How to Start a Book Club for Kids
Top 3 Tips for Starting a Kids Reading Club
Encourage ice breaker activities and group participation to encourage collaboration and ensure a fun experience for everyone involved!
Provide delicious snacks that work for everyone, being inclusive of allergies and religious preferences.
Make book club a positive space for children to step away from the real world.Create a fun & cosy space for them to escape from for an hour.
If you're struggling with how to make reading fun, book clubs are a great way to get them excited about reading for fun! Whether you're an extrovert who enjoys having someone to share things with or an introvert who enjoys human interaction in a smaller setting (that would be me!), a book club is the perfect place for readers of all types. If they’re beneficial to adults, surely they would be great for children also.
However, I have to be upfront here and confess that I’ve never been a member of a book club. I’ve always wanted to join one, but like many of you, I get caught up in the busyness of life and a book club becomes more of an afterthought. I have many girlfriends who rave about their book clubs, so when I thought of this article, I decided to call some of them up to see if they have any advice to starting a book club for kids. After all, at the end of the day, we are all just old(er) kids!
“Reading is a passport to to countless adventures.” ~Mary Pope Osborne
Three reasons for starting a “Reading is Fun” book club for kids!
1. A book club is fun because they get to see friends regularly.
My girlfriend Chloe said that the main reason she loves her book club is that it allows her to see friends on a regular basis. Similarly, just as adults need to make friends outside of work, kids need to make friends outside of their immediate classrooms.
A book club is a great way to introduce your child to other children and give them a regular meeting place and encouraging new friend groups that may not have happened otherwise. Your children have classroom buddies, soccer buddies, maybe even gaming buddies, so it only makes sense for them to have book club buddies too!
By sharing this common interest, children are able to connect on a deeper level and form meaningful relationships with one another. This also teaches them early on that not every friend is going to be interested in the same thing that you’re interested in. Sometimes, it’s good to have different friend groups to connect with on other interests in your life!
2. There are awesome snacks at book club!
My good friend Rebecca shared that her favorite part of book club is the delicious spread … and wine too! While the food (and beverages) at a book club for adults may be vastly different than one for 10-year-olds from down the street, the idea behind them is the same.
When we pair things we love to eat with activities that we like to do, they make us happy! Even if we may come in not liking the activity at first, our brains begin to associate that activity with something that we do like. For kids, yummy snacks always make them happy!
It’s like reverse psychology at its finest. Your kids look forward to the cookies at book club, so in turn, they’re looking forward to book club. Even if they only like the cookies and that’s it for the first few weeks, reeling them in with this reward encourages the behavior of book club. This in turn associates book club with something positive. Sometimes, this is all you need to get a habit started!
3. Book club provides an escape from the real world.
Perhaps the best reason for a book club, as told by my friend Elise, is the escape that it provides from the real world. We can easily get caught up in the stress of our own lives but it’s important to take a moment to remember that our children deal with stress as well.
A book club provides an escape from the real world. It gives our children permission to leave their problems of the week behind when they meet up with friends to deep dive into a world of fantasy. In these moments and in these meetings, outside problems do not exist because the characters and the things going on in their lives is the main focus.
While looking at complex situations and personas, our children are confronted with real-life issues and get a first-hand account of consequences. The escape from the real world that book clubs provide may be exactly what your child needs to come pick up that book, deepen friendships, or simply leave some of their worries behind.
Ten Tips to Starting a Book Club for Kids
1. Pick a Theme for your Book Club
Build it around a theme that resonates with your child. This can be based on a genre of books that they love, or an author or book series. The theme can also change up around holidays like Halloween, Christmas or Easter.
2. Give your Book Club a Name
Naming the book club can help kids feel engaged so let them participate in the naming process. Come up with a few possibilities, and have them vote for their favorite at the first book club meeting.
3. Decide on the Number of Participants
Decide how many kids to invite to the book club. There are drawbacks to having too many, as well as too few. If it’s too large, the more introverted kids will have a hard time getting heard. If there are too few participants, it could be hard to keep the conversation flowing. The optimal size is between 6 to 10 kids.
4. Decide on Frequency & Timing of Book Club Meetings
Decide how often to hold the book club meetings. Today’s kids have full schedules filled with extra-curricular activities. Aim for meetings monthly to start with. Then, decide what days of the week and times to hold these meetings. Plan to schedule each meeting for 60 to 90 minutes.
5. Choose a Meeting Location
To reduce the burden on one particular home, be sure to rotate the meetings in the homes of participants. The key is to ensure an environment where kids feel comfortable to share.
6. Ask Other Parents to Volunteer
The parent in charge of that month’s meeting has an important role in ensuring kids are comfortable and engaged. Depending on the group size, enlisting the help of another parent volunteer to facilitate the conversation and keep things moving smoothly is probably a good idea.
7. Provide Snacks for the Book Club Meetings
Plan some fun snacks to accompany the meeting. Make sure to take into account food allergies and to include healthy options that are not too messy – i.e. avoid those blueberries and cupcakes topped with heavily colored icing. To add to the fun, come up with imaginative snacks that are related to the book theme.
8. Choose Your Books
Create a list of book suggestions for the book club members to choose from. Participants can send book ideas also. Then, everyone can vote on their next pick from the consolidated list.
9. Establish Ground Rules from the Get-Go
Establishing clear ground rules from the start will ensure the best experience for all. This can include simple rules like:
There are no wrong answers
Everyone gets a chance to talk
No interrupting
Be respectful
Everyone must come to the meeting prepared (meaning they’ve done their reading!)
10. Organize Complimentary Activities
Bring the “book-to-life” by coming up with fun activities related to the book that they are reading. These can include:
Have the kids dress up as their favorite character from the book
Create a paint session for kids to paint an alternate book cover
Create a bookmark using their favorite quote from the book
Create a comic strip based on the storyline
Invite a guest speaker based on the theme
“There is nothing more luxurious than eating while you read – unless it be reading while you eat.” ~ E. Nesbit
