Book Club
Durning the summer of 2022, D told me she wanted to start a book club. It took a few months but we started our own homeschooling book club for 2nd through 4th graders! We are a small group, hoping to add more kids, but a mighty group!
I took her idea and ran with it. I knew I wanted it to be durning the week, so therefore, geared towards homeschoolers. I wanted kids to be excited to participate and get excited about the book, therefore we vote on upcoming books to read. I REALLY wanted to be in person, BUT that didn’t pan out so well. As of now, everybody is via zoom during the school year and we meet in person during summer. I also knew I wanted to keep it simple yet still semi-educational. Typically the conversations last only 20 or 30 minutes. This is a good time limit for the seven kids we currently have but if more kids are involved we will probably add more time. I want to make sure EACH kid has the chance to talk and give their options. On the same note, I also do not want the kids to be bored and check out of the conversations.
The prep work is very simple, just read the book and join once a month! I ask the kids questions about the setting, characters, moral or theme of the story, their options of the book as a whole, if they would recommend it to others and for them to give it a rating out of 5 stars and why the rates it that way. Of course the questions change based on the book we read, but I try to hit each of those categories.
I select similar books for the kids to vote on, for instance one month it was between two Julius Zebra books and another month between two Thea Stilton books. That way they have an input yet I can guide the selection better. I also look to see if the book is at the library because most of our friends borrow the books instead of buying them. Not everybody has the space for thousands of books!
After our discussion of the book for that month, I read the back of two books and let the kids decide which one they would like to read. I want them to have a say in the book choice to make it more entertaining for them.
Would you like to start a children’s book club in your area? I have a simple conversation guide that you can see below! Happy book clubbing!!!
Book club conversation guide:
Setting the scene of the book:
What time period does the book take place? Modern times, 75 years ago or ancient times?
Is there anything significant happening durning that time period? For example, the Great Depression, Columbus sailing across the Altlantic or the invention of cars?
Where does the book take place and how does this effect the story? For instance, if the book takes place in the Amazon Rainforest, what weather would you expect or what type of animals are common?
The Characters:
Who is the book about?
Does culture play a role in the story? For instance, if the story takes place on a tropical island, how does that effect the characters knowledge of the world? What about what food they eat?
How do the characters interact with each other? For instance, is there a clear leader of the group? What about the families of the story?
The Plot:
When talking with kids you can test/ jog their memory by asking for the sequence of events. This is helpful in a book club setting for kids who may be shy about sharing their opinions. This is more fact based then on feeling!
Ask about cause and effect. What caused a specific event to occur?
Was the plot realistic or so out of the ordinary that it seems like a fantasy? For instance, can people really travel back to the dinosaur age? Or do owls deliver all our mail?
What would you do if YOU were one of the characters? I like to ask this question because it helps get the kids to think about what the character is going through.
Moral of the story :
What is the moral of the book? ( moral of the story is what is the lesson that can be learned from the book; for example, what is right or wrong; helping other is a good thing to do; be respectful to new people you meet)
Who learned the lesson in the book? And how did they learn the lesson?
Is there more then one moral? This is my favorite question because I typically get two or three different answers! This leads into a conversation about what the story means to each person and the viewpoints that each person has.
Review:
I always ask the readers to rate the book on a scale of five stars. It is interesting to me how people rate g to e same book in different ways! I do like to ask them a follow up of why they rated the book a certain way.
Would you read additional books about this character? Or one of the characters in the story?
Would you recommend this book and to who? Somebody who loves outdoor adventures, silly stories, etc. or a specific person?
Remember that the point of having a book club is to have fun while discussing fun books!