We had an extra copy of Derek Jeter's Ultimate Baseball Guide 2015.  So many students wanted that book. What to do?
We decided that every student who wanted a chance to win our extra copy of the book would submit a small ballot on a piece of scratch paper. The ballot would include a statement as to why they should be the recipient of the Baseball Guide. 
The rules were: you could submit only one entry and it had to contain: 1)  your name, 2) your classroom number, and 3) a convincing argument for you to receive this book.  All entries that included those three items were placed in a basket and at the end of the day one ballot was randomly drawn from the basket. 
The persuasive statements were terrific!  Each one was unique. But all were compelling.  A great "stealth" writing exercise.
I will definitely do this again.

I introduced this book by showing my phone photo of Frank Viva subway art.  Next I introduced the word "oronym".  The children's interest was piqued when I displayed the book cover. They couldn't wait to get started and were bouncing with excitement as I read aloud Outstanding in the Rain, There were frequent requests to stop so that they could pay attention to details, figure out the oronyms, and discuss what was happening.  There were many page turns back and forth. When we completed the story, there was an immediate request to "Read it again".  Of course we did. They delighted in making new discoveries, talking about their experiences with train travel, and finding art in the community. They began to try and create simple homophone word games. Teachers were equally engaged with this captivating book which can be enjoyed by a wide variety of students.