Bellwood Public Library

Here's where you can start!

1.    Fill out an “About your Book” form to organize your thoughts
        on the book you want to make a book trailer about. You must
        choose a grade-appropriate book to receive credit.

2.    Go to www.animoto.com and set up a FREE Animoto account.
        There is no need to pay for one, because you only need to
        make a short book trailer.

3.    Choose the Animoto style you will use for your video and click
        the corresponding box.

4.    Go through the list of songs, and choose a song that will play
       in the background of your book trailer. You can also upload a song
       of your own from your computer if you want.

       The only rule is that the song must be appropriate:

       NO inappropriate language.

5.    Go to an image site and choose images that go well with your
       book trailer.

       Your goal is to get a preview of the book in mini-movie form,
       so choose images that represent what the book is about.

       You can use Google Images, Flickr, or even images off of your
       Facebook. Follow the directions on Animoto on how to get the
       images into your book trailer.

6.    Add some text to your trailer. You don’t need to write a lot.
       Break down the text so that it goes well with your images.

       Combine the text and images so that other people will want to
       read the book.

7.    Arrange the text and photo slides the way that you want them
       to appear in the movie.

       You will see a small thumbnail of each picture and text; you
       can move these around to get everything in the order you need.

8.    Save your video! (This takes a few minutes)

9.    After watching your video to make sure everything is complete, email
        it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

        You will also need to send or bring in a copy of your “About your Book”
        form to get credit for your hours.

10.    Come to the Bellwood Public Library and have a Youth Services
        staff member sign your volunteer hours sheet. Congrats!

Double click on the book trailer below to view a sample of Ms. Ellen's book trailer. Be ready to create your own! You can gain up to 4 hours of community service hours.