I’ve been teaching high school for 23 years, and when students walk into my classroom, it’s not unusual to hear them say, “I hate reading.” My response is always, “You don’t necessarily hate reading, you hate what you’ve read. That’s probably because you haven’t found a book or an author who really speaks to you – but those books and authors are out there!” But this message isn’t usually enough to reset how kids think about books. To get students re-invested in reading, we need to offer them a different kind of reading experience. That’s why I created my “Books and Bops” series: Every time I recommend a title to my students, I pair it with a song that gives them a glimpse of what’s exciting or meaningful about the book. 

My series was inspired by fellow educator Kiara Garrett, who curated a project called “If You Liked This Album, Read This Book” to promote reading for her students. Historically, classroom libraries have been homogeneous spaces, simply because of the ways white privilege has shaped our educational materials. We teachers know how important it is for students to find their experiences mirrored on our bookshelves, and to discover unfamiliar experiences, too. So many of us educators have already done work to decolonize and diversify our bookshelves, but that’s not something we can do just once. Creating these Books and Bops has helped me stay intentional about bringing new perspectives into my students’ world – and I hope it will support your intentionality as a fellow teacher, too. 

Since I started this series, I’ve seen students who “hate reading” walk into class with new interest in our books. That’s why I’m excited to share how I create my Books and Bops series.

Step 1: Choosing books and bops

To get started, I recommend taking a look at the books on your classroom shelves and reflecting on what may be missing or underrepresented – that’s what I did! That reflection process guided my search for new literary identities and perspectives to share with my students. I also recommend looking for books (and music) that reflect the identities and perspectives your students have shared with you. Next, to pick out bops to support book choices, I think about ways to get students curious about new reading. Maybe a song they love can get them engaged in a book they would never have picked up. Maybe a new song can connect them with a book on a topic they care about. I want each Book and Bop to make students feel intrigued about choosing new reading journeys for themselves, so I don’t build this series into our lessons or required readings – instead, I weave it into our daily classroom conversations. (You can find more details on this below, under Step 3!) When I’m debating between books or songs, I always return to the driving force behind the series, which is simply making every kid in my class feel seen.

For example, one Book and Bop that resonated with my students was “The Fire Keeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley. I admired how thoughtfully her work addresses depression and drug dependency within Native American communities, and I knew my students hadn’t found her perspective on my shelves before. I paired her title with “Hey Joe” by Jimi Hendrix because it depicts a conversation with someone who’s set on doing something destructive, and when I shared it with my students, I loved hearing their first impressions of how the book, song and resources might connect.

Step 2: Adding resources and QR codes in Canva

Next, I fold in resources: maybe a music video for the song, an article connecting the book’s themes to class discussions or student interests or an interview with the author about their goals for the book. I think it’s important to center student choice, especially for kids who haven’t connected with reading in the past, so I include more than one kind of media and encourage students to let me know what’s resonating with them. To create and print the week’s Book and Bop poster, I use a Canva template and add a QR code for each resource. By planning to share one per week, I can keep the series sustainable when things get busy. The template also lets me adapt to support student engagement: If kids connect to a new topic during class, or I discover a new title they might love, I can grab my template and fold a new Book and Bop into my series.

Step 3: Creating space for engagement 

A big part of the value of this series is showing your students that you’re making discoveries along with them, so that each Book and Bop feels like the next step of a shared journey. One of our classroom traditions is that every morning after attendance, we have a short reading period. Using the Books and Bops as a jumping-off point, students choose their own titles to explore, and I try out new titles, too. From day to day, we keep a conversation running about what we’re enjoying. Each time I add the latest Book and Bop to the wall, I share what I loved learning as I was putting it together. By creating daily space for casual, self-directed reading and talking, I can connect with students not just as a teacher, but as a fellow reader. I love seeing our community conversations gradually encourage students to identify as readers – and I love seeing Books and Bops inspire them not just to try new books, but to talk and think about reading in new ways.

To close out the school year, I’m planning to turn the Books and Bops into an independent research project for my students. I’ll invite each student to choose their favorite book and create their own Book and Bop. They’ll think through the process of choosing a song and finding resources that show their classmates what they value most about the book, and then we’ll showcase their series on our walls. I’m already excited to see what they come up with – and to see them celebrating their relationships with reading.