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??
OCTOBER BOOK CLUB
This month our book club selection was The Witching Wind by Natalie Lloyd. Frankly, I chose this book because I love Natalie Lloyd's books! Plus, I've been absolutely smitten by the cover of The Witching Wind since the first time I saw it. Not only does it sparkle in vibrant shades of pink (and orange!), but it also features one of the story's main characters, Grayson Patch, WITH her walker! Y'all, maybe it's a gap in my own reading life, but I'm not aware of other books for middle grader readers whose covers features this type of representation... and I am so excited about the prospect of kids who are walker users (and those who are not!) seeing Grayson on this beautiful cover. In short: I was absolutely delighted when Natalie said yes to being a part of our little book club.
I also wrote a longer, more in depth review of The Witching Wind here.
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 look forward to chatting about great books each month! This month, both Aliza and I brought the pink in celebration of Natalie and the cover of her gorgeous book! As the screenshots Aliza grabbed during the event clearly show, a blast was had by all. The entire event was so joyful, it really is amazing what a little pink can do! Anyway, I was also able to find some gnome earrings (in reference to granny's missing gnome). It's tough to see, but the little gnome hats have pink flowers on them, too. But my favorite part of my book club gear for the night was the Club Yeehaw t-shirt that I had made in the hopes that Natalie would make me a member of the coolest group out outcasts ever. (She did, by the way, so mission accomplished!)
Truly, our book club is a blast. If you've never joined us... what are you waiting for?
That said, if you've read The Witching Wind, you know that music is a big part of Roxie Darling's life. With that in mind, and with a specific scene from the book as inspiration, we created a playlist full of songs that participants felt captured the spirit of The Witching Wind! I love this activity so much, and have done it in the past with learners of all ages. I am grateful to Natalie for writing a book that reminded me of it. Here's our Witching Wind, inspired playlist!
BOOK CLUB BINS + MICRO-COLLECTIONS
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 - Club Yeehaw! Books centering kids who feel “othered”
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness and Tim Miller
Free Period by Ali Terese
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol
Benji Zeb Is a Ravenous Werewolf by Deke Moulton
Bin 2 - A Book By Its Cover: Books centering the disability experience
Sail Me Away Home by Ann Clare Lezotte
Cesaria Feels the Beat by Denise Rosario Adusei and Priscila Soares
Red Bird Danced by Dawn Quigley
Gut Reaction by Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt
Monster Hands by Karen Kane and Dion Mbd
Bin 3 - Groovy Grandparents: Books featuring intergenerational relationships.
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
Winnie Nash Is Not Your Sunshine by Nicole Melleby
The Vice Principal Problem by Kekla Magoon and Molly Murakami
The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi
Bin 4 - Lost & Found: Books featuring the search for something/someone who has gone missing.
The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
Max in the House of Spies A Tale of World War II by Adam Gidwitz:
The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson
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 The Witching Wind.
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 The Witching Wind, there, too!
Coloring Sheet:
I also shared the coloring sheet that I created as a companion to The Witching Wind 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.
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, just look at what we've got planned for the month's ahead! Reserve your spot today!
