Clearview Elementary kicked off this year’s “One District One Book” program on Monday by revealing this year’s book selection to students, The Vanishing Coin by Kate Egan.

 

“One District One Book” is a yearly program designed to create a shared reading experience across an entire school community. The youngest member of each elementary school family in the district brings home the selected book for the family to read together during the month of February, which is ‘I Love to Read’ month. 

 

Each day students and their families will read one or more designated chapters of The Vanishing Coin together, and in school students will be doing a variety of activities throughout the month to keep interest strong. District 742 is also offering The Vanishing Coin in audio format on their website at isd742.org.

 

To help celebrate this year’s book selection, Clearview’s library has been turned into a magic shop, with magical words like abracadabra and hocus pocus hanging from the ceiling, a photo station with magical props, a display of magic trick items, and an array of magic books.

 

Media Paraprofessional Rachael Kimmerle was seen around the school dressed as a magician. When a student told her, ‘you can’t be a magician if you can’t pull a rabbit out of your hat,’ she promptly took off her top hat and pulled out a paper rabbit.

 

Students talked excitedly about their new book Monday afternoon. Many of them had already read the first chapter and were saying how much they liked it so far, with one student even saying, “I think it’s going to be one of my favorites.”

 

The book reveal was originally scheduled for Feb. 8, but due to the weather school was canceled that day and it had to be postponed. A kickoff event was held Feb. 9 at Scheels in St. Cloud, who is a sponsor of the program, that included family-friendly activities, a scavenger hunt, stories and games. Families were encouraged to bring a book to donate to the PAKRAT book bus, which travels around St. Cloud and the district’s elementary schools during the summer.

 

To keep the fun going, Cold Stone Creamery is featuring Vanishing Coin inspired creations, including Vanishing Rabbit Tracks, Magic Marshmallows, Vanishing Vanilla and Houdini Hot Fudge. Crafts Direct has also joined in, offering a free make and take, “The Vanishing Coin’s Magic Wand” on Feb. 16.

 

The “One District One Book” program was begun by Read to Them, a non-profit organization whose mission is to create a culture of literacy in every home.

 

Children who are read to learn to read more easily and become better readers, and literacy skills provide the basis for a lifetime of learning. In the past, District 742 students and their families have read classic children’s novels, which included Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Ralph S. Mouse.

 

This year’s book selection, The Vanishing Coin, is a newer selection. Published in 2014, it’s the first book in the new Magic Shop series.