March 31, 2005 - July 2005
Click on a book cover to see a review/discussion questions/book links
(the girls pick the designs for these pages and recently have started creating some of the images)
 
We've gone to a two book a month format where the top book is for discussion and the bottom optional reading.
If enough girls have read the optional book than it will also be discussed.

KL (Mar 31) LA (Apr) HP (May) KA (Jun) M/D (Jul)
November 2004 - March 2005
Click on a book cover to see a review/discussion questions/book links
(the girls pick the designs for these pages and recently have created some of the images used on the pages)
 
HP (Nov) KL (Dec) KA (Jan) LA (Feb) Mother/Daughter
March - June 2004 Books
Click on a book cover to see a review/discussion questions/book links
(the girls pick the designs for these pages)
 
October 2003 - February 2004 Books
Click on a book cover to see a review/discussion questions/book links
(the girls pick the designs for these pages)
 
Book Cover for Everything on a Waffle Cover of Nory Ryan's Song Cover of Don't Tell Anyone Cover of Doll People cover of The School Story
June-September 2003 Books
Schedule for Parties (oops, Meetings)
  
Date Time Leader Hostess Book
June 2003 ? p.m. KL KL Initial Meeting
July 14, 2003 1-4 p.m. LA KA Love, Ruby Lavender
July 28, 2003 1-4 p.m. KL HP Time Stops for No Mouse
Aug. 14, 2003 1-4 p.m. KA LA The Monsters of Morley Manner
Sept. 12, 2003 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. HP KL some kind of Pride
Oct. 3, 2003 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. LA KA Everything on a Waffle
Nov. 7, 2003 12:45 - ? p.m. HP KL Nory Ryan's Song
Dec. 5, 2003 12:45 - ? p.m. KA HP Don't Tell Anyone
Jan 9, 2004 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. KL LA Doll People
Feb. 6, 2004 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. All KA The School Story
Mar. 18, 2004 12:45 - 5:00 p.m. HP KL Riding Freedom
April 23, 2004 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. KA LA Half Magic
May 21, 2004 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. KL HP Afternoon of the Elves
June 11, 2004 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. LA KL The Tale of Despereaux: Being a Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread
Nov 5, 2004 12:50-? HP HP Steal Away Home
Dec 3, 2004 12:50-? KL KL The Cat Who Went to Heaven
Jan 7, 2005 4:00-6 p.m.. KA KA Dealing with Dragons
Feb 4, 2005 4:00-6 p.m. LA LA In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
Mar 5, 2005 11-2:00 p.m. Mother/Daughter KA They Led the Way
Mar 31, 2005 after school KL KL (D) The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf
(R) Alanna: The First Adventure Fantasy
April 23 , 2005 ? LA LA (D) Behind the Attic Wall
(R) The Breadwinner
May 13 , 2005 after school HP HP (D) Skellig
(R) Lydia, Queen of Palestine
June 18 , 2005 11- 2:00 p.m. KA KA (D) Notes from a Liar and Her Dog
(R) True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
July 19, 2005 . 6:00 p.m. Mother/Daughter PP Beach (D) Who Killed Cock Robin
(R) East
Role of the Leader
  1. Make a list of 6-10 questions to start discussion
      Examples of Possible Questions:
    • What was your favorite part?
    • Who was your favorite character?
    • I didn't understand when they did _____, can anyone explain it?
    • I didn't understand the phrase ____, did anyone else get it?
  2. Make a list of Characters
  3. Makes sure that everyone gets to ask any questions that they have and that they are discussed.
    Role of the Hostess               
  1. Prepare snacks and drinks
  2. Clean/decorate area to be used for meeting
  3. Serve food and drinks while members are at Party (oops, Meeting)
  4. Clean up meeting areas after meeting
    Role of ALL Readers               
  1. Read the Book
  2. Share ideas respectfully by raising hand and letting leader call on you
  3. Listen to Everyone - make eye contact
  4. Keep hands and feet to yourself
  5. Have Fun
  6. The Attention sign is the hand sign for peace V
    Sites for Young Readers
    Got Some Time? Check Out These Sites................

  1. MysteryNet's Kids Mysteries - read mysteries for or by kids and maybe write one?
  2. How are Book Made? - This walks you through page by page for two children's books
  3. International Children's Digital Library - kids books on-line that you can read
  4. Check out some other children's book club sites - see anything you'd like to add to ours?
  5. Good General Discussion Questions for a Children's Book Club
  6. Discussion Guides for Children's Books
    Future Book Suggestions

  1.    True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (B&N) (Amazon)
    Charlotte's journal of her transatlantic voyage, June 1832, as the only passenger on the brig Seahawk, is breathtaking reading. Always the obedient daughter, Charlotte sees no reason to change when she sails with Captain Jaggery and his 12-man crew. Loyal to him, she is the cause of the death of 2 of the seamen and becomes an enemy of the crew. When she discovers Jaggery's evil nature, she realizes she is in danger. The only way to gain the crew's trust is to become one of them. Her fearlessness is awesome and in this process of change, she becomes a spirited and independent young woman.
  2. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (ages 9-12) - science fiction/fantasy-

    On holiday in Cornwall, the three Drew children discover an ancient map in the attic of the house that they are staying in. They know immediately that it is special. It is even more than that -- the key to finding a grail, a source of power to fight the forces of evil known as the Dark. And in searching for it themselves, the Drews put their very lives in peril. This is the first volume of Susan Cooper's brilliant and absorbing fantasy sequence known as The Dark Is Rising. B&N, Amazon

  3. Warm Place by Nancy Farmer (ages 9-12) - 5 stars - animal fantasy- B&N, Amazon -
    Ruva, a baby giraffe kidnapped by poachers, despairs of ever again seeing her mother or her home in central Africa. Fortunately, during the ocean crossing she meets up with Rodentus von Stroheim the Third, a most unusual rat who takes it upon himself to educate her. She puts his training to work at the horrible Dante's Zoo outside San Francisco, learning to trust her instincts in finding her home (the "Warm Place"), practicing giraffe magic (disappearing into the background) and, finally, escaping with the help of a smart-mouthed chameleon named Nelson and a Templeton-esque rat named Troll. The motley crew stows away on an Africa-bound yacht, but the journey home is fraught with peril, not the least of which are the evil Slopes, a family of demons who have enslaved Jabila, a runaway boy searching for a "Warm Place" of his own. Following in the grand tradition of Roald Dahl's fantastical James and the Giant Peach, Farmer's tale careens from one over-the-top situation to the next; laced with dry humor and populated by memorable characters, it is pure delight.
  4. Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassidy (ages 9-12) 4 1/2 - 5 stars on all reviews
    They were watching...and waiting.
    At twelve, Maggie had been thrown out of more boarding schools than she cared to remember. Impossible to handle, they said — nasty, mean, disobedient, rebellious, thieving — anything they could say to explain why she must be removed from the school.
    Maggie was thin and pale, with shabby clothes and stringy hair, when she arrived at her new home. It was a mistake to bring her here, said Maggie's great-aunts, whose huge stone house looked like another boarding school — or a prison. But they took her in anyway. After all, aside from Uncle Morris, they were Maggie's only living relatives.
    But from behind the closet door in the great and gloomy house, Maggie hears the faint whisperings, the beckoning voices. And in the forbidding house of her ancestors, Maggie finds magic...the kind that lets her, for the first time, love and be loved.
    B&N, Amazon
  5. The Devil's Arthmetric by Jane Yolen -(ages 9-12) - time slip/magic - B&N, Amazon
    The Holocaust was so monstrous a crime that the mind resists belief and the story must be made new for each individual. Yolen's book is about remembering. During a Passover Seder, 12-year-old Hannah finds herself transported from America in 1988 to Poland in 1942, where she assumes the life of young Chaya. Within days the Nazis take Chaya and her neighbors off to a concentration camp, mere components in the death factory. As days pass, Hannah's own memory of her past, and the prisoners' future, fades until she is Chaya completely. Chaya/Hannah's final sacrifice, and the return of memory, is her victory over the horror. The book's simplicity is its strength; no comment is needed because the facts speak for themselves.
  6. Skellig by David Almond - (age 8-up) - time slip/magic - B&N, Amazon
    "I thought he was dead. He was sitting with his legs stretched out and his head tipped back against the wall. He was covered with dust and webs like everything else and his face was thin and pale. Dead bluebottles were scattered on his hair and shoulders. I shined the flashlight on his white face and his black suit."
    This is Michael's introduction to Skellig, the man-owl-angel who lies motionless behind the tea chests in the abandoned garage in back of the boy's dilapidated new house. As disturbing as this discovery is, it is the least of Michael's worries. The new house is a mess, his parents are distracted, and his brand-new baby sister is seriously ill. Still, he can't get this mysterious creature out of his mind--even as he wonders if he has really seen him at all. What unfolds is a powerful, cosmic, dreamlike tale reminiscent of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. British novelist David Almond works magic as he examines the large issues of death, life, friendship, love, and the breathtaking connections between all things.
    Amidst the intensity and anxiety of his world, Michael is a normal kid. He goes to school, plays soccer, and has friends with nicknames like Leakey and Coot. It's at home where his life becomes extraordinary, with the help of Skellig and Mina, the quirky, strong-willed girl next door with "the kind of eyes you think can see right through you." Mina and her mother's motto is William Blake's "How can a bird that is born for joy / Sit in a cage and sing?" This question carries us through the book, as we see Michael's baby sister trapped in a hospital incubator; as we see the exquisite, winged Skellig crumpled in the garage; as we meet Mina's precious blackbird chicks and the tawny owls in her secret attic; and as we finally see a braver, bolder Michael spread his wings and fly. Skellig was the Whitbread Award's 1998 Children's Book of the Year, and this haunting novel is sure to resonate with readers young and old.
  7. Alanna, the First Adventure by Tamora Pierce - (ages 9-12)- 5 stars hundreds of reviews - Quest Story - B&N, Amazon -
    In a time when girls are forbidden to be warriors, Alanna of Trebond wants nothing more than to be knight of the realm of Tortall. So she finds a way to switch places with her brother, Thom. Disguised as a boy, Alanna begins her training as a page at the palace of King Roald. The road to knighthood, as she discovers, is not an easy one. Alanna must master weapons, combat, magic -- and also polite behavior, her temper, and even her own heart. With stubbornness, skill, and daring, she wins the admiration of all around her, and the friendship of Prince Jonathan of Tortall himself. But she also makes an enemy of the prince's uncle, the powerful and charming Duke Roger.... Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, Alanna's first adventure begins -- one that will lead to the fulfillment of her dreams and the magical destiny that will make her a legend in her land.
  8. Frog Princess by E.D. Baker - (ages 8-14) - 4 1/2 stars - B&N, Amazon -
    Princess Emeralda a.ka. Emma isn't exactly an ideal princess. Her laugh is more like a donkey's bray than tinkling bells, she trips over her own feet and she does not like Prince Jorge, whom her mother hopes she will marry. But if Emma ever thought to escape her troubles, she never expected it to happen by turning into a frog! When convinced to kiss a frog so he might return to being a prince, somehow the spell is reversed and Emma turns into a frog herself! Thus begins their adventure--a quest to return to human form. Fascinating and hilarious characters ranging from a self-conscious but friendly bat to a surprisingly loyal snake and a wise green witch confirm that readers won't soon forget this madcap story.
  9. The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf by Gerald Morris - (ages 10-16) - 5 stars- B&N, Amazon -
    Her castle under siege by an evil knight who keeps beheading all her would-be rescuers, Lady Lynet realizes that the only way to get help is to get it herself. So one night she slips away and strikes out for King Arthur's court, where she hopes to find a gallant knight to vanquish the Knight of the Red Lands and free her castle. Instead, she finds an odd dwarf named Roger and a scruffy kitchen hand named Beaumains. As the three unlikely companions return to Lynet's castle, they face surprising adventures, including encounters with the uncanny Squire Terence, his master, Sir Gawain, and the majestic sorceress Morgan. And somewhere along the way, Lynet discovers that people can be much more than they seem.
  10. Notes from a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko - (ages 9-12) B&N, Amazon -
    Ant, short for Antonia, is keenly aware that her mother finds her deeply annoying and uncomfortable to be around. She is so different from her sisters, "Her Highness Elizabeth" and Katy, that she becomes convinced that she's adopted. The saving graces in her life are her Chihuahua, Pistachio, her friend Harrison (with whom she swaps her great grades for his terrible ones), and a teacher, who goes by Carol ("Just Carol" as Ant always calls her). Just Carol gets work in a zoo for Harrison and Ant, but when Ant smuggles Pistachio into the zoo, endangering herself and the animals, she almost loses Just Carol's support. Choldenko catches the prickliness of adolescence, making Ant fearful and vulnerable as well as a sharp observer, particularly of adult frailities. As Ant eventually realizes, although Mother prefers the reflection of herself that she sees in her other two daughters, Ant is just as clearly her mother's offspring. Funny, moving, and completely believable
  11. If I Forget, You Remember by CAROL LYNCH WILLIAMS - (ages 9-12) - B&N, Amazon -
    Elyse Donaldson, the plucky narrator of this touching book, plans to write her first novel during her eventful 12th summer. She knows how to write it (with different colored crayons for each chapter), but she's not sure what she wants to say. Foremost on her mind is her grandmother, whose Alzheimer's disease has rapidly progressed. When Elyse's mother decides that Granny should come live with them, she eagerly forfeits her bedroom and looks forward to chats with her favorite confidante. But once Granny is under the same roof, it seems that she has moved farther away instead of nearer. Closely attuned to her audience, Williams (Kelly and Me; The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson) shows how Elyse's devotion to her grandmother is mixed with embarrassment and sorrow. The timely central issue is perceptively balanced with more universal, less weighty concerns: Elyse's jealousy of her older sister, "Miss Perfect"; her run-ins with neighborhood bullies; her crush on a fellow writer (Bruce A., who is pretty special despite having "pizza breath"); and her repugnance for her mother's new boyfriend, "Dr. Dancing Dentist" Michael Lauret.
  12. The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White - B&N, Amazon -
    The Sword And The Stone recreates, against the background of magnificent pageantry and dark magic that was medieval England, the education and training of young King Arthur, who was to become the greatest of Britain's legendary rulers.

    Growing up in a colorful world peopled by knights in armor and fair damsels, foul monsters and evil witches, young Arthur slowly learns the code of being a gentleman. Under the wise guidance of Merlin, the all-powerful magician for whom life progresses backwards, the king-to-be is trained in the gusty pursuits of falconry, jousting, hunting and sword play. He is even transformed by his remarkable old tutor into various animals, so that he may experience life from all points of view. In every conceivable and exciting way he is readied for the day when he, and he alone of all Englishmen, is destined to draw forth the marvelous sword from the magic stone and become the rightful King of England.
  13. Who Really Killed Cock Robin? by Jean Craighead

    Citizens of Saddleboro are proud to say that theirs is the cleanest town around. So they can't ignore the mysterious death of their mascot, Cock Robin. Some people would like to blame the citizens themselves, but one boy-Tony Isidoro — suspects there's more to the story. Tony threads his way through a maze of clues: Among other things, the town park is overrun with trillions of ants; nights are quiet because there are no frogs singing; the nearby river contains a dangerous amount of an unknown chemical; and the town dump is emitting strange fumes. What does it all add UP to? It's an eco mystery all right, and it's up to Tony to figure out who really killed Cock Robin.

  14. The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley - quest tale - (ages 10-14) or young adult - B&N, Amazon
  15. the White Mountains by John Christopher - mind control - B&N, Amazon

  16. A Hive for the Honeybee by Soinbhe Lally - animal fantasy (6th grade)
  17. the Darkangel by Meredith Pierce - quest story - maybe next year
  18. Zel by Donna Napoli - next year maybe 7th grade
  19. Sirena by Donna Napoli - next year or maybe 7th grade