children were reading more at home since the trip to the bookstore.

Next year, we plan on devising a follow-up survey for fourth grade children who had participated in the program in the previous year and to conduct 1n-depth one-on-one interviews with participating principals.

Here are some of the more descriptive comments we received from our survey:

Teachers:

"The students bring their books to rainy day recess and share with each other. They want to read their books rather than play games."

"They can’t wait to open their new books and read. They’ve been talking with each other about their choices… They’ve been taking their books down to lunch with them. They talk about how they’ve been reading them at home."

"I have been very lucky to have the opportunity to bring my students to for the past 3 years. This is a fabulous experience for our children. For many of them, it is the first time they’ve ever been to a bookstore. I am very thankful for this program."

"This program has been a wonderful opportunity for the students. It made them excited to own and read books. Several students returned to the book store with their parents to purchase other books in a series."

Students:

"I love Barnes and Noble. It’s like a book wonderland."

"You do not know how much I thank you and you do not know how much I love these books."

"I like Barnes and Noble because I got to pick my own books and keep them forever and ever."

"I think it was the best trip I have ever gone to because we got to pick a lot of books."

Parents:

"He bought books from a series and he wants to go back and buy the other books! I have been fighting with him about reading since he was four years old. The trip with the school somewhat solved my problem. Thank you!"

"I had to buy him a Barnes and Noble gift card…..He explained to us all about his trip until he couldn’t catch his breath."

"My child was very excited about the trip to the bookstore. He came home very happy with many new, interesting books which he reread with his little sister."

"I noticed that after the trip to Barnes and Noble, she is very interested in reading books. She is very happy to arrange the books nicely, reading and understanding the stories. I saw an improvement in her English. Earlier she was interested to watch TV. Now she is happy to read books."