October is National Book Month and is the perfect excuse to start a kids’ book club!
Motivating kids to read outside of school can be a challenge. That’s where book clubs come in. They offer the perfect blend of socializing with friends while encouraging a love of reading. If you or your child are thinking about starting a book club, read on for our tips below.
Looking for more book fun? Check out Tying Favorite Books to Fun Family Outings in Des Moines and Read the Book then Watch the Movie. And, to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox – sign up for our Weekend Fun Guide.
Here’s your kids’ book club planning guide:
1. Decide who to invite
Whether its friends from school, soccer, or a few of the neighbors, grab a gang that’s roughly the same age and reading level as your child. Book clubs work best with eight or less participants. Some examples:
- Age-based book club – i.e., third graders
- Age and gender-based book club – e., 2nd-grade boys
- Multi-age book club – i.e., 10-12-year-olds
- Interest-based book club – i.e., kids on the soccer team
- Family book club – i.e., family members, don’t leave out grandma and grandpa
- Parent-child book club (or adult-child) – i.e., mom and daughter
2. Schedule your book club
It’s important to decide how frequently you want to meet and when you can meet. Don’t stress out if you can’t accommodate everyone’s schedule. Try to find a day of the week and time that works for most participants. You may want to meet anywhere from 15-60 minutes, depending on the ages of the kids and the activities you do or don’t do afterward. Some examples:
- Meet weekly or bi-weekly – Decide how much you’ll read and meet on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to discuss.
- Meet monthly – Read an entire book and then meet for the book club.
- Other – Find a schedule that works for your book club. If you’re doing a family book club and reading aloud, maybe you’ll have a short meeting every day.
3. Find a location
You’ll need to decide where you’ll host the book club meeting. At your home? Virtually? Other options include a park, alternating participant’s homes, or a local community center.
4. Select a Book
You knew we had to get to the actual book at some point, right? Choosing books for book club is a VERY crucial task. Keep in mind that it’s important for all the participants to have a say in the book selection. This gives kids ownership and motivation. Here’s a few ideas for choosing books:
- Ask participants to provide book suggestions and create a list of books that they can vote on.
- The book club members take turns picking the book.
- Round up a few book ideas and pick out of a hat to see what order the books get read.
A few other considerations when choosing a book club book:
- What is your goal?
- Who is the reader?
- What is their reading level?
- Is it interesting?
- Is it too popular?
- Is it discussion-worthy?
- Is it available?
5. Discuss the Book
The only rules for the book club discussion are everyone gets a turn to speak and use good manners. Remind the kids that it’s okay to disagree but they need to wait for their turn and not interrupt. If this becomes difficult, the host or the host’s parent/guardian can call on kids who are raising hands to speak. Here are some examples of good discussion questions that kids can ask:
- How would you rate the book on a scale of 1 to 10?
- What was your favorite part?
- What didn’t you like about the book?
- Would you change anything about the story?
- Do you have any questions about the book?
- What does the book make you wonder?
- What character did you like best and why?
- Would you recommend this book?
- Did this book change the way you think?
6. Find an Extension Activity
Another way to continue the learning is to do an extension activity after discussing the book. A few ideas:
- Draw: Have everyone draw their favorite character or scene.
- Arts & Crafts Activity: Paricipants can make a craft that relates to the book.
- Bookmarks with Quotes: Make bookmarks with favorite quotes from the book.
- Grab Bag: Fill a bag with objects from the story. Have everyone pull out an object and say when it was used in the book and what character used it.
- Whose Line Is It?: Write down quotes from the book. Ask kids to guess who said each one.
- Watch the Movie: If the book is also a movie, watch it as a group. Then talk about which was better – the book or the movie.
- Take a Field Trip: Instead of your usual book club meeting location, visit a location that relates to the book.
- Skype/Zoom with the Author: Many authors do virtual visits with fans. Kids LOVE to meet the authors; it’s something they won’t forget.
- Dress Up: Dress like your favorite character.
- Act Out: Plan a skit to act out for each other.
Optional Book Club Ideas:
If you’re not up for organizing yet another thing, but still want to encourage your child to read more, local public libraries and bookstores host all kinds of kids’ book clubs.
