Start a Kids Book Club

 
What is a Book Club?

A Book Club is just a place to share your thoughts and comments and questions about a book with friends who’ve read that book, too. The “place” can be a real spot where you all get together, or it can be a website that you or others create just for book lovers like you. Either way, it’s a Fun PlayDate!

What do you need to start a Book Club?

Not much! It’s easy and costs next to nothing.

* An adult sponsor – someone who can help get meeting places, schedules and discussions going. Parents, family members, teachers and many other adults are book lovers, too – just ask!

* A bunch of friends – There is no magic number of people, but having at least 8 ensures lively discussion even if some people can’t make a particular meeting. Having 12 or so friends is about the maximum, since you just can’t hear from everybody if there are too many voices.

Will you have girls and boys, boys only, girls only, girls and moms? Lots of Book Clubs limit their membership so their interests are more likely to mesh, yet some Book Clubs mix everybody together for the biggest range of thoughts and opinions.

* A comfy spot – Your local library, a classroom at your school, a kid’s club, or one of your homes can all be terrific choices. Maybe you’d like to rotate hosting the meetings at each of your friend’s homes.

* A convenient time – It’s going to be tough to fit 2-3 hours into your schedules, but it’s only once a month! Give everybody a chance to ask their parents, too, since transportation will be necessary.

* A Good Book – For your Club’s first book, you may want to pick one of your all-time favorites or ask your teacher for a recommendation.

Running a Book Club

The two most critical parts of any Book Club Meeting are the great discussions and the great snacks. You need a Meeting Minder and a Snack Minder!

The Meeting Minder is just someone you pick for this month, and then someone else you pick for next month. The Meeting Minder could be your adult sponsor if you prefer.

To start your Book Club’s first meeting, let your adult sponsor tell everybody about your Club, its theme (if there is one) and its ground rules. You do need some ground rules, like how you’re going to choose books, where and when you’ll meet, and how you’re going to discuss the books. Will each member bring a couple of questions along to the discussion, will you get your questions from on-line Book Club or library resources, or will you have the Meeting Minder make up the discussion questions for that month? There are no bad questions!! It’s YOUR Book Club, so do whatever feels right to you.

When you’re in the swing of things, your adult sponsor can skedaddle, and your Meeting Minder will get the fun started with great discussions about great books! Great discussions are fun, polite, supportive and grounded in the book you’re discussing. Getting off topic is a problem for some people, so the Meeting Master can say, gently, “could you give an example of what you’re talking about from this book?” to get things back on track. The Meeting Minder can say, “Hey, we’ve got lots of questions so let’s move on.” And so on…. Everybody will take a turn at being the Meeting Minder, so you’ll have lots of fun with different leadership styles, too.

Don’t forget the Snack Minder – that wonderful friend who’s going to round up tasty treats and drinks, napkins and plates (if needed) for this month’s meeting. Keep it simple with recipes from FunPlayDates like Hummus Dip and Chips, or Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies and Orange Mandarin Madness.

Choosing your Books

Some Book Clubs work with a theme, like “Overcoming Adversity” or “Sports Stars” or “Pioneers.” You and your friends may already have a list of books in these categories from which you’d like to choose. Having a theme can make it easier for many different people to agree on one book.

You can choose from acclaimed books like Newberry Medal or Caldecott Winners which you can find on the American Library Association website. Because they’ve won awards, you can be certain that these are good books.

You can just have everybody nominate one book which they would like the Book Club to read. It would be really helpful if the person nominating each book could talk a few moments about the book and why they think it would be a good choice.

Some on-line Book Clubs have great reviews to help guide your choices. The Spaghetti Book Club has book reviews posted by kids like you. Kids Reads and Book Nuts Reading clubs have lots of adult reviews posted by teachers, librarians and other book lovers.

However you choose them, take your list of nominated books, and have a vote to select your next book. Some Book Clubs choose their books for the entire year, and some Book Clubs like to choose them one at a time.

Happy Reading!