Blue header with large white text reading Book Jackets.

The Columbus Blue Jackets Book Jackets program presented by Ohio's 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage is a reading incentive program that uses the excitement of the Columbus Blue Jackets to encourage students in grades K-8 to spend more time reading.

The program is easy for teachers to implement and helps students become All-Star Readers by providing great Blue Jackets incentives to reach reading goals. Book Jackets can be run over a four-week period from August 2023 - May 2024 in the classroom.

  1. Register your classroom(s). After registering, you will be emailed a welcome packet that includes the following digital materials:
    • Book Jackets Instruction Manual
    • Classroom minute tracking poster
    • Student scorecards
    • Letter to your student's parents/guardians about the program
  2. Your students' parents/guardians will help keep track of minutes read outside the classroom that will be reported back to teachers weekly.
  3. At the end of the four weeks, teachers will submit classroom forms onto this website
    • Students whose minutes are submitted will receive prizing for completing the program.
    • Four classes will be randomly selected for a Stinger classroom visit, courtesy of Jet's Pizza.
    • Teachers will receive a complimentary ticket offer to a Blue Jackets home game.
  4. Please note the 2023-24 program deadlines:
    • August: Registration for Book Jackets opens for the 2023-24 school year.
    • April 1: Last day to register for Book Jackets for the 2023-24 school year.
    • May 3: Program deadline for all reading minute submissions.

Click here for additional resources, including extra welcome packet contents, certificates of achievement, and hockey-themed book suggestions courtesy of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. 

For any questions about the Book Jackets program, please email [email protected].

Photo of Blue Jackets mascot, Stinger, posing with a classroom of young students. Everyone is holding a book.

BOOK JACKETS BOOKSHELF

CBJ Book Jackets Bookshelf Intro

Looking for something new to read? Try these great hockey books, recommended by our friends at the Columbus Metropolitan Library! Each book can be checked out from the library at one of their 22 locations. To learn more about the Columbus Metropolitan Library and where these titles are available visit columbuslibrary.org.

GRADES K-4

Dino-Hockey by Lisa Wheeler, 2007 Picture Book Wheeler
In this rhyming story about a hockey game played between opposing dinosaur teams: the Meat-Eaters and the Veggiesaurs.

Goodnight Hockey by Michael Dahl, 2015 Picture Book Dahl
From the first puck drop to the final buzzer, Goodnight Hockey will have every hockey fan cheering. Rhyming text and energetic art perfectly capture the excitement and thrill of a hockey game.

Hockey by Allan Morey, 2015 796.962 M845h Part of the "I Love Sports" series.

I'm Cool! by Kate and Jim McMullan, 2015 Picture Book McMullan
When the ice is full of cuts and ruts, only one machine has the guts to clean it up. But can this slow-movin' ice fixer smooth the grooves before the next period? Or will he lose his cool?

I Spy With My Little Eye: Hockey by Matt Napier, 2008 Picture Book Napier
This I Spy book invites readers to spot the differences between each pair of scenes.

GRADES 4-8

Face-Off: Top 10 Lists of Everything in Hockey by Sports Illustrated Kids, 2015 796.96202
This book ranks the best players, shooters, slap shot, and toothless smiles in the NHL.

Field Trip by Gary Paulsen, 2015 Fiction Paulsen Ben concocts a secret plan to try out for a hockey academy.

Highest Number in the World by Roy MacGregor, 2014 Fiction MacGregor A girl who lives and breathes hockey is disappointed not to have the number of her favorite hockey player on her team shirt.

Mean Girl Meltdown by Lindsay Eyre, 2015 Fiction Eyre
Sylvie is finally old enough to join her town's junior ice-hockey team.

Outrageous Hockey Rivalries by Hans Hetrick, 2015 796.96264 H589o
Details the greatest rivalries past and present in professional hockey.

There Are No Figure Eights in Hockey by Chris Kreie, 2011 Fiction Kreie
After winning a gold medal in skating, Josh decides to try hockey as a new challenge.

BOOK JACKETS RESOURCES