How Book Cover Keychains Boosted Our School’s Culture of Reading

Last year, I came across a TikTok that instantly caught my attention. School librarian Lauren Mobley explained how she managed to insert specially designed book covers into keychains, which students could attach to their backpacks and show off to their friends. Mobley created the book cover designs in Canva, she said, and then purchased a batch of keychains.

I loved the idea. I also wondered whether the keychains could be more than a fun craft or a decoration. Could they additionally serve as a reader advisory tool?

At my middle school, I see students for 40 minutes each week during their scheduled library time. I’m always looking for ways to extend reading beyond those 40 minutes. Many of my students naturally recommend books to one another; several students have checked out a book after a friend recommended it right in front of me. With those conversations in mind, I decided to give Mobley’s creative idea a try. I wanted to see what would happen if I provided students with another means of sharing the books that excite them.

It’s worked better than I could’ve expected: These book-themed bag charms have encouraged even more student recommendations and boosted our school’s culture of reading.

The Logistics

I kicked off this initiative with my fifth graders, who are new to our middle school campus. I asked students to choose a book from our library collection that they’d read and felt strongly enough about to recommend to someone else. The idea, I said, was that they should feel comfortable discussing the contents of the book if another student spotted their keychain and inquired about it. There are no grading incentives or rewards associated with the keychains, nor do students have to earn a keychain. Participation is optional, but every student ultimately selected a book and asked for a keychain.

We have approximately 50 fifth-grade students in all, so I purchased five 12-packs of acrylic, double-sided photo keychains. I used my school’s library account after receiving approval from my principal. Each pack costs $8.99 on Amazon. The keychains have an insert size of 2.2 x 1.57 inches and can fit photos up to 1.83 x 1.28 inches.

The assembly process is simple. I copy-and-paste photos of the students’ book cover selections into a Canva document and adjust the sizing to fit the keychain insert. I print two copies of each cover, cut them out, and glue them together so that the covers can be seen on both sides of the keychain. Assembling each book cover keychain typically takes a few minutes. I swap out the keychain covers once a month, so that students are encouraged to read and chat about more titles.

The Payoff

I’ve always tried to make book recommendations a central part of our library time. Every time I see our students, I share a book talk, show a book trailer, or read a snippet from something, all in the hopes of getting them interested in a title. What I’ve found, however, is that I can’t always compete with peer recommendations. Students are understandably most influenced by what their friends are reading and enjoying.

This is part of why I’ve found the book cover keychains so effective. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many students put the book cover keychains on their backpack. For the first time, I’m noticing students chatting about books without my being present to prompt them. They are drawn to the personalized touch and implicit endorsement that the keychains represent.

Instead of occasionally swapping book recommendations, students are carrying their recommendations with them. Other students in grades 6–8 have noticed the keychain book covers and asked how to get one. In this way, the older students have helped welcome our younger fifth graders to school. I started this initiative with fifth-grade students in mind, but given schoolwide interest, I hope to eventually bring it to my sixth, seventh, and eighth graders as well.

Other Keychain Uses

Although I adopted this initiative to get students talking about books with one another, I’ve considered other ways for educators to utilize the keychains.

I personally chose not to use the keychains as incentives because I wanted as many students as possible to participate, but the keychains could absolutely factor into larger goals for librarians and teachers. For instance, a student could receive a keychain as a reward for completing a book assignment. The book cover keychains could also be incorporated as part of a reading challenge, where students earn a new keychain each time they finish a task.

My biggest takeaway from this initiative is that students are each other’s strongest reading advocates—they just need resources and opportunities. As a librarian, I aim for enticing book talks and elaborate displays, but I can’t reach every student. The book cover keychains are an inexpensive and simple method to organically reach more of our student body. They also give students ownership over their literary journeys, so that those journeys extend beyond classrooms and the 40 minutes they spend each week in the library.