“Would you like more than a sip of this book?” is an important question at the Robert R. Lazar Middle School STARBOOKS Café BOOKtasting.

Claudia Heim is the School Librarian at Lazar in Montville Township, New Jersey. To inspire students to explore reading, and to offer them a broader perspective on authors and genres, Heim annually holds a BOOKtasting at her STARBOOKS Café.

Appointed with tables adorned in red and white checked tablecloths, the Lazar STARBOOKS Café boasts a diverse variety of table tastings of books from mystery to history.

Each of the middle school’s 726 students, in grades six through eight, attends the STARBOOKS Café during their regularly scheduled English Language Arts [ELA] class.

“I wanted to open the students up to genres that they never before would have thought that they would like,” Heim explained when asked how she developed the STARBOOKS Café BOOKtasting activity.

“And, it works,” Heim noted, adding that students often read the first few pages of a book during the event, and then ask to check the book out of the library so they can finish the story.

There is a wide selection of books on each table when the students arrive to the STARBOOKS Café BOOKtasting. Students enter the café and are instructed to sit at a table with four or fewer people. Each table features a different genre: Adventure, Historical Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Mystery, and Fantasy. Students will spend 5 minutes at each of the six tables.

The premise of the BOOKtasting is designed to provide students with a brief introduction to a genre and an author.

There is a wide selection of books on each table when the students arrive to the tasting. Students enter the café and are instructed to sit at a table with four or fewer people. Each table features a different genre: Adventure, Historical Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Mystery, and Fantasy.

“We read a couple of pages from the book we choose and we review it,” explained eighth grade student Elli Ruderman.

The students have five minutes at each of the six tables.

During that time they will evaluate the book – by its cover, as well as its content.

“Does it ‘hook’ you?” Heim asks them. “Rate the front cover: ‘Good.’ ‘OK.’ ‘Bad.’ Rate the back cover. What is your interest based on the cover? Did they do a good job attracting you to the book?”

Claudia Heim, School Librarian at Lazar Middle School, and English Language Arts Teacher Michael Miller at the STARBOOKS Café BOOKtasting.

After reading a few pages students record their impressions and rate the book based on their reactions.

The final question for each book a student samples, “Would you like more than a sip of this book?” not only encourages the students to think about their interests and reading choices, but it also informs Heim as to where the tastes of the school’s student population is focusing. For that final question students circle “Yes” or “No.”

“’Would you like more than a sip of this book?’ is very important,” emphasized ELA teacher Michael Miller. “The books that students are most interested in reading, Mrs. Heim plans to supplement with additional copies so more students can read them.”

During each 45 minute class period, students spend 5 minutes at each of the six Lazar STARBOOKS Café BOOKtasting tables. The students complete the questions for each of the six books they “taste” during the BOOKtasting.

Heim uses that questionnaire to plan future events. She also uses it to tailor reading opportunities for each individual student.

Robert R. Lazar Middle School is one of seven schools in the Montville Township Public Schools district. The Montville Township Public Schools district is a Pre-K to Grade 12 district. The majority of Lazar’s 726 students attended one of the district’s five elementary schools, and will attend Montville Township High School for grades 9 through 12.

The STARBOOKS Café BOOKtasting is held annually in the Lazar Media Center.