MADISON TOWNSHIP — It was hot inside the cardboard box.
Katrina Jordan wore a dog costume as she crouched onstage, concealed inside a large blue cardboard box. Nearly 250 excitable elementary school students sat on the gym floor, waiting for the big reveal.
As soon as another teacher lifted the box, Jordan sprang to her feet. She held two copies of a book in the air as the gymnasium filled with cheers.
The assembly Friday afternoon was a kickoff for Eastview’s One School, One Book program. Every student and staff member received a free copy of Fenway and Hattie to read at home with their families. The books were paid for with a $1,500 grant from the Harry and Lois McCullough Fund at the Richland County Foundation.
The book tells the story of Fenway, an excitable Jack Russell terrier who moves with his family from the city to a home in the suburbs. While Fenway guards his new home from squirrels and mail carriers, he worries that his human, Hattie, is outgrowing him as she makes new friends and begins playing baseball.
Eastview began its One Book, One School program last year with Charlotte’s Web.
“The whole purpose is so our families know that literacy is important, that it goes beyond just the school. It starts at home too,” said third grade teacher Kathie Jansen.
“We just want to keep that momentum going and encourage them to read at home.”
In the week leading up to the assembly, staff members started leaving clues around the building — paw prints on the stairs, a model dog park in the display case and, of course, the big blue box.
Before opening the box, Jansen asked a handful of students what they thought might be inside. Guesses included a PlayStation 5, a dog and a dog reading a book.
After the big reveal, students screamed with delight. When they were told they’d each receive a copy of Fenway and Hattie, they screamed again.
“A lot of them knew it was gonna be a book, but they were still excited. So we’re hoping to each year we can build on this. It’s kind of a tradition,” Jansen said.
Part of the One Book, One School program is incorporating fun activities throughout the school year.
“We had challenges for the families to do at home. I think our favorite was the kids sharing a picture on social media of them reading with mom or dad or grandma,” Principal Melissa Wigton said.
“That was just heartwarming to see our families at home, reading together.”
Each week at school, students will have the chance to enter a prize raffle by correctly answering trivia questions about the book.
“As a whole building we’re working on comprehension too, and they’re excited about it because they want to win,” Jansen said.
The program will wrap up with a dog and baseball themed literacy night at the end of the year. Jansen said the school hopes to incorporate a donation drive for the Humane Society of Richland County.
Wigton said last year’s farm-themed Charlotte’s Web literacy night drew hundreds of people.
“We’ve never had a turnout like that,” she said.
