Book Clubs

Last Updated (Thursday, 16 April 2009 09:37) Written by Tim Hinkel Thursday, 09 April 2009 04:23

Why to start a book club, how to get started, and where to look for help

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Reasons to start a book club

• Encourages parents and children to read together
• Exposes children to different types of books chosen by other members
• Children learn to express themselves in social situations
• Children are exhilarated by the interaction of their parents with their friends and their friends’ parents
• Discuss new and sometimes difficult topics as a group
• Socialization – group meetings once a month helps form a special bond between parents and children
• Allows parents and children to discuss a book without any formal pressure (it’s not “homework”)
• Improves reading comprehension
• Helps children articulate their thoughts
• Children feel they are part of something special
• Makes reading just plain fun!
  
  

How to get started   

 Decide who you want in your book club.

• Age? Generally, a 2-3 year age range is best, or less at the younger age. There are currently K-2, 1st grade, and 3-5th grade clubs.

• Gender? You should also decide before you start if you're going to have a coed club or just keep it one gender. Sometimes it might be nice to have different opinions from the opposite sex, but the boys might want to read different books than the girls which can make it hard to stay focused.

• How many kids? (a group of 5-6 parent/child pairs works well).

Recruit members

You may want to ask your child’s friends or ask your child’s
teacher who he/she thinks might be interested in joining a
parent/child book club. You can also request that a message be
sent home through room parents, which is particularly useful if
you want multiple grade levels involved. If you get a larger
response than you can accommodate, consider suggesting that the
group break into two, and one of the other parents start a separate
club.

 Consider what types of books you will read

• Some book clubs focus on a particular theme or genre: fantasy books, non-fiction, mysteries, or a particular series.
• Other clubs leave book selection more open, and read a wide variety of realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, poetry, etc.

Decide when to meet

• Many book clubs choose to meet once a month. For less of a time commitment, try meeting every other month. Once your book club gets started, you will soon learn what works for the majority of the members. The book club can meet during a week night, or a week-end afternoon or even a Sunday evening. Given children’s schedules, coordinating a free night is probably the biggest challenge!

Choose a host and book for the first month.

• One option is to start with an organizational meeting. Have different books available about which you are going to book talk, and use the first meeting to get to know each other and to vote on what books you are going to read. If possible, gather multiple copies of two or three titles so that members will have easy access to the first month's choice.

• If you prefer to select a book for the first month, consider a title with some name recognition, excellent writing, and enough action to keep the reader interested in returning. Make sure to consider the reading level of participants, age (attention span), and interests. Going forward, the book is then selected by the Parent/Child who are hosting that month.

Running your club

• The most popular format is for each parent/child pair to rotate hosting the book club meeting. The group can meet in a home, at a public location, or at a place related to the book.
• The host selects the book for that month, provides a snack, finds or creates discussion questions, and prepares a craft or activity relating to the book.
• At your first meeting, the members should plan out who will host for the remainder of the year. This ensures that members can plan ahead selecting their book and keep their calendar open. In a club with 5 parents/children, it allows each one to host twice during the school calendar year.