A friend stopped by today and told me her daughter would love to read along with us. We live on two different sides of the country, so I suggested she read with us virtually! Join us if you have a third grader who’d like to read, too.

Here is the handout and list:

Welcome to Book Club!
Here are some things you should know:

• In order to attend a meeting, you need to read the book. That’s it!
• Sometimes we’ll read a book about a boy. Sometimes it will be about a girl. If you are a boy, you CAN read about a girl and survive. I promise. Girls, same for you.
• To make Book Club as interesting as possible, it is good, though not required, to jot down things as you read. Here are some ideas:

1. How does this book compare to others you’ve read?

2. Three words to describe this book would be…

3. If I were the main character, I would have…

4. I was surprised/annoyed/happy etc. when _________ happened.

5. I like this book because…

6. I didn’t like this book because…

7. A great moment in this story was…

8. My favorite character is ______ because…

9. An important sentence in this story was… . It’s important because…

10. If I could change a part of the story, it would be __________ because…

11. Any of your own ideas!

You can get yourself a notebook to write notes in. You can write ideas on a scrap of paper. Where you write doesn’t matter.

• Come to the meeting with something to say! The more you say, the more fun the discussion. If you have a copy of the book, you can bring it along, too.
• Come as often as you like.
• Invite your friends!
• Challenge yourself to read a type of book you might not pick up on your own.
• Have fun!

Reading List    

1. Sarah, Plain and Tall – Patiricia MacLachlan
Book level: 3.4 / AR points 1.0

2. The Whipping Boy – Sid Fleishman
Book level: 3.9 / AR points 2.0

3. The Boxcar Children – Gertrude C. Wagner
Book level: 3.9 / AR points 2.0

4. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Book level: 4.7 / AR points 5.0

5. Henry and Ribsy – Beverly Cleary
Book level: 4.6 / AR points 3.0

6. The Midnight Fox – Betsy Byars
Book level: 4.9 / AR points 4.0

7. Ramona the Pest – Beverly Cleary
Book level: 5.1 / AR points 4.0

I’ve written a series of posts about children’s book clubs. The links are below:
Book Clubs for Kids
Staring a Book Club for Kids
Running a Book Club for Kids
Book Clubs for Kids: When Problems Arise
Book Clubs for Kids: What Works
Book Clubs for Kids: Win a MAY B. Book Club Kit!

Last year I started a book club with my sixth and seventh-grade social studies students. We met after school, discussing historical fiction. One class in particular really connected with the books and would have middle-of-class spontaneous debates:
                      Peak’s better!
                      Rebel Hart is!
                      Peak!
                      Rebel Hart!

When I decided to stop teaching, I asked my principal if I could continue with the book clubs. She’s given me the freedom to create my own program. I’ll meet monthly with three different groups, grades three through seven. Bliss!

I heard some rumbling at open house. Several of my former students, my readers, mind you, are spreading the word that only girls go to book clubs. Hmmm. When I run into those squirrels they’ll have to answer for themselves! During open house, my principal invited me up to introduce as part of the faculty, which was a lovely touch. Many parents told me how excited their kids are, boys too, you fifth-grade goofs.

Third grade book club starts today. Best of all, my son’s coming. Like I said, a dream.