I have come across several kinds of book clubs:
- Those that have both men and women meeting on a regular basis to discuss books
- Some that meet in a book store
- Those that are led by a librarian from a school or a public library
- Still others that focus on a particular genre (Mystery book clubs or Philosophy book clubs, for instance) or a particular set of people (book clubs for mothers)
- Those that are virtually led by a celebrity (Oprah’s book club)
- Parent-child book clubs
In this post, I’d like to focus the spotlight on the last one in the list above.
In a parent-child book club, usually, the children are expected to choose a book for the month and pitch it to their peers and the parents present. Each month, both the parent and child read the book(s) selected for that month. When the meeting is held, the lead asks open-ended questions about the subject of the book and both parents and children gathered share their opinions with each other.
In my experience, a parent-child book club is a beautiful concept, and the best use of the time (an hour a week or month, or whatever the frequency may be) in the case of both the parent and the child involved.
Here are some positive aspects of such a book club, as I see them:
- If you’re the parent, you get to meet other like-minded parents who are invested in their children’s growth as a reader. Chances are you find that you share other common interests with them.
- If you’re the child in the equation, you get to meet other children who like reading and are not shy about making that fact public knowledge.
- You show your children by your actions that reading is an admirable quality.
- Affords less time for the child to waste on T.V and video games.
- Motivates the child to read a book with careful attention for comprehension.
- Teaches children to be open-minded to others’ opinions and responses.
- The children get a kick out of telling the parent, for a change, what to read. It is a wonderful way to boost their self-esteem by letting them know that you value their judgment.
- If you’re anything like me, you have one or two genres that you naturally gravitate towards, when you pick up a book to read. When you belong to a book club, you are at times forced to read some other genre – one that you may have never even thought to try – and you may surprise yourself by actually liking it.
- Your child will get to taste a lot of genres before he/she learns what she prefers and doesn’t like to read.
- It’s a solid way to tell your children that you care about them and their interests. As a building block to the parent-child relationship, it goes a long way.
- It’s a great means to instill tolerance in children, by exposing them to history and other cultures around the world.
- Children learn to express themselves coherently in public.
- We tend to forget that children have a public and a private persona just like adults. As a parent, we’re usually exposed to the private side of our children. Book clubs offer a great opportunity to parents to get a glimpse into how children carry themselves in public.
- It gives great confidence to children to be able to express their opinions and have adults pay undivided attention to them.
- Whoever said “out of the mouths of babes” was not kidding. You may be surprised at the depth of understanding for a subject that a child can pack into his/her answer. They have such fresh and unadulterated perspectives that you may end up learning more from them than the other way around!
- Nothing can beat this last point: as a parent, can there be a greater pleasure than to watch your child express an opinion that is diametrically opposite to that of the whole group gathered around her, and be able to hold her ground and justify her stance?
And these are only some of the plus points of a book club that involves a child; I could go on, but will stop here for now.
Note: If you’re a reader, writer, editor, literary agent or a good Samaritan at heart, you may want to visit: Do the Write Thing for Nashville*.
This site is auctioning off signed copies of books, critiques and more from authors, literary agents, editors and other professionals from the publishing industry, in an effort to raise money for the victims of floods (that resulted from the record amount of rainfall on May 1st and 2nd of 2010) in Nashville, Tennessee.
* Thanks, Rachel, for forwarding this link to me!
Great post Hema!! I deeply regret the fact that I did not expose my kids to any book clubs early on….due mainly to lack of time to spare when it really mattered. And now it is too late to convince them (I have a teenager already, that too a boy..sigh!!!) to go to one, especially with mom.
We are at a place now where getting staright A’s or being a bookworm is considered nerdy/geeky…and book clubs have a way of helping kids get out of this misconception. Kids always go the extra mile to “fit in” and self-esteem boosters like being part of a book club, helps them evaluate the situation before they go out of their comfort zone to fit it.
The point you brought up on “public and private persona” is so accurate..I always wonder how my children behave, be it with friends or with teachers at school or any other public setup, and having to witness it first hand is invaluable.
How cool! I love the idea of a parent-child book club. Not only is it is great for the parent to get their child reading but it’s great for the child to belong to a group that encourages reading and thinking.
Jai
Thanks, PB. Like you mentioned, I’m game to try anything that’ll let them not think that being smart is somehow bad and so it has to be masked.
Jai, I belong to a parent-child book club myself and it delights me no end to see seven to eleven year old children discuss books with stars in their eyes :).
Hmm, I think it’s a bit too late for my mum to take me to a book club but if one day I become a mother, I would definitely want to do this :)
I learned to love books by watching my mother read in bed every night when I was a kid so I can imagine how helpful a child-parent book club can be…
When my son is a little older I’ll be on the lookout for a child-parent book club too. I think they’re a fantastic idea for all the reasons you already mentioned!
That’s funny, Lua! But, from what you described, looks like your mom and you had a mother-daughter book club going between the two of you… :)
Rachel, then get ready to read and discuss some books about bodily functions, among other things, I guess… :)
I love the list you came up with! Very cool! I haven’t been in a book club with my kids, but we have always shared and discussed books, which also has lots of benefits. When they were younger and I could volunteer in their classrooms (as room mom, literature circle leader, or whatever), I enjoyed seeing them at school. I think parent-child book clubs are a fabulous idea.
Good blog Hema. I don’t know of a parent-child club that I could take my kids to. So maybe I have to start one myself. But it does seem worthwhile and loads of fun.
Dawn, absolutely — discussing books at home with your kids is a lot of fun and beneficial for everyone! I have read a few times in classrooms too and found it very enjoyable :).
Thanks, SK. That is the way to go — can’t wait to hear how it goes when you start a book club. Keep me posted! :)
A parent/child book club is a wonderful idea. I loved when my son and I read the Harry Potter books together. My mom and my sister had already read them and then us four would have such wonderful conversations about the book together. (except the time my mom let it slip a character died – and named that character!!) :)
We did the same thing with The Lightning Thief.
I do like the idea of the children picking the book and discussing it too. Funny cartoon!
This is a fab post. i was slightly sidetracked by your introduction. It turns out that were I to belong to a book club I would be quite promiscuous! ;-) Except for the one led by a celeb, I like all the others. Your further expose on the parent-child one touched me deeply. One of the reasons why my children are such good readers is that my wife and I encouraged them to pick up a book since an early age.
Thanks for such a beautiful post.
Greetings from London.
Thanks, Kelly! The books we like become so much more likeable when we discuss and share them with others, don’t they?
Ha…ha…, Cuban! I hadn’t even thought about how the introduction could be misleading :). Thank you for your kind words. Children do learn more from our actions than words, definitely!
Hema–Great post! When I was a teacher I tried to do a book share every Friday. The kids got up and told about the book they were reading for pleasure. The rest of the class was allowed to ask questions. I actually had to put a time limit on each student because they could have gone one the entire day.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and offering words of support to me yesterday. It’s a struggle right now, but I’m trying…
Thanks, Sharon! And what a great idea — taking some time out of each week to get your students to share what they’re reading. I’m sure that motivated them no end to look for funny or meaningful books! And you’re welcome about my comment in your blog. That’s what we bloggers do — support each other :).
Great Post Hema.
Such a book club does open several possibilities ! I’ll probably do something along these lines in the fall or later this year.
And the link to the book auction is good. Thanks for that.
Best,
Suma.
Thanks, Suma! I’m sure you will have a great time being part of a book club. Hope you found something good to bid for, at the auction!