Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom opens with the oracle at Delphi predicting the fall of the Titans. The future is misty and the oracle’s glasses are foggy, so she can’t quite tell what will happen. What lies ahead? Dancers? Oh, no. Danger. Danger lies ahead.On that humorous note, we begin the story of Zeus, who has no idea that he isn’t an ordinary ten-year-old boy. Sure, it often feels like the lightning is after him, but then, that isn’t possible, is it? It’s a coincidence. It has to be. Except for the fact that each time lightning strikes him, he hears a voice saying, "You are the one."I thoroughly enjoyed reading Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom, which made me sure that my book club would love it too. Adventure, suspense and a good dose of mythology make it a fun read! Chip English At the temple in Delphi, Zeus discovers a rock chip, which … [Read more...]
Trouble-Maker
Have you read any books by Andrew Clements? I've read several, and each one of them has been such a good choice as a book club read! Perhaps it's because Clements writes about school and even though some elements aren't exactly relatable, there are so many that are! Plus, with books like Frindle and The Losers Club, there's so much we can do as we read! Troublemaker "Troublemaker" is a hard tag to break away from. Often, teachers give us labels that we like or dislike. Talkative. Quiet. Mischievous. Intelligent. Lazy. Hardworking. What labels do you feel people associate with you? Do you like them? Vocabulary Games One of the most popular games at my book club is what we call 'Fast Find'. Often, when we don't know the meaning of a word, we don't bother to look it up, but we do understand the meaning based on its context. I give … [Read more...]
Mini’s Questions
We read Mini's Books a while ago, and it was fun! As a couple of book clubbers who read it with me have already signed up for the February 2025 edition, I decided to read another book from the series. The familiarity of characters always makes for a fun reading experience!Children have more questions than adults can answer, and soon enough, adults get fed up of answering their endless questions. But what if questions can help solve a mystery? Would parents sit up and take notice? Like the rest of the Mini series, Mini's Questions is a simple, early reader chapter book that brings pictures and text together in an engaging way! Questions Often, when I ask children if they have any questions, they have none. But what about if I give them a picture and a few guiding questions? Let's see what other questions they have! A curious mind leads to all … [Read more...]
Petu Pumpkin: Tooth Troubles
Another edition of my book club, another hOle book! We've read nineteen so far, and I'm running out of ones I think my book clubbers will enjoy! I read Petu Pumpkin: Tooth Troubles four years ago. It is fun and light, and we'll have fun with it, especially as it's the first book we will read next month. Book Cover What's happening in the cover image? Before we start reading, we'll talk about the book cover and try to imagine what the boys are doing. We'll take this one step further and write about the emotions the children are likely to feel too. The Gap Club I love the idea of the Gap Club! As a child (and a devourer of books about clubs), I set up multiple clubs with various different agendas. If you could set up a club, what would the club be called? What would your mission statement be? Can you design a logo for the … [Read more...]
In the Bear’s Den
Little Shambu is such fun! I read In the Bear's Den and Other Adventures of Little Shambu some time ago, and at my book club, we read the first book in the Little Shambu series earlier this year. Short stories are fun! I'm looking forward to reading more of this young animal lover's adventures with my book club! Dialogue Role play for dialogue reading is something that I repeat frequently at my book club. Paying attention to paragraph structure and punctuation, and understanding how we know who says what is an important step towards creating stories as the children grow older! Drawing an Animal When we read Ostrich Girl, we discovered that drawing an ostrich isn't actually very difficult. What about a bear? We'll draw a bear together and perhaps a couple of other animals too! Unscramble I know that unscrambling words … [Read more...]
Paati vs UNCLE
We're rereading Paati vs UNCLE by Meera Ganapathi at my book club! It is a delightful combination of funny and serious, action-driven and character-driven, making it a perfect book club read.Inju is all set for a quiet, boring holiday with his Paati. That's just the way he likes it. Unfortunately, from the moment he gets to Parijat Retirement Colony where his grandmother lives, he realises that it's going to be an exciting, adventurous holiday, not a quiet, boring one. It isn't what he wanted, but when his Paati is upset and angry, what can he do except take charge? Making Posters Inju makes a poster inviting people to join PAATI - People's Association Against Thieves International. Someone else puts up a poster about a missing parrot, Gangaram.Posters are always fun to make! What if you want to get people to adopt kittens in your society? And … [Read more...]
The Magic Finger
I typically shy away from very well-known books at my book club because I feel that children will come across these books through schools and bookshops anyway. But I've always loved Roald Dahl's work, and what is a book club for if not to spark the joy of reading? We've read Fantastic Mr Fox and Esio Trot. Next month, we'll read The Magic Finger! Anger While all of us might wish we had a magic finger to zap someone who makes us angry, that isn't practical, is it? What do you do when you're angry? What makes you angry? Superpowers Discussing superpowers is a great way to get creative. What superpowers would you like to have? What would you do with those superpowers?Taking this further, what superpowers would you need to solve specific problems that we see around us? Book Review With my book club for ages seven and … [Read more...]
Leonora Bolt: Secret Inventor
I borrowed Leonora Bolt: The Great Gadget Games from a library recently, and my first thought was that the series would be perfect for my book club!A science-loving protagonist with imaginative, innovative ideas, a secret inventor, an unusual set of friends ... it's full of possibilities! And that's why we're going to be reading the first book from the series, Leonora Bolt: Secret Inventor at my book club next month. Friendship Leonora Bolt's friends include an otter, a cook, a sea captain and a boy who washes up on the island. This will be our prompt to write about an unusual friendship we'd love to have. If you could befriend anyone, whom would you befriend and why? How do you think you could help each other? Inventions If you are on an island in the middle of nowhere, but you were the smartest person in the world, what would … [Read more...]
Bookasura
Some books demand to be read at reading programmes. Lucky Girl, with its exploration of poetry. Chitti's Travelling Book Box with its message of spreading the love for reading. Book Uncle and Me, with the need to save a lending library.And Bookasura, with its book-eating asura. And that's why we're rereading this one at my book club!Bala loves books. He devours them. Not literally, of course. The problem, however, is his baby sister Meera, who actually likes to eat books. When Bala meets Bookasura, a book-eating demon, he sees a strong resemblance between Meera and the asura. What can he do to defeat Bookasura? What weapon does he have to destroy this book-loving monster?Bookasura is a fun, funny book about a boy fighting a villain who is bigger and stronger. He uses the skills he has - his stories and his wit. Imaginative and thrilling, I know this is the perfect book to read next with … [Read more...]
Birds on the Brain
Uma Krishnaswami's Birds on the Brain is such a lovely book! I've read Book Uncle and Me with my book club, and I just revisited the post I wrote about it. Three years ago, I wrote about having discovered verse novels "quite recently" and now I have two verse novels of my own!In Birds on the Brain, we meet lots of familiar characters, and although I love verse novels, I enjoyed this book more than the first. The characters, particularly the protagonist Reeni, are wonderfully relatable. Reeni, for instance, is a balance of self-centred and selfless. She has birds on her brain and it takes her a while to notice that not everyone is motivated by the same things. Yet, she makes an effort. She doesn't want to lose her friend Anil and she does want to help the istri lady. But how?This endearing story shows us just how she can catch two birds with one phone, to use her words, much kinder than … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- …
- 20
- Next Page »