Inside Robin Kolbeck's fifth grade classroom, electric tealight candles flickered atop checkered tablecloths, Italian dinner party music hummed, and a fire snapped against a projector screen. Centered on each of the four tables is a platter selection of books: historical fiction, fantasy, realistic fiction, and series books.

Kolbeck's "book tasting" is not an original idea, Kolbeck explained while wearing a chef's hat and apron on February 17. The props get passed around DeMello Elementary as different teachers host the sampler.

"Often times, I find the younger grades do a lot of fun things, and the older grades just stick to the curriculum, so this is perfect timing," said Kolbeck.

Students spent 20 minutes at each table, checking out book covers and reading the first few pages, and then writing down their recommendations for each genre.

"We're trying to get kids to read different genres. I want them to see books that they haven't tackled yet," said Kolbeck.

The tactic worked, according to student Chase Roderiques.

"When I saw the cover, it didn't look like very interesting, but then, I read the back of the book," he said, holding up "Under the Blood Red Sun," by Graham Salisbury. He explained that the historical fiction follows a Japanese family living in Honolulu following the Pearl Harbor attack.

Some students — like Carter Forgues — didn't judge the book by its cover at all.

"I read another book by the same author, so I figured it would be good," said Forgues, eyeing "The Might Miss Malone," by Christopher Paul Curtis.

After vacation, Kolbeck will assign students to one of their top picks. They'll have a month to read the book, journaling about the read and meeting with Kolbeck in the meantime. When they're finished, they'll present what they read to the class.

Looking for a good read? Check out the students' recommendations below.

Realistic fiction: "The One and Only Ivan," by Katherine Applegate

"I read the first three pages and the back, and it's really good," said Lauren Hall.

Historical fiction: "The Bicycle Spy," by Yona Zeldis McDonough

"It's about this boy, his name is Marcel. It's kind of in the middle of World War II, so they're being occupied by Germany. It's really interesting from the first four pages," said Gavin Benti.

Series: "The Sisters 8," by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

"It's about octuplets, which is like eight sister twins. They're talking, and then they realized their parents have gone missing," said Colette Fitzpatrick.

Fantasy: "The Trials of Apollo," by Rick Riordan

"It's about this god named Apollo, and he got punished for losing an oracle, so he has to be a teenager in the human world," said Sayid Achilov.