We're rereading Frindle at my book club! I read it quite a long time ago, and it's EXACTLY my kind of book. Nick Allen isn't really a troublemaker. He just likes to have fun. And where's the harm in making up a new word? Pen. Quite a boring, mundane word. Why not call it a frindle instead?And that's the premise of this delightful, fun story that keeps you reading page after page. I love how the book is plotted as well as how the characters develop as the story proceeds. Finally, a book about words is perfect for a book club! The Question As so many children have just come back after their Christmas break, chapter three is perfect! Following Nick Allen's school system, we'll talk about our holidays, do a quick vocabulary quiz, and then come to the most fun thing of all - the time-wasting question. I know that this part will make the children … [Read more...]
The Great Indian Safari
I've read barely any nonfiction with my book club. Historical fiction, yes, but nonfiction? I can remember having read only Sita's Chitwan. The theme of The Great Indian Safari by Arefa Tehsin is similar--wildlife. It's a theme close to my heart, and I find myself using every opportunity I can to introduce books about it to children.Engaging in its format and full of possibility in terms of what I can do with it at a book club, The Great Indian Safari is a work of creative nonfiction told from the point of view of Charred the Bard, a jungle crow. I look forward to soaring through the forests of India with him! Wildlife How many of my book clubbers have been on a safari? What rules do we follow on safaris and why? During one of our sessions, each of my book clubbers will present something about any animal found in the jungles of India. As an … [Read more...]
The Great Sneak-Out
The Great Sneak-Out is such a fun book that I knew I wanted to introduce it to my book club the moment I read it! Humour, silliness and sweetness come together to make this a perfect read for the early middle-grade reader. Siblings As this is the first book we will be reading at Read, Write, Explore in December, we'll talk about siblings, both real and fictional! Do you have a sibling? We'll have a freewheeling conversation, but we'll also work on similes, comparing siblings to different things in nature, an activity I've done before and enjoy. This will connect well to our next activity! Figures of Speech To say Ampoorna Ma'am was angry would have been like calling the Taj Mahal a hut.What figure of speech is this? How can we bring humour into our writing by using comparisons? Let's find out! Chapter Titles Creative … [Read more...]
The Vampire Boy
The Vampire Boy by Sharanya Deepak is another delightful hOle book - quirky and unique. We'll be rereading it at my book club in December 2025!The government has decided that all children - including young vampires - must go to school. What is Kristofer to do? He knows he will be shunned, but off he goes, only to meet with curiosity and bullying. In a way that is perfect for this age-group, humour underlines everything that happens to Kristofer. Soon, he makes friends with not just Bo, but also Bran, the class bully. Together, they go to school, they go on a camp, and they even catch a chicken thief!I'm waiting to reread it with my book clubbers. Here's what I plan to do with it. Book Discussion Kristofer is a vampire who hates blood!As this is the first book we will be reading together, a good way to begin is with a discussion on what makes us … [Read more...]
Draw It In Style with Lavanya Karthik
We had nearly twenty participants during the first guest session of the season, an illustration workshop with Lavanya Karthik!Focusing particularly on her Dreamers series, Lavanya talked about her creative process, and how she chose various art styles for different books. The idea of the session was to get participants to work towards creating a self-portrait. To do this, she introduced three styles that she researched and used in her books--miniature Mughal art, which she brought into The Boy Who Loved Birds, Bhil art, which features in The Girl Who Loved to Sing, and mosaic art, which you can find in The Boy Who Built a Secret Garden.Step by step, she led the participants towards the final activity, asking them to list personality traits, choose a symbol or motif that represents them, and work on an elaborate frame, drawing from miniature paintings. We didn't have much time to … [Read more...]
Boo-Boo’s Adventures
We've read Boo-Boo Investigates and Boo-Boo the Eco-Warrior; we're now all set to read Boo-Boo's Adventures! My book clubbers particularly enjoy the Boo-Boo series because the chapters are like little standalone stories, which are fun and engaging. A friendly ghost and a kind human child make a charming pair! Good Deeds GGPa announces an award for the one who does the most good deeds, and this sets the little ghost Boo-Boo off on a series of adventures. It's a good time to talk about good deeds we can do! For one, I will ask the children what they feel they can do. Then, in the following class, I will ask each of them to tell me what good deeds they did! Word Games Word search puzzles, unscrambling words, and a spelling bee are a great way to revisit words we come across when we read. They're also a fun way to acquire new … [Read more...]
Blame It on the Untz
Blame It on the Untz by Lavanya Karthik is such a fun book! From the crocodile of group work to music making and competition, there's so much we can do with this book at my book club! Once more, it's part of a series--POFFS. I don't yet know whether I will read the others in the series with my book clubbers, but I'm happy to introduce the series to them. They can decide whether they'd like to read the other books in the set!Meanwhile, here's what we will do as we read. Beatboxing I wonder: do the children at my book club know how to beat box? I've never asked! But Faizal in the story is a beatboxer, and perhaps we can give it a shot too. Just by chance I came across a fun beatboxing activity recently, and I can't wait to try it out! The Crocodile of Group Work For Adi, the protagonist of Blame It on the Untz, group work is like a … [Read more...]
The Timekeepers: Exploring Ancient Egypt
Time travel, adventures in history, and a gang of kids set to defeat a villain come together in The Timekeepers: Exploring Ancient Egypt. At the October-November 2025 edition of my book club for ages seven and eight, I'm excited to be introducing yet another fun series of books to children. Ancient Egypt, with its mummies, pyramids, tombs and mythology, continues to fascinate children and adults. What better way to explore this ancient civilisation than through an adventure story that brings fact and fiction together? Time Travel If you could travel through time, how do you think you would do it? Would you need a machine? Special watches like the Timekeepers? Or something else, altogether different? As we read, I will ask the children to imagine a time machine and draw a picture. We'll also discuss where we would like to time travel to and … [Read more...]
The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star
We read Jill Murphy's The Worst Witch to the Rescue last year; I'm excited to read another book from the series. The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star brings together so many things children love that I'm sure we'll enjoy it. For one, most of my book clubbers love reading about magic. Added to that, when we have wishes that come true, school rivalry, and all the hilarity that comes with a clumsy protagonist, we have the makings of a thoroughly enjoyable read! Wishes What would you wish on? A star? A birthday cake? An eyelash? I'd love to know. Taking this further, if you could wish for anything in the world, what would you wish for?Similarly, if you could make anyone else's wish come true, which wish would you choose and why? Magical Games Stories come alive to us and linger in our imaginations because of the characters the authors … [Read more...]
Koobandhee
Koobandhee is such a fun book! We've read Bookasura twice; now we're rereading Koobandhee too!Bala is excited about meeting Bookasura again, but when he goes near the well at Navaneeth Uncle's farm, he discovers another monster there, a monster that's even scarier than Bookasura! Worst of all, Koobandhee seems like an asura who is out to destroy all Bala's precious library books, and the librarian Mrs Shashee is not going to be happy ...A hilarious book about books, Koobandhee is perfect for my book club! Insults I've always loved imaginative insults. Of course, Shakespeare is the first to come to mind in this context, but Koobandhee has its share of wonderful ones too. Creepy cockroach! Poisonous predator! Foul flea!We'll do a blind activity on insults, where we make two separate lists - of adjectives and of insects. We'll put them together at … [Read more...]