Do we judge a book by its cover? Often we do! A book cover can be a visual feast of hooks to get us to open up and join in the adventure…or if it does not market the book well, that incredible adventure may just be passed over.

Book Dates encourages students to question book covers, to visualise the characters and settings, to guess what the book is about and what might happen within its pages. Books covered in brown paper bags? Sounds different…but how does it work?

Students pick up a bagged book off the table and read the activity stapled onto the bag – predicting, visualising or summarising what the book might be about from clues on the cover, back of book or first paragraph. Then they are encouraged to choose a book to read themselves as well as one to recommend to a friend.

Not all blind dates work out, though. There’s an escape card which can be used to put a book down, and of course if you don’t really enjoy a book, you can always choose another. But who knows which character or adventure you’ll embark on after that first blind date!