Fifth grade students in Nicole Osterhoudt’s class at Shore Road have combined their love of reading with art during the Book Buffet project.

Students were instructed to choose a book to read independently and were encouraged to take notes on various story elements as they progressed, such as theme, characterization, point of view, literary devices and plot. Instead of a traditional pen and paper book report, the students translated the information into the shape of food. Utilizing recycled or repurposed objects around their homes, the students included the various book elements in their “buffet” choice, making sure that the parts of the report were typed, neat and proofread for correct spelling, capitalization and punctuation.

Ms. Osterhoudt said, originally, the Book Buffet project was supposed to be completed among the students’ class book club groups and displayed for everyone to see. School district closings, however, made the project more individualized.
Some of the books chosen for the Book Buffet were E.B White’s “Charlotte’s Web,” Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s “Fish in a Tree,” and Mike Lupica’s “Heat."