Instead of having in-library parties this month, we’re keeping on with our online do-it-at-home book clubs for all ages! The best part?
Everyone who participates gets to keep the book!
We have four age categories: grades K-3, grades 3-5, grades 5-8, and grades 9-12. There’s some overlap so kids can choose which book they’d prefer to read! Every book will come with a blank review form, a few questions you can think about, and some small crafts or activities that tie into the book.
We will have a post up for each book on this website for anyone who wants to discuss the book or comment on any of the questions or activities. If you’d prefer not to go online or post here, fill out the included review sheets and get them back to the library, and we can post your comments for you! Even better, everyone who either posts on our site or brings back anything included with the book — even if it’s just a picture of the activity you did — will also get a small prize at the library!
All we ask is that you read the book: do as much or as little of the rest of it as you want!
Grades K - 3: "Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst
"Alexander is not having a great day. He has to endure gum in his hair, sitting in the middle of the backseat, third-best-friend status, no dessert at lunch, lima beans, railroad pajamas, and kissing on TV — all in one day! Maybe he’ll just move to Australia."
Grades 3 - 5: "Phoebe and Her Unicorn" by Dana Simpson
"A boy and his dog . . . a girl and her . . . unicorn?
It all started when a girl named Phoebe skipped a rock across a pond and accidentally hit a unicorn in the face. Improbably, this led to Phoebe being granted one wish, and she used it to make the unicorn, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, her obligational best friend. But can a vain mythical beast and a nine-year-old daydreamer really forge a connection? Indeed they can, and that's how Phoebe and Her Unicorn unfolds."
Grades 5 - 8: "Refugee" by Alan Gratz
"JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world . . .
ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America . . .
MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe . . .
All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers — from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end."
Grades 9 - 12: "It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah
"We do horrible things to one another because we don’t see the person it affects. . . . We don’t see them as people.
Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, shares his remarkable story of growing up in South Africa with a black South African mother and a white European father at a time when it was against the law for a mixed-race child to exist. But he did exist — and from the beginning, the often-misbehaved Trevor used his keen smarts and humor to navigate a harsh life under a racist government.
In a country where racism barred blacks from social, educational, and economic opportunity, Trevor surmounted staggering obstacles and created a promising future for himself thanks to his mom’s unwavering love and indomitable will."