When we first decided to host a Classroom Library Photo Contest in honor of back-to-school season, we weren’t sure what kind of response to expect. All we knew was that teachers need books for their classrooms–and that too many of them end up paying for these books out of their own pockets. We wanted to help. We also wanted to create a way for teachers across the country to share their classroom libraries with each other, crowdsourcing ideas and inspiration they could apply to their own libraries in their own classrooms. 

Most importantly, we wanted to hear from teachers themselves what makes a robust classroom library such a vital part of engaging  students. That’s when the hashtag #ILoveMyClassroomLibraryBecause was born. 

Photo Contest: #ILoveMyClassroomLibraryBecause 

When almost 200 entries rolled in on Twitter during the month of August, we were beyond excited to see so many wonderful photos of classroom libraries at every grade level in schools across the country.

Teachers shared some amazing reasons for why they love their classroom libraries so much. Some even shared selfies!

Just a Few of the Amazing Entries We Received…

To see all of the Classroom Library Photo Contest entries, click here: #ILoveMyClassroomLibraryBecause. Seriously. You will be so impressed and inspired by the work teachers are doing every day to transform students into readers. 

Congratulations to Julie Shook’s 2nd Grade Class

While we wish we could have given away a classroom library to every single teacher who entered, in the end, we had to select one. And our random winner was 2nd grade teacher Julie Shook from Arthur S. May Elementary in New York. Congratulations Julie!

Julie already had a beautiful and robust classroom library, so for her prize, we curated a library of titles to enhance her exisiting collection. She mentioned a desire for picture books she could use as read alouds, particularly titles depicting multicultural characters that could be used to teach empathy, acceptance and character education. So we selected titles like Dreamers, Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, After the Fall, Enemy Pie, Julian Is a Mermaid and more. Here are her students with some of their favorites:

Thank you to everyone who entered and shared their classroom libraries with us. We’re hoping to run more contests soon–so be sure you follow us on Facebook and Twitter!