Students at an Illinois high school were greeted by an unusual sight in their hallways when they returned from Christmas break – large, eye-popping book covers adorning the walls.
Hallways at high schools are usually drab and dull, painted with beiges, whites or greys that students shuffle by without noticing. But Mundelein High School is changing that while encouraging their students to read by decorating their halls with large vinyl murals of book jackets.
Six book covers that stretch from the floor to the ceiling now adorn the corridor leading to the school’s English department.
The “books” wrap around the doorways of the school’s English classrooms.
Mundelein High School
The school shared the images on Facebook and described it as a “routine hallway has been transformed into a giant motivational tableau to encourage reading”.
Mundelein High School
The murals were designed and manufactured by Visual Image Photography and were ready for students to enjoy when they came back to school after their winter break.
Mundelein High School
Since posting the images of books such as “All American Boys” by Jason Reynolds and “Wuthering Heights” by Charlotte Bronte on social media, the school has gotten a flurry of positive feedback.
Other books include “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall; “Beartown” by Fredrik Backman; “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro; and “October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard” by Leslea Newman.
Mundelein High School
On employee at Mundelein’s Carmel Catholic High School wrote: “This is awesome! Well done MHS!”
Mundelein High School
A teacher in Minnesota also commented, “I would be elated to have my classroom and hallway painted like this.”
The project caught the attention of Jason Reynolds the author of “All American Boys” who shared the mural on Twitter and simply wrote “Whoaaa.”
The teachers say that the students are reacting positively too.
Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links.