Teen Literature Day: April 18, 2013

Operation Teen Book Drop (OTBD) has been a Teen Literature Day event since 2009. It was initiated by readergirlz, a literacy and social media project for teens that has been awarded the National Book Award for Innovations in Reading.

Here’s what Publishers Weekly says about OTBD…

… followers of the Readergirlz blog and others celebrate [Teen Literature Day] by taking part in “Rock the Drop,” the guerilla-style book distribution scheme in which YA fans leave copies of favorite books in public spaces for readers to pick up and enjoy.

How awesome is that?

I’m embarrassed to admit that OTBD only came onto my radar last year, when I noticed #rockthedrop on the Twitter feed. This year, I FINALLY got a clue and joined the fun!

Getting Ready to Rock the Drop!

There was a little prep work to get ready for “the drop”. This was to make sure the teens who find the books know they are a “gift” and theirs to keep.

First I printed out the  book-plate designed by the talented Lindsay Frantz! Then, I fixed a book-plate inside each book.

Next, to make it super obvious (at first glance) that the books are *supposed to* be taken, I created bookmark-style signs that I stuck in each book. Here’s my OTBD stash and prep work:

Next year I’ll be better prepared! Just days before finding out about OTB, I donated several bags of YA books to the public library. Next year they’ll all go to Operation Teen Book Drop. And I’ll custom design snazzy “TAKE ME ~ YOU WIN!” bookmark thingies too.

Note: Anything worth doing well is worth overdoing!

Rocking the Drop!

Here’s how it works:

1. Leave books in public places where teens are most likely to find them.
2. Take photos. I used Instagram on my iPhone.
3. Tweet the photos, along with the location, using the hashtag #rockthedrop.
4. Follow @readergirlz on Twitter and watch the #rockthedrop feed. Fun!

Proof I Rocked the Drop! 

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Did you Rock the Drop? If not, how about next year?