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Adolescent book lovers who are looking for good summer reads should head to the Deerfield Public Library for a new, once a month book club where they will discuss a book, participate in fun activities and enjoy snacks.
The youth services department of the Deerfield Public Library is inviting girls and boys to join a new book club/discussion program, much like the one the library offers for adults. The program caters to kids in grades 3-6 and separates the children into clubs by gender, Reading Warriors for boys and Musings for girls.
Heidi Knuth, youth services assistant, said the inspiration for the book clubs came from the “Guys Read” father/son book party in February, where participants discussed the book “A Week in the Woods” by Andrew Clements and participated in games and group activities.
“The [father/son] book party was such a success, so we thought ‘why not tap into that?’” Knuth said. “I figured summer would be a good time to start the group, since kids have more time to read for pleasure and don’t have school commitments.”
On June 12, five preteen girls gathered at the library for crafts, trivia and discussion about the book “The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy” by Jeanne Birdsall, a book about four sisters on summer vacation who have very different personalities.
While enjoying lemonade and cookies in the garden-themed room, the girls wrote acrostic poems -- where the first letter of each word or name spells out another message -- about the characters and made flower pens to take home. They also discussed the book’s characters and plots, while relating their own life experiences to the story.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Sari Lindler, 10, of Deerfield. “For one thing, it’s great to be able to read fun books. But going to a book group, I can meet new people and do fun activities.”
Sari’s grandmother, Zorine Lindner said she thinks the discussion group will have a positive impact on her granddaughter.
“I belong to a book group myself and I always come out of them with a different perspective,” Zorine Lindner said. “It stimulates the mind, it’s so essential for learning.”
Another book club member, Martha Anderson, 11, said she decided to join the club because she didn’t have any major plans for summer and she thought she would have a good time, while learning about new books.
“I had a lot of fun seeing what the other girls thought about the book,” Anderson said. “We were sharing ideas and I got to see things differently because of what some of the others thought.”
Both clubs met for the first time in June, Knuth said. But moving forward, the boys (Reading Warriors) and girls (Musings) book clubs will meet separately on an every-other month basis.
So far eight girls and 15 boys are registered for the groups, and registration will be open for the next few weeks, Knuth said. She thinks the program is a good experience for the kids and helps expose them to books they wouldn’t normally read.
“I think that it will help them see that the library has fun activities, things the library does on its own that’s just for them,” Knuth said. “I want them to see that reading can be fun and to expose them to new types of literature. This group can help expand what they already know about reading.”
Those who register to participate in the book groups do not have to attend every meeting, Knuth said.
The girl’s book group next meeting will be at 2 p.m. on July 12 to discuss “Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters” by Leslie M. Blume.
In their first meeting, the boys read and discussed “Kensuke’s Kingdom” by Michael Morpurgo. At the next meeting, The boy’s book group will discuss “Regular Guy” by Sara Weeks at 2 p.m. August 9.
To register for the book clubs, call the library at 847-945-3311.
