Help me with my neighborhood book club.... Deconstructing Penguins style....

[littlefamily]

I am trying to start a neighborhood book club and actually have about 4 kids, plus my 2 interested.... So far, so good...

I loved the way Deconstructing Penguins gave a framework for getting the children to think about the book as unlocking a mystery. Here is my dilemma - I was just going to use the books suggested by the authors, but the parents of the PS kids want to have the Sunshine State books used. Without reading the books first, I don't know if they are any good or can be used with the same model. (I guess the kids in PS get "points" for reading the books which go toward some kind of award. I was rather surprised to see that there are no "classics" on the list and this is a reading list for all of FL???)

Here is the list:
http://myssyra.org/grades3_5/35list.html

If anyone is familiar with any of these and know it would work to "deconstruct" the book, I would really appreciate the help!

Thanks

[angela in ohio]

Ahh, you have to love when publisher's desires matter more to determine what children read in school than what would actually be valuable for the children.

The only way you could use the Deconstructing Penguins method with them is if the author actually has a deeper message. I wouldn't be hopeful that a book that modern has a deeper message, honestly. I would pick the most interesting looking and read it myself.

[littlefamily]

That was my thought about such "modern" books, but didn't want to say it outloud.... Sigh.... How can no one question a list like this for an entire state?

I just don't want to spend the time reading the whole list to find the diamond in the rough - if there even is one....:)

[yvonne]

Could you just tell the other parents that you're new to this and you want it to be a successful experience for everyone, so you want to start with a book you're familiar with and prepared for? Then just tell them, "This is the first book we'll be reading. Anyone interested in reading and discussing it with us, please meet at the ...library on ....!"

You can always pick a book from their list for the second read.

[littlefamily]

I probably will just stick to my original list of books. When the parents asked about including books from the school list - I thought it would be a great idea & be a way to get more kids involved... Little did I know that was what the schools call a "reading list" :confused:

Thanks for the thoughts!

[JenneinAZ]

I guess I will be the only person who doesn't object to the list of books.

I think they sound interesting and kind of fun. Maybe they aren't serious enough for your study, but I would certainly not have a problem with my children reading any of them. Just because it wasn't written a long time ago doesn't mean it isn't a good book, maybe even one that might be a classic in the future.

For your purposes I would guess The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Spring or The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane would be the most likely to meet your needs. But really every book tells a story, a story that an author and an editor and (if it makes this kind of list) a whole bunch of people was important.


Good luck

Jenne in AZ