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 create meaningful connections between these books and 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??
AUGUST MEETING
This month, our book club read Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller, and I am not going to lie, y'all... I was nervous in the lead up to this month's event. While I'm always star struck by the authors and illustrators who join us each month, I was particularly nervous about meeting Chanel Miller. At first, I thought my anxiety was the result of Chanel's notoriety. I mean, she's pretty famous!
But then... after the event, when (my Book Club Partner In Crime™️) Aliza Werner and I were debriefing, she mentioned how powerful it was to see Chanel effectively telling all her past trauma to take a hike. And that's when it hit me. The stakes for this Book Club felt a bit higher than usual, because both Aliza and I wanted to create an event that celebrated this powerful woman and helped her shine even brighter.
I hope we were successful.
One thing I know for certain is that we had fun, y'all! If you've attended our book club in the past, you know that Aliza 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 look forward to chatting about great books each month! That said, I was feeling pretty proud of my cute sock earrings until Aliza showed up in a pair of sock earrings, too, that SHE KNITTED HERSELF! What's more, her hand crafted dangly earbobs were also created to look just like Alan's pink knitted socks from the book Her dog Poet also made a Magnolia Wu themed appearance, so... needless to say, she hit it out of the park this month. I can't wait to see what we come up with for next month's discussion of Red Bird Danced by Dawn Quigley. 🐦🔥🐦🔥
RESOURCES & LINKS
Inspired by Breathing New Life Into Book Clubs by Sonja Cherry-Paul and Dana Johansen, each month we 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 those who attend our events who suggest even more great books during our book club meetings!
Here are this month's book club bins and themes:
Bin 1: Identity: It’s More Than Skin Deep
The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler
Not Nothing by Gayle Forman
Pearl by Sherri L. Smith
Ultraviolet by Aida Salazar
The Door Is Open: Stories of Celebration and Community by 11 Desi Voices [Edited] by Veera Hiranandani
And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps
Bin 2: First Generation Spotlight
The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi
Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back by Ruth Chan
The Circuit by Francisco Jiménez and Celia Jacobs
Lily Xiao Speaks Out by Nicole Chen
Bin 3: Substantial Settings
Benji Zeb Is A Ravenous Werewolf by Deke Moulton
The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson
Every Story Ever Told by Amy Polonsky
Rising from The Ashes by Paula Yoo
Fowl Play by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb
Bin 4: Perfect Just The Way You Are
Unicorn Boy (Unicorn Boy #1) by Dave Roman
A Strange Thing Happened At Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol
Weirdo by Tony Weaver and Cin Wibowo
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 Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All.
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 Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All. there, too!
Coloring Sheet:
I also shared the coloring sheet that I created as a companion to Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All. 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.
Reader Activity:
During this month's event, participants completed a brief activity in which we used socks as a way to share things about ourselves. Pretending that they'd lost a sock in Magnolia's laundromat, I asked participants to tell us what would be on their sock. In short, how would Magnolia and Iris know the sock was theirs? The answers were delightful! As I mentioned at the time, I love the way socks can serve as a metaphor for the bits of our identities that are important to us, but that we don't (always) want other people to see. Think about those cute socks you have that may also contain a grown up word or a pattern that makes you feel a bit like a badass. These ideas served as the inspiration for this month's reader activity which centers socks + identity. You can download this activity here. I hope you find it useful!
My Review of Magnolia Wu:
And if you haven't read Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All yet, maybe my review will help further convince you! I love this sweet little book so much and I'm betting your readers will, too!
Finally, here are my slides from this month'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!
We're busy planning Book Club events for the fall and I look forward to announcing those soon! In the meantime, we're super excited about discussing Red Bird Danced by Dawn Quigley. in September! Reserve your spot today!
