Thursday, September 5, 2013

Children's Book Discussion Clubs

Calling all readers!  The Lake Forest Children’s Library has 2 book discussion groups for kids who like to read and talk about it, and  find out what others have to say.  Have you read Wonder, the New York Times best-selling story of Auggie, who faces middle school without a normal face, but plenty of humor and courage?  We’ll be discussing that book in the first meeting of our Family Book Group on September 18, with more NYT best-sellers and entries from popular series in the following months.

In addition to the Family Book Club for grades 4, 5, & 6, we offer a Junior Readers Book Club  for children in grades 2 & amp;3. Parents are highly encouraged to read the book (supplied by the library) and should attend with their child to observe the lively and fun, literary focused discussions.  Led by our children’s fiction librarian, Kate Parker, our book clubs aim to introduce children to some of the finest children’s authors.  Perhaps they’ll discover new authors and genres hitherto untried, such as adventure, realistic fiction, fantasy or mystery.  Munch on some refreshments and participate in the fun and stimulation of sharing your ideas about books you’ve read.


JUNIOR READERS BOOK CLUB

September 25  Extreme Babymouse  "In her 17th outing, Babymouse's yearning to join the latest craze at school actually results in a trip to Snowy Mountain . . .  A timely recollection of her instructor's cautionary "go at your own pace and always listen to your inner voice" keeps her out of deadly Half-Pipe Alley despite a sneering classmate's dare. . . Presented in the customary mix of thick-lined drawings with pink highlights, easy-to-read dialogue in balloons and occasional interjections from the outside, the tale positively shreds its way down the narrative slope for an awesome stick. Extremely entertaining." - Kirkus Reviews

October 23   Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk   "An all-zombie-all-the-time zombiefest, featuring a bunch of grade-school kids, including protagonist Stink and his happy comrades . . .The farce is as broad as the Atlantic, with enough spookiness just below the surface to provide the all-important shivers. . . McDonald's feel-good tone is deeply encouraging for readers to get up and do this for themselves because it looks like so much darned fun, while the sub-message—that reading grows "strong hearts and minds," as well as teeth and bones—is enough of a vital interest to the story line to be taken at face value . . ." - Kirkus Reviews

December 4   My Name is Maria Isabel  "There are already two Marias in her new class, so the teacher decides to call her Mary Lopez. Since she doesn't readily recognize this new name, Maria Isabel is continually scolded for being inattentive; worse, her pride in being named for her grandmothers is dishonored . . . in this warm, yet never sentimental, story: an entire family genealogy is encapsulated in a Latino name, as well as special connections between its bearer and the relatives for whom she was named." - Kirkus Reviews 




FAMILY BOOK CLUB

September 18   Wonder   "After being home-schooled for years, Auggie Pullman is about to start fifth grade, but he’s worried: How will he fit into middle school life when he looks so different from everyone else? Auggie has had 27 surgeries to correct facial anomalies he was born with . . . and he’s used to people averting their eyes when they see him, he’s an engaging boy who feels pretty ordinary inside. . . Palacio divides the novel into eight parts, interspersing Auggie’s first-person narrative with the voices of family members and classmates, wisely expanding the story beyond Auggie’s viewpoint and demonstrating that Auggie’s arrival at school doesn’t test only him, it affects everyone in the community . . . A memorable story of kindness, courage and wonder . . ." - Kirkus Reviews

October 16 The One and Only Ivan  "Living in a "domain" of glass, metal and cement at the Big Top Mall, Ivan sometimes forgets whether to act like a gorilla or a human—except Ivan does not think much of humans. He describes their behavior as frantic, whereas he is a peaceful artist . . . In a pivotal scene, Ivan finally admits his domain is a cage, and rather than let Ruby live and die in grim circumstances, he promises to save her. In order to express his plea in a painting, Ivan must bravely face buried memories . . . Utterly believable, this bittersweet story, complete with an author’s note identifying the real Ivan . . . In a compelling ending, the more challenging question Applegate poses is whether or not Ivan will remember what it was like to be a gorilla." - Kirkus Reviews



 November 20  Flora and Ulysses  "Flora, obsessed with superhero comics, immediately recognizes and gives her wholehearted support to a squirrel that, after a near-fatal brush with a vacuum cleaner, develops the ability to fly and type poetry . . . Like DiCamillo's  The Magician's Elephant . . . this touching piece of magical realism unfolds with increasing urgency over a mere few days and brings its somewhat caricatured, old-fashioned characters together into what becomes a supportive community for all . . . Rife with marvelously rich vocabulary reminiscent of the early superhero era (e.g., "Holy unanticipated occurrences!") and amusing glimpses at the world from the point of view of Ulysses the supersquirrel . . .There are plenty of action sequences, but the novel primarily dwells in the realm of sensitive, hopeful, and quietly philosophical literature.—" -  School Library Journal August 2013— 

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