In Kolding, Denmark, two seventh-grade classes are helping shape a major literacy initiative. Their goal is to get kids across the city more excited about reading by selecting the books themselves.
Students Take Charge of What Their Peers Will Read
At Dalby School in Kolding, seventh graders spent weeks reading and evaluating books. Their mission was to choose titles that could spark enthusiasm for reading among their classmates across the municipality. They managed to select around 450 titles for a new literacy project led by Kolding Municipality.
Instead of relying on librarians to fill the so-called “book boxes” distributed to schools, the municipality asked students to take charge. The decision came after recognizing that stories recommended by peers tend to resonate more with children than advice from adults. The project aims to make everyday reading feel less like homework and more like something children actively want to do.
A Book Fair Run by Kids for Kids
The initiative culminated in a two-day book fair hosted at Dalby School. Seventh graders turned their classrooms into mini-exhibition spaces, each one showcasing selected titles. To make reading approachable and fun, they included activities such as quizzes, ball games, and even LEGO robots that told small snippets of stories.
The selection stretches across almost every genre imaginable. From fantasy series and romantic comedies to biographies about sports icons like Cristiano Ronaldo and young tennis star Holger Rune. The idea was to ensure every student could find a story that fits their taste.
Students also created ten “reading personality” categories such as “The Sporty,” “The Romantic,” and “The Funny.” The categories help other children identify what kind of books might interest them most. In a way, it turns reading into a personal discovery process, where preferences guide choices instead of school assignments.
Thousands of Books Distributed Across the Municipality
After the fair, more than 4,000 books were packed into boxes set to circulate among Kolding’s sixth and seventh-grade classrooms. This rotation ensures students always have access to new titles without waiting for individual orders or library trips. Officials hope it will keep reading fresh and social by letting kids share their thoughts on books that arrive every few weeks.
This effort is part of a growing national conversation about improving youth literacy in Denmark. It fits naturally with policies that emphasize student participation and a sense of ownership in the learning process. Interestingly, similar trends can also be seen elsewhere in the Danish education system, where schools experiment with different methods to rekindle reading habits among young people.
A Community Investment in Reading
The project, supported by the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces’ development fund, invested nearly 600,000 Danish kroner—about $86,000—in books chosen by students. Teachers and librarians say that when children are given a voice in the selection process, they become more inspired to explore on their own.
For educators, this initiative represents a creative way to reactivate reading communities in schools. Instead of making reading a solitary task, it becomes a shared experience. It also helps bridge gaps between traditional teaching and the lived interests of modern students.
At schools like Dalby, engagement is already noticeable. Participants from the pilot program describe renewed motivation for reading simply because they had the chance to explore books they personally liked. That change, small as it may sound, could have a lasting effect.
Looking Toward the Future
The next step will be measuring whether this peer-based model actually leads to a rise in reading activity. Kolding’s librarians and education consultants plan to monitor book circulation and reading time in participating schools over the year. If results prove positive, the model could inspire similar initiatives in other Danish municipalities.
Efforts like these underline how Denmark continues to reinvent how learning takes place. Whether through classroom collaboration or student-led decision-making, the focus remains on making reading appealing again. And if this generation grows up seeing reading as something to enjoy rather than endure, that would be a success in itself.
Sources and References
The Danish Dream: Danish Schools Reintroduce Textbooks to Improve Literacy
DR: Karla og Kristian skal få jævnaldrende til at læse mere
