Skyler Bailey, a sixth-grade student at Edgewood Elementary School, accomplished a special feat this school year: She read all 40 books in this year’s Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award Program, passing an “Accelerated Reader” (AR) test on each book.
Several elementary and middle grades students from throughout the Michigan City Area Schools completed 20 Young Hoosier books this year, but only Skyler read all 20 books in the Intermediate category and all 20 books in the Middle Grades category for a total of 40 books. She also passed an AR (Accelerated Reader) quiz on each of the 40 books; the AR tests are designed to measure students’ comprehension of the material.
The purpose of the Young Hoosier Book Award Program is to stimulate recreational reading among elementary and middle school children and to encourage cooperation between administrators, school media specialists, teachers, public libraries, and the community in providing reading experiences for Indiana school children.
Michigan City Area Schools students have participated in the Young Hoosier Book program since its inception in 1974. Each year, the 20 books from the Picture Book category are read aloud to early elementary students. At the end of the year, those students vote for their favorite Young Hoosier Picture book.
In previous years, students in fourth and fifth grades read the 20 books in the Intermediate category. This year, because sixth-grade students remained in the elementary schools, students in fourth through sixth grade could read the 20 books from both the Intermediate and Middle Grades lists.