The Kids Book Club Book: Reading
Ideas, Recipes, Activities, and Smart
Tips for Organizing Terrific Kids
Book Clubs by Vicki Levy Krupp
More Books, Please!
The first complete guide-for use by adults and children-to creating fun and
educational book clubs for kids. As authors of The Book Club Cookbook,
the classic guide to integrating great food and food-related discussion into
book club gatherings, Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp hear a common
refrain from parents, librarians, teachers, community leaders and kids
themselves: How about writing a book for kids book clubs? Indeed, in
recent years youth organizations, parents, libraries, schools, and our local,
state, and federal governments have launched thousands of book clubs for
children as a way to counter falling literacy rates and foster a love of
reading. Based on surveys representing five hundred youth book clubs
across the country and interviews with parents, kids, educators, and

librarians, The Kids Book Club Book features: _- the top fifty favorite
book club reads for children ages eight to eighteen; _- ideas and advice
on forming great kids book clubs-and tips for kids who want to start their
own book clubs; _- recipes, activities, and insights from such bestselling
childrens book authors as Christopher Paolini, Lois Lowry, Jerry Spinelli,
Nancy Farmer, Christopher Paul Curtis, Andrew Clements, Laurie Halse
Anderson, Norton Juster, and many others. From recipes for the Dump
Punch and egg salad sandwiches included in Kate DiCamillos Because of
Winn-Dixie to instructionson how to make soap carvings like the ones left
in the knot-hole of a tree in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird, this book
provides a bounty of ideas for making every kids book club a success.
Personal Review: The Kids Book Club Book: Reading Ideas,
Recipes, Activities, and Smart Tips for Organizing Terrific Kids
Book Clubs by Vicki Levy Krupp
"The Kid's Book Club Book" is a fantastic resource that includes reading
ideas, recipes, activities, and tips for organizing book clubs for children. It
was written by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, who also coauthored
"The Book Club Cookbook". If you've thought about starting a book club,
but you feel it's too much work or you don't have the time to plan activities,
think again. This guide contains all that you need to get started, except the
actual books!
The book is organized into two parts. Part One is all about logistics. The
authors surveyed 500 book club facilitators from all over the country to
gather input. Comments from these facilitators are sprinkled liberally
throughout the book, and complement the text nicely. The authors first
discuss different types of groups. You might want a coed group, or one
devoted to boys or girls only. You might want to consider an
intergenerational group, with parents as well as kids participating. Perhaps
the group will be for a certain grade level only, or for a specific age range.
Pros and cons of various types of groups are well covered. Also in chapter
one, you will find information on where to meet, how to recruit members,
when to schedule meetings (what time of day, and how often to meet), and
how to obtain funding. Chapter two is all about choosing books for your
group. Some clubs have members vote on selections, while others have
assigned books which are hand picked by the adult moderators. Chapter
three contains very helpful advice on how to draw kids into conversation
and encourage every member to voice their opinions. Finally, Part One
wraps up with creative ideas on how to energize your club. Some clubs
take field trips, or make foods that tie in with the book or it's setting. There
are suggestions that go along with some of the books featured in Part Two.
Part Two is an absolute treasure trove, as it lists the top 50 titles most
recommended by book clubs. These are categorized by approximate
grade level, though some books may be useful for more than one age
bracket.

Two terrific selections for grades 1-5 are Eleanor Estes' classic, "100
Dresses", and Norton Juster's, "The Phantom Tollbooth". Each book may
be accompanied by input from the author, crafts, recipes, and more. For
"100 Dresses", there is biographical information on the author, a recipe for
frosted sugar cookies that may be "dressed", a dressy stick people craft,
design a dress assignment, and a suggestion to collect clothing for needy
families.
For grades 4-7, recommendations include Carl Hiaason's "Hoot" and Blue
Balliett's "Chasing Vermeer". Chasing Vermeer's section includes an
author scoop, author reading recommendations, a yummy M & M brownie
recipe, suggestions for pentominoe play, an art exploration activity, and
discussion topics.
The young teen section for grades 6-8 has many challenging books,
including "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card and "The Giver" by Lois
Lowry. For "Ender's Game", Orson Scott Card discusses his book, there is
a slightly peculiar recipe for peanutbutter and jelly, a suggested
contemplative activity from the author, laser tag, freeze tag, a scavenger
hunt, and more.
The selections for older teens, in grades 9-12, are also outstanding.
Examples here are, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" by
Mark Haddon, and To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.
I think the authors did a terrific job of selecting books. Titles for every
grade level include particular favorites of myself or my children, and the
mix of old books and new books, "boy" books and "girl" books is very well
balanced.
Highly recommended!
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