Book Clubs

Throughout the year we form book clubs for our students. Book Clubs are formed for many different reasons. Sometimes we the title of the book compliments our social studies or science curriculum. Sometimes a small group of children read a book based on a particular interest. Always we set up book clubs to encourage children to read many different genre of books and to engage in meaningful discussions about history, relationships, author’s craft, etc.

This fall we have three book clubs. Eight of the older students are reading = Year of the Tiger. Eight of the middle grade children are reading either, Child of the Silent Night or the Magic Tree House book, Afternoon in the Amazon.

Andy, Evelyn, Savannah, Sam, Zerbie, Bobby, Martin and Emmy were all part of a book club that read Alyson Lloyd’s historical novel, Year of the Tiger. This adventure novel is set in the shadow of the Great Wall of China, thousands of years ago. The two main characters, Ren and Hu, cross paths with an army battalion, as the Han Empire crumbles. Ren is the son of the commander of the city, Hu a humble peasant. Their friendship grows as they plan to win an archery tournament. But things go very wrong.

         Weekly book club meetings gave children the opportunity to discuss vocabulary, figurative language used by the author, the role of women in Ancient China, and how the rigid class structures afforded people little freedom to maneuver beyond a strictly-defined set of expectations.