Sunday, April 27, 2008

Book club bliss

I've wanted to be in a book club for years, but have never been able to find one that reads children's literature. I finally stopped looking and started a book club myself.

We've had a few meetings so far, and it's been pure heaven. The DC Children's Literature Bookclub (DC Kidlit for short) is a terrific mixture of children's librarians, teachers, library school grad students, bloggers, authors and parents. The meetings have been insightful, thought provoking and a lot of fun. It's wonderful to be able to have in-depth conversations about good books with fellow children's book lovers.

If you live in the Washington DC area, (or are in town for a visit) you're welcome to join us. We read a book from a different genre each month. All meetings are on Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m. at the La Madeleine Bakery in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Here's the upcoming reading list and schedule:
  • May 4- Early chapter book: The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
  • June 1- Juvenile fiction: The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
  • July 13- Non-fiction: We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson
  • September 7- Poetry: This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness by Joyce Sidman
If you'd like to join the bookclub and vote on upcoming selections, e-mail me at: wizardwireless [at] gmail [dot] com, and I'll be happy to add you to the group's listserv.

3 comments:

  1. Oh no! Leo has a violin recital on Sunday May 4; it's at 2pm out at Strathmore, so there's no way I could make it back. But I'm going to get ahold of a copy of The Willoughbys (which I haven't been looking forward to reading, not because I don't like Lois Lowry [I do!], but because almost everyone says, "If you love Lemony Snicket, you'll love it" [and I don't!]) -- where was I? Now!

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  2. This is a fantatic idea. I'm glad you have found numerous like minded children's book lovers.

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  3. What a great idea. My niece Elizabeth has been wanting to do this with her friends. They are all avid readers. I'm doing some research on if there are other kid groups and what they are doing so we have some structure.

    Elizabeth had her friends have been reading a book called, Bitter Tastes. By Author V.B. Rosendahl. It's a present day "Nancy Drew" style book. Kathy (main character)is a gutsy girl-hero who isn't afraid to do what she thinks is right. Elizabeth and her friends loved trying to figure out the who done it before the end of the book.

    Thank you for posting what you're reading. I'll pass it on to Elizabeth and her friends.

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