Bookworm Circle is the 3rd grade and up book club I designed. We meet monthly to eat snacks, talk about the book of the month, play games, and do a craft. It’s a book club that is focused on activity rather than on discussion. Turns out, when the kids feel like the attention isn’t solely on answering questions, they’re more likely to voice their opinions. Woohoo!
This book club is also an awesome way to introduce kids to books they may not pick up on their own (books in verse, historical fiction, non-fiction picture books, graphic novels, comedic stories, etc.). Also, I welcome the kids whether they read the whole book or not. Because of this, they are more likely to show up each month, even if they didn’t make reading the book a priority or if they didn’t like the book. But, I’ve noticed that the kids who don’t read the book one month will read it the next month. They want to enter in on the discussion with the other kids!
Book Club Membership Cards
The membership cards have been vital to keeping my book club going. Kids love belonging to something and being able to carry around important cards like their parents do. Also, for every three meetings they attend, I give them a free book. It’s a great way to keep track of their attendance and encourage them to keep coming back!
Book Kits
The thing that keeps my book club growing is the book kits. These themed kits are available after every meeting. (Kids at the meeting get first dibs and sometimes leave only one or two kits for potential new member). The book kits contain: a membership card (for new members), the book to check-out and small trinkets or snacks related to the book theme. For example, a fishing book kit might have a brown paper bag that says “Today’s Catch” on it with fish-shaped crackers and fish-shaped fruit snacks in it. Easy as that, but the kids love it!
For more information on specific sessions I’ve done, check out the books drop-down menu under BOOK CLUB above. Also, you can download the membership cards, poster, TV slide, and sign-up sheet under START-UP AND MATERIALS.