During the week 31 March- 6 April 2025 groups of Romanian, Portuguese and Italian students and Polish teachers participated in interactive sessions about books and book trailers.
The number of European readers in our generation is rapidly decreasing. That is why it is important that we are aware of the importance of books. They are not only an enjoyable way of passing time. They can also be a way of spreading information and keeping stories alive.
Everyone has a „book of the heart“ which they associate a deeper meaning with. For some people it’s their favorite book, for others the book that got them into reading- it is in general a book that you are emotionally attached to. It doesn’t matter what kind of book it is because as C.S. Lewis once said: „someday you are old enough to start reading fairy tales again“- which means you are never too old for your book of the heart.
The participants were asked to bring their book of the heart and had the opportunity to share it with the others. After that there was a short debrief and the benefits of reading like improving critical thinking, creativity and reducing stress were discussed. It also helps you develop literacy competences.
Afterwards the concept of book trailers was introduced. A book trailer is a short video that is about 1 ½ minutes long. Its purpose is to capture the attention of the viewer and make them curious about the book. It can be made in any language. To give possible examples to the participants a netflix-like website where book trailers can be uploaded was introduced. It is called europeanbooktrailers.eu and was developed by two former members of JUMP. Every participant was invited to make their own book trailer for their book of the heart and to join the book trailer contest that JUMP is hosting.
It is safe to say that creating a book trailer is a challenging but very exciting task. It helps you develop and improve not only literary but also technical skills. In times of the internet and social media, digital and literacy competences go together- they are in balance.
The activities of the week allowed the participants to share their love for books with others while learning valuable skills and discovering new books.
Author: Sofia Pöschl, JUMP Trainee
