Kids Book Club Facilitating

Information from the New York State Council for the Humanities Book Clubs for Kids Webinar

• Whom do you most want to reach? Why do you want them in the library? What age group do you want? What makes you want to bring these kids together? Is a book club a good fit for these kids?
• Keep the group limited to a specific age group (eg:8-11)
• Getting the word out: Talk to kids you know and have them invite their friends, post a flyer, advertise online, contact the local school principal, speak to teachers at staff meetings (flyers are not the best way to get the word to students), talk to school librarians, see if kids can get school credit, look for community organizations that work with your target age group: churches, clubs, youth center.
• Share 3-5 books that share one big idea. The things that brings kids back is the feeling of community
• Have a theme for your group. eg: happiness, tolerance, leadership, bullying,
• Big ideas or themes give discussions purpose, focus, and continuity. Exploring big ideas unites the group
• What is a successful discussion? Group feels comfortable disagreeing, there is a good vibe, conversation continues afterward, everyone participates by listening and talking, facilitator guides without taking sides or talking too much.
• What is a meaningful discussion? participants leave with a greater understanding of themselves and others, leave feeling connected, leave thinking about the conversation, different perspectives are encouraged and discussed.
• How do you choose the theme? What do you think kids want to talk about? What ideas will be important to them? What books do they want to read? What ideas do you hope kids will get from conversations about this idea?
• Consider books that: confront theme, keep attention even after you are finished, have different points of view, have compelling characters kids can relate to, have "snag points" moments of thinking or wondering, would be interesting to compare to each other. Mix it up, use picture books, graphic novels, chapter books.
• Check out the explore NY Booklist
• Choose a facilitator. Open, friendly, like working with kids, read a lot of books for that age group, love hearing what kids have to say, have time to prepare questions, believes in the importance of talking about books, shares enthusiasm for this kind of literature,
• Plan ahead. How will you begin the conversation? What kinds of topics and ideas do you want to explore?
• Set expectations. Let everyone have a chance to talk. Have everyone read the book beforehand. Silence is okay. Make sure everyone has nametags.
• Ask good questions. Write short open ended questions that allow kids to interpret in their own way. Explore plot, characters, and style. Connect books to other books you read in the theme. Make personal connections to characters. Ask questions that don't have a right or wrong answer. Don't assume everyone has read the text the same way. Focus on the places where opinions may differ.Take time to read a portion of the book aloud. Let's them hear a fluent reader which they may never hear.
• Break it up. Give kids a chance to talk to each other, use short activities that will generate conversation about the book. Don't do activities just for the sake of doing activities.
• Keeping the conversation going. Treat it like a conversation between friends, listen with genuine interest, ask questions that make sense for the conversation that is already happening. Look at the person and use their first name. Avoid answering your own questions, speak last and prioritize other voices over your own. Close the conversation with something that keeps them thinking of the topic or theme.
• Have everyone write a question and draw later in the discussion when there is a lull.
• Encourage kids to look at everyone, not just you when talking
• Together Parent Child Book Club
• Community Conversations for Kids
• Together Book Club