Rain Gutter Bookshelves

Classroom at First-Centenary United Methodist Church Children's Enrichment Center, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Are those rain gutters inside the building? Yes!

Rain gutter bookshelves are designed to entice children to pick up books . They may see a book with a kitty or an airplane, and because the cover art grabs their attention, they ask an adult to read the book to them. The great part of having a wide variety of books displayed in such an appealing fashion, is that children can be encouraged to discover new genres of books. Children may be curious about images shown on the cover of new books, and want to see what that book is all about. By creating a love of books at a very early age, parents and educators can change the attitude in children that reading is a chore to be done for schoolwork instead of pleasure.

Bookshelves at First-Centenary Chattanooga, TN

Bill Thurman is an advocate for these special shelves that encourage children to pick up books. "It's the same idea as facing cereal boxes out in the grocery store: The cover is marketing, so why hide it? (Thurman)" Staff at the institutions that utilize rain gutter bookshelves state that keeping the books on the shelves has proven to be the hardest part! Something about this display tactic entices children to pick up the books. Staff members at the various facilities spend a large part of the day putting books back on the shelves after the kids have perused them. This is what the Read Aloud initiative is all about- encouraging children to have a love for books.

Downspout on rain gutter bookshelves

 In combination with a comfortable reading area, the rain gutter bookshelves provide a stimulating environment to encourage an interest in reading books. Design elements like the bright paint colors, murals, and the use of downspouts produce a space that attracts children like magnets. Things that may seem insignificant like pillows scattered on the floor in a corner aid in making the act of reading something that is to be a pleasurable leisure activity. The research done by Jim Trelease, author of The Read Aloud Handbook, concludes that the most important thing we can do for our children is to create the perception that reading is pleasurable.

Would you like to use this excellent tool to promote reading in your own household? Below is an installation guide for rain gutter bookshelves, taken from a pamphlet created by Akira Matsuzawa, Holly Tomasson, Mohit Verma, and John Witmer, students at the Georgia Institute of Technology (1-4).

Excerpt from "Guide to Rain Gutter Bookshelves" created by Matsuzawa, Thomasson, Verma and Witmer