The Bold Bookmark

One of my favorite additions to FCES’ Reading Hall of Fame program during the 2024-2025 school year was the introduction of mystery books.

I absolutely loved creating them. Selecting the right titles, wrapping them in butcher paper, decorating them with clues and teaser blurbs — each one like its own little craft project! And the kids were drawn to them like magnets.

So when I reached out to CKMS at the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, I knew I wanted to bring that same sense of excitement to middle school readers in some way.

Enter: the Mystery Book Drop program!

Every Monday, four new mystery books are “dropped” in the library. To enter, students simply fill out a small “Shelf Talk” card reviewing any book they enjoyed and place it into the box next to the book they want to win.

Then comes the fun part.

On Friday afternoons, four winners are selected — one for each mystery book — and the winners are announced and books handed out during Monday’s morning announcements.

At its core, the program is simple: build excitement around books, celebrate student reading voices, and make reading feel fun, social, and just a little mysterious.