Picture This: Students merge photography and reading for International Children’s Book Day challenge

Staff at Dhahran Hills Elementary School (DHS) are always looking for fun and engaging ways to excite students about reading. 

During the month of April, to celebrate International Children’s Book Day on April 2, students were challenged to take photographs showing them reading in an interesting place or in an unusual way. 

Photos that follow the school’s “3B's” — being safe, being responsible, and being respectful — were requested, and students did not disappoint, taking advantage of their April break to capture unique pictures in our community and much further afield. 

School librarian, Cathy Brekke, is understandably passionate about reading, and believes that nothing is as important as empowering students to read for enjoyment. Engaged readers need choice, and that’s exactly what the library offers. 

The Reading Photo Challenge is not the only activity DHS runs to engage students and their families with reading. This year, the library hosted the “Hygge Fest,” “Book-n-Blankie Bundle Up,” “Library Scavenger Hunt,” and “Hungry for Books” event, and various “Book Tastings” for students from different grade levels.

The objective is not simply to encourage our children to develop a lifelong love of books and reading — but also to foster a sense of community. 

Caption for top photo: Fourth-grader Hadley Armstrong captured this image of her chilling and reading.

Here are some of the other submissions.