Tween Book Club

Over the summer, I'm hosting a Tween Book Club.  It's a BYOB (bring your own book) club, where kids are encouraged to bring the books they're reading for their schools' required summer reading for discussion.  We meet once a month in the evening for book talk, a craft and ice cream sandwiches.

I start the book club by discussing a juvenile novel or YA novel I've read recently that I enjoyed.  I typically read my favorite passage from the book and explain why I liked that passage, as well as why I recommend the book to others.

Because I have no way of knowing who's reading what ahead of time, I've prepared a list of generic discussion topics for the tweens and I to discuss.  I'm happy to share my questions with you, as I had a lot of trouble finding good discussion topics for a BYOB tween book club online.

FICTION

• Did you think it’s believable?
• Where does the book take place?  Would you like to visit?
• Which character would you like to be?  Why?
• Which character would you like to be friends with?
• Which character would you not want to go to school with you?
• Does the main character change in the book?  How?
• What’s your favorite scene so far?
• If you could change one scene in the book, what would you change?
• Did you like the ending?
• What happens to the main character that you wish would happen to you?
• What happens to the main character that you wish would NOT happen to you?
• Which character, if any, would you most like to date? 

NONFICTION

• Did the book make you want to read more about the subject?
• What was the most interesting fact you learned?
• Does the author draw any conclusions?  Do you agree with the author?
• Did the author use a lot of references?

BOTH

• Did you like the book?  What did/didn’t you like?
• Would you recommend the book to everyone here?
• If you could talk to the author, what would you want to ask them?
• Would the book make a good movie?

 These are twenty general discussion questions.  I don't use every one at a single meeting, they're just used to spark discussion if conversation starts dying down.  The favorite book at my last club was Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Since everyone had read it at some point, there was a lot to discuss and it completely took over the half hour-long discussion!  Girls wanted to be Katniss, the lone boy wanted to be Gale... and everyone giggled with approval at the question, "Which character would you like to date?"  If you're curious, boy wanted to date Katniss, all girls are Peeta fans. I got to work a few readalikes into the discussion as well:  Divergent, The Selection, Throne of Glass, etc.

The craft at the June meeting was Zombie Marshmallow Lollipops, to go along with our Groundbreaking Reads Teen Summer Reading theme.  I got this idea from The Decorated Cookie.  Please visit this site, it's very good for edible craft ideas!

One word of caution... try to ask the kids to use a gentle touch with the food markers.  One girl dyed her teeth bright red and green, and quite frankly, looked disgusting. 

Summer Reading Programs!

Hello, everyone!

Yes, it's been over a month since my last update!  To be completely fair to myself, I've been busy with between 1-4 programs a week, as well as signing up well over a hundred kids for the Summer Reading Programs, and helping them maintain their reading logs, then collapsing in a puddle of fatigue when I got home.  Today is a lone day when I'm fully conscious!  So now, on with the update!

Since my last update, I was able to go to a local elementary school to promote our summer reading programs, both those coordinating with the CLP children's theme "Dig Into Reading" and the CLP teen theme "Groundbreaking Reads."  Honestly, the teen theme was meant to be "Beneath the Surface", but everyone found it completely lame next to the zombie theme.  Seriously, librarians, zombies=teen glee!  The adult program, FYI, is "Drive Away With a Good Book," so not even the adults wanted to claim "Beneath the Surface."

Anyway, tangent over.  Back to the school visit.  I started off with the chant "Hermie the Worm", which is well-known, but my version was taught to be by Judy Freeman at her Winners Workshop about 6 or 7 years ago.  I just made myself feel really old!  I'll type it up down at the bottom of the page if you're interested.  It perked the kids up for my 10 minute long spiel about where their local libraries are, what the summer reading programs are all about and what kind of performers we're having this year.  MAGIC!  PLAYS!  SCIENCE!  STORIES!  To cap off my presentation, I mentioned the GRAND PRIZE for participating:  the chance to enter a raffle to win a Kindle Fire HD!  That woke everyone up, believe you me!  I finished off with a book talk, featuring My Life as a Cartoonist by Janet Tashjian, Like Bug Juice on a Burger by Julie Sternberg, Raising the Bar by Gabrielle Douglass and a dramatic reading of The Watermelon Seed, which I mentioned in my previous post.  I'm proud to say that 90% of the kids cracked up at the right bits.

Most of the kids who go to that particular school visit a library branch other than the one where I'm stationed, but I've still received visits from three students who all asked me, "Hey... did you go to my school?" I've spoken since with my fellow children's librarian, who is in charge of outreach in the middle and northern parts of the county.  Her school visits alone have bolstered our county's Summer Reading Program registrations by over 100 kids this year! We have already surpassed our previous year's total participants by 200 children with 4 more full weeks to go!  My point:  visiting local schools is essential to enhancing the library's use during the summer months.  It also creates a great relationship between you and the kids in the community, the three students that I mentioned all sat and chatted with me about books and summer for at least 5 minutes.

I haven't mentioned this before, but I'll mention it now.  Despite my strenuous objections, the children's librarians have decided to tell the kids in the county that if they read over 7000 books by the end of the programs, the librarians will have to eat a bug.  Not any bug.  A flavored mealworm.  Have you ever seen a mealworm?  Do an image search online.  Yeah, that thing.  I have to eat it.  If the kids read 7000 books.  And I can tell you, they've already read over 7800 books.

I DON'T WANT TO EAT IT!!!! NOOOOO!

I've made this sign for my desk:

Judging from the mocking laughter I've endured in the past couple of days from kids and parents, it's a hit.

The Teen Summer Reading Program has been just as successful.  We have surpassed last year's total amount of participants, and the teens have read over 140,000 pages.  Consider my mind sufficiently boggled.

Lastly, I'd like to shout out to all the brilliant performers that my library has hosted so far this year.  They're amazing and I've linked them all to their homepages.  Please keep them in mind for future events at schools, birthday parties, church groups, libraries and beyond!

• Piccirillo Sciencetelling:  Andrew tells stories using SCIENCE!  Always amazing.
• Gerald Fierst, storyteller:  Interactive storytelling, the kids really enjoyed this one.
• Hampstead Stage:  Everyone loved their theatrical adaptation of The Secret Garden!

And now, the words to Hermie the Worm!

I was sitting on my fence, chewing my bubble gum (smack, smack smack smack)
Playing with my yoyo (doo-wop, doo-wop)
When along came Hermie the Worm!
And he was this big (hold hands a little bit apart)
I said, "Hermie, what happened?!"
He said, "I ate my breakfast!"
"Ooooooh" and away he went.

Repeat the verse, but make these changes:
2nd verse:  He was this big (hold hands further apart)... "He said, I ate my lunch"
3rd verse:  He was this big (hold hands even further apart)... "He said, I ate my dinner"
4th verse:  He was this big (hold fingers a couple of inches apart)... "He said, I BURPED!"

It's a no-brainer, if you ever use burp, fart or poo in a sentence, kids will giggle.  Every... time.  So does my husband, for that matter!

Miss Vicki out.