At Palatine High School, many students are familiar with the Pirate Picks program, which provides students with a list of books they could read over the summer. The program incentivizes students to read books through raffles and gift bags.

However, not many students understand how the books are chosen and the amount of effort going into this program.

Firstly, for a story to be considered for Pirate Picks, it has to meet a specific criteria. Even if the story is extremely well written, it won’t be added to the Pirate Picks selection list if the criteria isn’t met.

The list is created based on books that are published for about two years, are pertinent to a teen audience, represent different genres and diverse characters of different backgrounds. The books should also be read by an adult staff member, reviewed in at least three journals, be easily understandable, cater to the majority of people’s tastes, and be the first in their series if the book has a series. The cover should also be captivating to most readers, said librarians Meredith Quick and Elizabeth Broemmelsiek.

Opting for more intriguing and compelling covers is important to gauge students’ interest in a book. Covers are potent because they are able to decide whether the student will choose or avoid the book. 

It takes most of the entire school year just to create the list for students to read during summer and on holidays. This encompasses the time required to read the qualified books. It is also on account of satisfying both the criteria and interests of most students. To satisfy the diverse population of Palatine High School, diverse and interesting books are a must. 

“We do a lot of research on what students like, and talk to a lot of students, and talk to teachers, and we have students do review forms,” Broemmelsiek said. “Those review forms are important because how [students] rank a book tells us what we should or should not pick for the next year.”

Review forms are insightful to the staff members behind Pirate Picks because they provide different perspectives on the same subject. Having multiple perspectives is beneficial in creating a list that doesn’t cater towards specific reader niches. Because different people prefer different books, having people with the same interests can become biased towards certain kinds of books that others aren’t interested in. 

Quick’s club, Books for Breakfast, discusses different books in the Pirate Picks program once a month. This is beneficial because it allows for unadulterated feedback about what kinds of books the staff at Palatine should choose or omit for next year’s list, she said.

Reading books from the Pirate Picks list is also a beneficial opportunity for students seeking to obtain volunteer hours. By choosing a book to read, the students can potentially find a book they enjoy reading and gain hours at the same time. While they aren’t required to read the entire book, they do need to read until page 30 of their chosen book. This relationship benefits both the staff in the Pirate Picks program and the students needing volunteer hours. Through this process, the program’s staff gain knowledge of what types of books students look forward to reading and what types of books students don’t enjoy, said Broemmelsiek.

Another fact is that students have the opportunity to recommend books or graphic novels for the Pirate Picks. However, students have to keep in mind that the book can’t be published independently as it must be in at least three review journals. The book also must not harbor political biases, contain excessive scandalous scenes or contain exorbitant violence. Still, even if the book or graphic novel can’t make it into the Pirate Picks program, it still has a chance of becoming part of Palatine High School’s library.

The faculty members involved in the Pirate Picks program also work closely with Palatine Public Library which buy copies for the program’s book list. A librarian at the Palatine Public Library also recommends book titles to the program to help fill up the book list.

This program has been successful in helping students discover or rediscover the joy of reading. Still, the program hopes to involve even more students in reading.

“I personally believe that reading is for everybody, and I think we think so too,” Quick said. “So, no matter what your skill level is or your interest, I think that there is a book for you.”

The entirety of this year’s selection include:

Dahlia Adler and Jennifer Iacopelli’s “Out of Our League”

Mitch Albom’s “Little Liar”

Carlos Boozer’s “Every Shot Counts”

Kristy Boyce’s “Dungeons and Drama” in English and Spanish

Ally Condie’s “The Only Girl in Town”

Jennifer De Leon’s “Borderless”

Goldy Moldavsky’s  “Just Say Yes”

Maureen Goo’s “Throwback”

David Grann’s “The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder”

Alan Gratz’s “Captain America: the Ghost Army”

Marc J Gregson’s “Sky’s End”

Ruchira Gupta’s “I Kick and I Fly”

Kristin Hannah’s “The Women”

Megan Lally’s “That’s Not My Name”

Ella Cerón’s “Viva Lola Espinoza” in English and Spanish

Lynn Painter’s “Better Than the Movies” in English and Spanish

Ream Shukairy’s “Six Truths and a Lie”

Neal Shusterman’s “Courage to Dream”

T.L. Simpson’s “Strong Like You”

Kenan Thompson’s “When I Was Your Age”

Dana VanderLugt’s “Enemies in the Orchard”

Diana Rodriguez Wallach’s “Hatchet Girls”