How To: Create a Great Kids’ Book Club (Activity and Book Suggestions)

I  run two book clubs for my kids and participate in a book club for my last kid.  My kids say that our book club is their very favorite activity in the entire world.  I notice that there seem to be two schools of thought when creating a book club.  One version is a parent/child book club that tends to be a little more structured and literary.  My book clubs are more along the lines of an organized playgroup centered around creating interest in reading.

In today’s post I’ll go over:

• Ideas for Books, Activities, and Snacks
• Easy Kids Book Club Idea
• Over 20 Great Activities from Successful Book Club Meetings built around the book’s theme

Book Club for Kids: Ideas for Books, Activities, and Snack

If you are thinking of creating a book club for your child, here is some advice:

• Defining the group will help alleviate hurt feelings later on.  For example, my two book clubs are centered around a group of kids who are all friends from a particular class.  My preschooler’s book club is defined by all the kids who will attend the same elementary school one day.
• 4-7 seems to be a good size for a book club.  Start smaller if the kids are younger.  You can go bigger if you require an adult in attendance for all book clubs.
• Choose a group of compatible kids AND moms (or adults) even if it’s a kids-only book club.
• The length of the book club is as short as one hour to as long as a sleepover, but 2 hours is a good general timeframe as book clubs are kind of like a small birthday party.
• For my book clubs, the hosting family chooses the book and supplies it for all the members. For other book clubs, the host mom might buy copies of the book for everyone, but each parent pays her back.  If a book club kid already owns the book, it’s one less the host needs to buy.  Sometimes the kid chooses the book, sometimes there are suggestions from the organizer to choose from, and sometimes the parent picks the book — it’s all good!

Easy Kids’ Book Club Ideas

My preschool book club was just one hour long.  The book club met once a month and rotated from house to house.  The hosting family chose a picture book and read it aloud to the group.  After the book reading,  there was an activity and snack.  For this book club, we did NOT buy and distribute books because picture books are quite expensive and the group was pretty large at 7 kids.  The kids were ages 4 and 5 and did very well sitting still for the book reading, and enjoyed the snack and a very simple activity.  Usually, the child was accompanied by his or her mom.  Because our preschool day ended at noon, we held the book clubs usually at 1 or 1:30 for an hour so that it ended in time for an older sibling pick-up.

My middle child’s book club began the summer after Kindergarten.  The idea was to keep a group of friends connected as they went into a new grade with potentially different teachers.  It was modeled after her older sister’s book club which focused on group dynamics over literary discussions.  The group started off with 4 girls and has settled into 5 girls two years later.  I  feel like 1st and 2nd grade is when her girls were learning how to play in groups.  The book clubs are slated for 2 hours, but usually go longer and seem to extend into an informal happy hour for the moms.  We found that two moms on deck seem to work nicely so there is typically a hosting mom and a helping mom who stays (which is necessary when the hot glue gun comes out).  This group is also starting to take the kids on field trips to tie books into fun outings.

Her oldest child’s book club began after 1st grade and is going strong through 4th grade.  The group has fluctuated between 5 to 6 girls as someone is usually out of the country but eventually returns.  Her group is based on the older girls from a combined K/1 class.   As these kids mastered group play by the middle of 1st grade, I noticed that projects that used to be individual could be tweaked into team projects to teach group dynamics of leadership and compromise.  It’s been really rewarding to watch them learn how to work together and it hasn’t always been easy for them.  In this group, moms drop off their kids for 2-3 hour blocks.  Sometimes the book clubs are also sleepovers.

Our Book Club with Activity for Elementary Students

93 in My Family by Erica S. Perl

The activity was to draw your family using a template printed from her website, www.ericaperl.com.  Perfect for Preschool through 2nd grade book club.  A fun rhyming book!  In a separate book club meeting, the book club members met at a bookstore nearby where Erica Perl hosted a book reading for her new book Chicken Butt. The kids were captivated by her presentation which included songs, a chicken hat, and chicken shaped cookies.  The parents were captivated by hearing how her book evolved from one idea into the final evolution of the book.  We ended the book club at a nearby park for snacks and free play.   If she’s coming to your town, don’t miss her!  Her book tours are also on her website.

Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens

The activity was to plant a container garden that each child took home.  Plants included tomato, cucumber, sweet basil, marigold, and parsley.  Perfect for preschool through 2nd grade book club to do in late spring or early summer.

The Story of Ping by Marjorie Flack

I used the picture of Ping on the front cover to cut out larger ducks out of the white tagboard.  The kids decorated their ducks using markers, feathers, and glue sticks.

Mr. Tanen’s Ties by Maryann Cocca Leffler

Using white tagboard, the kids decorated large ties with paint, stampers, and dot-dot paints.

Clocks and More Clocks by Pat Hutchins

The activity was to create your own clock.  You will need a clock kit per child and a handy mom to host.  Perfect for 1st through 3rd graders.

The Greatest Power by Demi

This book coincided with the Chinese New Year so we went with this theme.  The book is the sequel to The Empty Pot.  The book goes over the achievements of the Chinese by answering a question posed by the child emperor what is the greatest power?  We folded origami cups (very simple), fortune tellers (not that hard), and cranes (hard).  The kids took turns trying to pick out candy from a bowl using chopsticks to fill their origami cups.  Technically, origami is more of a Japanese art form but candy is appropriate for Chinese New Year because you are supposed to eat something sweet to get good luck in the year ahead.  Perfect for grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade.

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco

The children each brought a handful of family photographs that they could use to make a photo album scrapbook.  I supplied blank scrapbook pages purchased at a craft store along with glue, scissors, and markers.  We bound each book using a velobinder but stapling the books together is fine too!  The kids wrote captions under each picture.  This was a 1st grade book club.

Wedding Flowers by Cynthia Rylant

We made tissue paper flower bouquets (use tissue paper and cut them into petal shapes and scrunch up at the bottom).  We had teams and each team dressed a girl in a wedding dress made of white crepe paper (more durable than toilet paper).  We decorated cupcakes.  You could also recreate the wedding feast in the book.  1st through 2nd grade book club.

My Haunted House by Angie Sage

A perfect pick for an October book club, especially one near Halloween.  The host mom baked brownies and cut them out in the shape of bats.  Activities were outdoors and included bobbing for apples, chubby bunny (put crackers in your mouth one at a time.  After each cracker, you say chubby bunny.  When you can’t say chubby bunny anymore, you’re out), and relay races.  1st through 3rd grade book club.

The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson

The activity was to make a coin purse using fabric and glue guns.  The mom then set up a “grocery store” with her week’s shopping and displayed the prices of each item.  The kids had $10 to buy food.  The idea was that 2nd graders may not realize that $10 doesn’t buy a lot of food.  Another spin would be to have each child bring $10 from home and then go to the grocery store to buy $10 worth of food to donate to a food bank.  This book club was during the holiday season because the mom wanted to have the kids think about others.

Squirrel’s Birthday and Other Parties by Toon Tellegen

This was a really great book club meeting.  The mom hid invitation cards filled out with instructions throughout the house.  As the kids found the cards, they did the activity.  Here are some of the cards that make up different steps of planning a party.  1) Go to the living room.  Learn the dance:  Blame It On The Boogie.  2) Make Fruit Punch.  Directions:  2 cups fruit punch, 2 cups ginger ale, maraschino cherries, ice.  Mix in a pitcher. Remember to work together!  3) Make a centerpiece for the table.  Work together!  Be careful with the glue gun!  Also, make place cards with your name on them.  You may decorate as you wish.  (She supplied a styrofoam cone plus cuttings from the garden and other decorations).  4) Decorate the cookies.  2 cookies each.  Share frosting.  Don’t eat cookies yet!  (sugar cookies).  5) Enjoy the treats.

My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles

Using large sheets of tagboard, draw your own dragon. Tangerines for a snack.

Sideways Stories of the Wayside School by Louis Sachar

The kids all liked this book but I thought this was a quirky book with stories of very strange children.  I hosted this one.  I suggested that the kids pantomime a character like charades and have the kids guess who it was.  This was vetoed.  Instead, it became a group project in which they created a scene of the class using tagboard, markers, tape, and glue.  They were absolutely quiet for 2 hours working on this project and said it was a blast.  It wasn’t even that messy!  Perfect for grades 2nd through 4th.  This author was so popular that the following book club was Angeline by Louis Sachar.

The Doll People series by Laura Godwin

This series was so popular that we did three book clubs in a row, one book after the other.  For the first club, the hosting mom created a scavenger hunt of clues to find the aunt.  This was a big hit!  For the second book, the hosting mom had the girls create a doll house using tag board cut out in the shape of a doll house.  The girls drew the characters hidden throughout the doll house.  I have to research what the activity was for the 3rd book; her daughter thinks they just played.  Perfect for 2nd through 4th grade book clubs.

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

The activity was to create a nature survival guide by finding edible and poisonous plants in your neighborhood.  I printed out wildlife information from http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Edible_plants/LetsEat_home.html.  Another site is http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants. I also bought a flint & steel combination fire starter from EMS and had the girls try to start a fire like the boy in the story.  This was supervised by an adult and done on pavement.  It was pretty hard to do!  We collected plant samples as well.  3rd through 5th grade book club.

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazee

This was a very simple but wildly popular book club meeting.  The hosting mom created a Jeopardy Game by writing trivia questions based on the book.  She also asked each child to bring in two questions.   2nd through 3rd grade book club.

Tale of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler and Sarah Gibb

This was my turn.  I copied a 5th grade assignment and had the kids create a game together based on the book using foam core board, markers, tape, scissors, and cardboard.  It was a great way to practice group dynamics.  At first, there was arguing over who was in charge.  After about half an hour, there was silence.  When I looked in, all the kids were happily engaged in their part of the project.  This was another big hit that was also very easy.  3rd or 4th grade book club.

Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris

In the story, the princess creates her own perfume.  The activity for this club was making your own perfume using the Perfumery Kit.  The kids loved playing “Mad Scientist.”  2nd through 4th grade book club.

Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins

In this book club, we were fortunate to have the author visit our book club.  She happens to live in our city.  She was absolutely captivating.  She also talked about the evolution of the book.  At first, she thought this book would be a picture book about a boy rickshaw driver.  She also talked about how easy it was for her to get her first book published, but her second book took more than 10 years.  As a child growing up in Bangladesh and India, she compared cultures and talked about how Bangladesh was changing.  The boys were particularly captivated by micro-loans which were changing Bangladesh’s village economy for the better.  She also talked about her next book, Monsoon Summer which is perfect for middle school-age children.  If Mitali Perkins comes to your city, she is a must-see!

We combined with the boys’ book club for the same grade for the first time.  The boys stayed for the author’s presentation, snack, and photo with the author.  The girls stayed for an art project.   They created Alpana designs using a large brown tag board and white poster paint.  You could also create Alpanas using flower petals and ground-colored spices.  I printed out alpana examples from the internet so they could get an idea of what the designs looked like: http://jamiepeeps.blogspot.com/2008/11/alpanas-and-henna.html.  The artwork turned out really well.  2nd through 4th grade book club.

Harry Potter (any of them) by J. K. Rowling

This was from the 4th grade boys’ book club.  They played Quittage by using Tiki Torches and 4 square balls on a beach, but a field would work just as well.  3rd through 5th grade book club.

Holes by Louis Sachar

This was a book club that other moms always talk about as the best book club their child ever attended.  She buried items from books into holes dug in her yard for the kids to dig up.  The combination of a wildly popular book with a wildly popular activity is the reason why everyone always talks about how fun this meeting was!  3rd through 5th grade book club.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney

My friend ran this book club for the 4th grade boys’  book club.  The boys had all read all the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books so she bought the newest one hot off the presses, hired a teacher to teach cartooning, and had the kids create their own comic strips.  It was a big hit! Perfect for 2nd through 4th grade.

Matilda by Roald Dahl

The mom hostess had just returned from a Transatlantic flight and was completely jetlagged.  She had them watch the DVD of Matilda but I think that is actually a great book club.  It’s always music to my ears when my daughter tells me that the book was way better than the movie!  It would be fun to compare what was different about the book versus the movie.

Activities that Can Be Done for Any Book

• Have the group work together or individually and create a game based on the book.  Provide cardboard or foam core board, markers, scissors, tape, and stapler.  I like to introduce group activities to teach kids how to work as a team around 3rd grade.
• Provide sculpey (a kind of clay) and have the kids sculpt a character’s head. It would be good for any age.
• Create bookmarks based on the book.  Provide stiff paper or cardboard, markers & scissors.
• Create a scene from the book using a shoebox, paper, glue, markers, tape, etc.  You can even tell the book club in advance to bring in things from home to create a diorama.  You can do this individually or as a group.  For a group project, you could also create a scene using a big piece of tag board or foam core board.
• My middle child’s book club is not shy about breaking out the hot glue guns… but you will need at least two adults on deck for this.  Using cardboard craft boxes or other containers purchased at a craft store, use the hot glue gun to attach something related to the book in a design.
• Create a trivia game by having each member bring in three questions about the book.  Have everyone take turns drawing a question and have fun answering it.  Remind everyone to read the book IN ADVANCE!
• Act out a scene of the play and then have an adult record the show on a DVD recorder to playback.
• Write a plot for a sequel to the book.  For a twist, do this in pairs or as a group.
• Have everyone name something that would be different in the book if the setting of the book took place 100 years into the future.
• Choose one character in the book.  Each member of the team must decide on what gift to bring to a birthday party for this character.  Consider the character’s personality, likes, and dislikes.  Act out the party with each team member presenting their gift. Or make the gift.
• Write a poem about a character.  Each team member must think of at least one line.  The poem must have at least 6 lines and must rhyme.
• Write a script and act out a new ending for the book.
• Make a 30-second television commercial to try to get people to read the book.  Be sure to include information about the characters, setting, and story that will get people interested in the book.
• If you can get your hands on a game called The Book Club in a Box (try eBay), play the game.  Many of the ideas for book clubs are from this game!
• I received a great tip from the blog, Mother&DaughterBookClub.com for this book by Cindy Hudson, Book by Book:  The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs.

More Book Club for Kids Posts.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio Helps Us Understand Our Differences

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Picture Book: The Boy Who Changes the World

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