Summer holidays. Best time. Exams are over. A month or more of happy time, fun and frolic, playtime with friends. Bliss.
Enter Book Club in the picture- to get summer reading done.
I am an avid reader. I love books to keep me occupied. But a book club, "Nah!"I take those with a pinch of salt as I worry that I will have to read a book that I don't enjoy and talk about it. As an adult facilitating children's book clubs, my reading companions have enabled me to think through what it feels like to be a child attending a book club.
When we dug deeper into what the problem was, it was the pain of reading a book that an adult thought is good for the group of children and having to make notes and be ready to discuss in the next session. Discussions ran in terms of questions and it almost felt like a school test during summer. Kills the joy of relaxing in your chosen chair with a book to be transported into a different world. Does everything have to be about prep and performance?
Enabling conversations about what they like to read and what didn't work!
Is abandoning a book a crime? What happens if it just doesn't interest you? With me, here is what happens. I lose my reading mojo. I stop reading for weeks and hate the feeling that comes with it. But I don't find it as an incentive any more to go to the book. As an adult, no one questions me. I subscribe to an amazing library (Kahaani Box) that delivers books home. Times such as these when a book fails to hold my attention after repeated tries, I close it and move on to the next one waiting in the set. My reading mojo comes back and I feel back to myself.
I have met young readers who have a hard time navigating through these tumultuous times such as the one I just described. They are expected to finish the book as it has been bought and until such time it is done, the next book will not be bought. Imagine going through the struggle of reading a book that might be interesting for someone else but simply not for the young reader. Absolute torture. Every other form of entertainment is a lot nicer than reading the bought book. Weeks become months, the book remains untouched and a new book never makes an appearance. End result, is a declaration, "My child does not read!" or "Maybe a book club would help."
A book club will help provided the child enjoys being there and likes the format. More importantly acknowledges missteps/failures when it comes to reading. Knowing that one is not alone in sometimes struggling not to be able to read a book is such a comforting feeling. Book clubs need to go beyond reading but build a community feeling where no reader is ever judged.
Is it right to encourage children to abandon books if they don't like them?
Children can be amazing when asked for ideas to solve a problem. One reader suggested reading atleast 40 pages before abandoning a book! In his reading experience this has worked every single time. This reader understands that writing a book is hard work. Someone has worked really hard to produce a book and as a reader the least we can do is to be patient and try our best. The book might just become interesting even it is not in the first few pages.
Having open discussions about what goes into creating a book, what inspired an author to write it and so on are important aspects of a book club.
If you must choose a book club for your child, ensure that the format meets your requirements. Even more important have a good library subscription and make reading a joyful activity not some task that needs to be ticked off a to do list.
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The Young Readers' Club is a book club for the 8-12 age group. We also do vocabulary building activities and mini writing lessons for a little variety!
Writing programs for the 9-12 age group- Young Writers' Club Jr.
The Young Writers' Club program for the 13-16 age group offers a weekly platform to read and discuss curated articles from the news, observe writing approaches and practise one's writing skills.
NEW! Tween Tribune is an online magazine for the Young Writers' Club (Jr.) program for tweens. Weekly updates of our discussions are published. Once in 6 months, the best of writing by the tween members is made available to read.
NEW! Musings from the Young Writers' Club is an online magazine showcasing the work we do at the Young Writers' Club.
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