Second graders from Heritage Elementary School are bringing their book reports to a whole new audience with “Only Readers in the Building.”
When it premiered in 2021, Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” gained widespread popularity for its comedic take on the true crime podcast. Centered around Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez’s characters, the series has gone on to uncover numerous diabolical plots and land several suspects in jail. It’s funny and entertaining, but it also shows how podcasting is an engaging form of storytelling. Christi Cooper, who teaches second grade at Grapevine-Colleyville ISD’s Heritage Elementary School, decided to use the modern digital medium to help her students tell their own stories.
Cue “Only Readers in the Building — Turning Pages Together,” Cooper’s twice weekly podcast where she interviews one of her students about a book they recently read and loved. She thought it would be a good way to help kids develop a love of reading they could share with fellow classmates, family members, and the larger student body. “I enjoy reading and I want my students to enjoy reading as well, so I came up with this idea because I felt like it would be more fun to do than a regular book report,” Cooper told Fort Worth Star-Telegram. And she was right—the process of asking students questions about the books they’re reading and having them answer by speaking into tiny microphones has been a huge hit.
“Parents are listening to it, they’re sharing it with their family. I have posters up around the school and students across the school can listen to it, so it’s reaching more than just our classroom,” Cooper said. Now that she’s helped her second graders fall in love with reading, she hopes they can encourage others to do the same. The “About” section for the podcast’s RSS feed says, “Our purpose is to celebrate our reading and share our love of books! We encourage others to read our recommendations.”
Interested in checking out their reviews and recommendations with your own family? Here’s how you can listen to “Only Readers in the Building.”
The podcast is available to stream online
Every episode of Heritage Elementary’s “Only Readers in the Building” is available to stream here. Christi Cooper uploads two reviews per week from her second grade class, with the most recent additions being “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway” by Jet, and “The 26-Storey Treehouse” by Kylo. Most episodes are about four to seven minutes in length, making them super easy to listen to as you’re all driving home from school, prepping dinner, or getting ready for bed. It’s fun for the whole family, it teaches you about new books, and it helps foster a love of literacy, all at the same time. What could be better than that?
The podcast initially launched at the beginning of February. As of writing, it’s unclear as to whether Ms. Cooper and her class will continue the project indefinitely, but here’s hoping that they do!
