ABOUT OUR BOOK CLUB
Y'all, it's no secret that I love the Bookelicious Middle Grade Book Club. If you've never participated, these monthly events feature:
a new title written for middle grade readers, and...
a focus on helping educators nurture the reading identities of the readers they serve.
Structured, in part, as a "build your own book club" workshop, participants leave with book lists and resources to use back at school, but the best part is that the authors and illustrators of the books we read join us in conversation!
Oh, and did I mention these events are free?? Seriously, y'all... how cool is that?
NOVEMBER BOOK CLUB
This month our book club selection was Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness and Tim Miller. To be frank, I added this book to the list of potential book club picks solely because of my love for Patrick's other books. I've been a massive fan of his work for young adult readers for many moons, so when I learned he was writing a book for middle grade readers, I was excited. Once I read the book, I knew it was the perfect pick for our book club, in large part because of our focus on developing practices that nurture reading identity - but more on that later! As Patrick said during our conversation, this is a book about little weirdos, some of whom are carrying burdens much larger than they should be. To be clear, this book is a comedy, but between giggles, readers will find warm and tender characters who, just like them, are figuring out how to navigate a complicated and often unfair world.
That said, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how perfect Tim Miller's illustrations are for creating the universe Zeke and his friends inhabit. During our conversation, Patrick shared that he wanted an illustrator who could create the middle grade version of a Wes Anderson film, with all the comedy delivered with dead-pan awkwardness. Armed with that new information, after our conversation, I flipped back through the book, focusing entirely on Tim's illustrations and gosh... did he ever deliver! I loved Tim's drawings before chatting about them with Patrick Ness, but now I love them even more. Needless to say, we mentioned Tim many times last night and we gave away some of his books, too! I also want to thank him for promoting this event on social media for us, even though he wasn't involved. Tim engaged with every post I shared and was so gracious as I tagged him in a zillion videos, etc.
If you've attended our book club in the past, you know that my Partner in Book Club Crime™️, Aliza Werner, and I often try to make sure our outfits and/or backgrounds are thematically connected to that month's book club pick. These efforts have turned into a (VERY FRIENDLY) competition that I look forward to ALMOST as much as I eagerly anticipate the conversations that take place during these bookish gatherings. I don't know about y'all... but I'm actively seeking out opportunities for joy right now, and planning a book themed wardrobe for these monthly meetings brings me A LOT of joy!
This month, however, I discovered that dressing in theme is tricky when the book is illustrated, because, obviously, you can't create exact replicas of the illustrator's work (hello, copyright!) and any generic attempts to replicate it would only feel... well, generic! So... rather than my typical thematic nods to the book, I decided to create myself a hall monitor sash, like the one Zeke and his pals are given. (Although I am not a monitor lizard, Principal Wombat assures me that will not be a problem). That said, as those who present virtually know, text appears backwards during Zoom calls, so... I thought I was being extra clever by writing the words HALL MONITOR backwards on my sash, thereby ensuring they would appear the right way on camera. This proved awkward, however, when I tried to take a selfie with both my sash and the book. Oh well!
Finally, if you want to read even more about this incredible little book, I wrote a longer, more in depth, review of Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody here.
BOOK CLUB BINS + MICRO-COLLECTIONS
One thing I try to emphasize during our book club meetings is that even, (perhaps especially!), in educational environments that are laser focused on phonics and skills based reading programs, reading identity remains essential. Measurable reader outcomes like volume, vocabulary acquisition, fluency and other measures of proficiency are deeply affected by motivation. Put another way, kids don't develop reading stamina without reading motivation. What's more, reading identity is the fuel that powers that motivation.
We know that kids are far more likely to be motivated to tackle skills-based reading tasks and assessments when they:
see themselves as readers
associate reading with joy
understand reading's relevance outside of school
value reading as a core part of who they are
Conversely, kids are far less likely to be motivated to tackle work that leads to the reading outcomes we adults hope for when they:
don't identify as readers
have already decided that they're not good at reading
associate reading with negative emotions and/or anxiety
don't see reading as relevant or valuable to their lives outside of school
That's why, each month, I try to provide the educators who attend our book club with resources for creating reading communities in their schools that nurture and grow positive reading identities in young people.
Of course, book clubs are one way to accomplish this goal. With that in mind, each month, I share potential "book club bins." These micro-collections all feature that month's book club pick as an anchor text, along with several other titles that are connected by theme, genre, format or some other element that would be easy for kids to be in conversation about. The purpose of these book lists is to provide kids with voice and choice when selecting texts for book club (or literature circle) reading. Note: these suggestions are meant to serve as spring boards for educators to think about titles in their own collections that might make for great book club micro-collections, too! It's my hope that you'll also learn about some new titles to support this work AND I'm always so grateful to attendees who flood the chat with additional book suggestions.
Here are this month's book club bins and themes:
Bin 1 - Book Club Theme: Daniel • BEST friends!
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
The Vice Principal Problem (Blue Stars #1) by Kekla Magoon, Cynthia Leitich Smith & Molly Murakami
We Are Big Time by Hena Khan and Safiya Zerrougu
Medusa by Katherine Marsh
And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
Bin 2 - Book Club Theme: Miel • WISE friends!
Every Story Ever Told by Ami Polonsky
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
Red Bird Danced by Dawn Quigley
Amil and the After by Veera Hiranandani
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
Bin 3 - Book Club Theme: Alicia • BRAVE friends!
On a Wing and a Tear by Cynthia Leitich Smith
The Witching Wind by Natalie Lloyd
Pearl: A Graphic Novel by Sherri L Smith and Christine Norrie
Unicorn Boy by Dave Roman
Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II by Adam Gidwitz
Bin 4 - Book Club Theme: Zeke • GENTLE heroes
Weirdo by Tony Weaver and Cin Wibowo
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
Breaking into Sunlight by John Cochran
A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga
Please enjoy a special discount of 20% off the titles mentioned above (or others of your choice) by visiting Bookelicious and using the code JENNIFERLAGARDE. Note: I do not make any money when you purchase books from Bookelicious, but I am delighted that you get to save some! HOWEVER, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that buying books from Bookelicious is the way we keep these events free while also supporting the authors and illustrators who join us each month, so... I hope you'll think of your book purchases from Bookelicous as supporting a good cause!
RESOURCES & LINKS
Each month, I also create activities, related to that month's book club selection, for participants to download (for free) and use with their students. Here are my creations to go along with Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody.
Connections Puzzle:
I wrote about the process of creating these book related Connections puzzles here - including a planning document that I create to support kids when crafting puzzles of their own. This post also include a Padlet board with links to all the book related Connections puzzles (and their solutions!) that I've made so far. You'll find the one for Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody there, too!
Coloring Sheet:
I also shared the coloring sheet that I created as a companion to Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody As I mention each month, I've been a bit obsessed lately with the reality that both reading and coloring are proven stress relievers. As a result, I've been creating both book related coloring sheets AND monthly reading challenges that include pages for readers of all ages to color. I hope you find these resources useful.
Chatterbox:
I was recently reminded of the great reading identity related resources created by the National Library of New Zealand. One of their awesome creations is a chatter box game that gives kids the chance to talk about reading in authentic ways while playing a game. Now... when I was a kid, we called these magical little paper concoctions fortune tellers, but I think chatterbox is actually more appropriate for this purpose. Inspired by their work, I created a chatterbox specific to Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody as a tool for getting kids talking about this book. As I mentioned last night, I can see myself creating a lot more of these in the future and, because I think kids would love to create them, too, I anticipate creating and sharing a blank template as well, so... stay tuned! In the meantime, you can download the Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody chatterbox here.
Finally, here are my slides from last night's event.
EVENT RECORDINGS
As much as I have shared here, really this is just the tip of the reading joy iceberg! The real value of these events comes from participating, with the next best thing being watching the recording later. However, only those who register in advance get access to the recording, so head on over to bookelicious.com/events/ right now and reserve your spot for one of their upcoming events. While I'm (obviously!) partial to the Middle Grade Bookclub, there are lots of opportunities to join this joyful reading community. I hope to see y'all there!
With that in mind, while Aliza and I are still plotting and scheming our book club picks/guests for 2025, I hope you'll join me and E Train in December when we'll be sharing our favorite books of the year. It's going to be a blast, y'all! As always, registration is free and there will be a recording if you sign up in advance! I hope to see you there!
