This fall, inspired by a visit with Marcia Kochel at Druid Hills Middle School, I began a grade-level-based Lunchtime Book Club. We met on Mondays and Fridays (based on student input) and started with Alan Gratz's Refugee, which I was able to secure through Scholastic for $3 per book. From there, we tackled Neal Shusterman's Scythe, then John Lewis' March: Book One. We had planned to go on to Jason Reynolds' transformative remix of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's Stamped, but COVID. So again, back to the drawing board.
After adding Book Club students to the Reading Rocks Canvas class, I set up a Teams meeting and waited. 18 kids showed up. Grinning ridiculously, I reminded kids how to access the ebooks and digital audiobooks in Destiny (with a direct link to that resources on the sidebar in Canvas). At the time, very few resources had come out, so we had to go with the infinite-copy resources I had purchased for a graphic novel unit for our 7th grade ELA and to support our EL students. The kids picked the graphic novel version of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Many had seen the Tom Cruise film but weren't aware of the book. We had some great discussions, but it quickly became evident that they were longing to see their friends. They ached for each other.
By then, the floodgates of free resources had opened up, so we were able to take a quick tour of the resources from Junior Library Guild on JLG@Home as well as those that would be available starting mid-April on Sora with their Sweet Reads program. I did a rank-based survey like this one in Microsoft Forms and the group decided on another Alan Gratz historical novel, Projekt 1065. Because of the resources available, students were able to choose from the ebook version on Sora or the digital audiobook available through JLG.
We had great discussions about the multitasking potential of audiobooks, especially the idea of taking walks while listening to get some exercise in. Although playaways are really popular at our school, many book club members hadn't tried them until now. Many started walking as a result, or even listening while gaming or while riding in the car.
We talked a lot about Projekt 1065, but discussions about Michael's stressful experiences as a spy in Nazi Germany frequently led to frank discussions about how the kids were dealing with their own stress, about managing their emotional overload, and about confronting the real grief they felt in losing their daily contact with friends at school. Our 30-minute meetings tended to be about 5-10 minutes of checking in with each other, about 15 minutes of book talk, then the rest about how they were REALLY doing. This time together can often be chaotic and silly, but the moments of insight that give us pause cement us as a group.
An important reminder about book clubs: Not every kid is there to talk, and not every kid has read (shocker!). It's not critical that they have read, and it shouldn't be a condition of participation or membership. Hearing authentic discussion can be an incentive to catch up or to start where they are. But socially-distanced social groups are critical these days, and if it's book-centered, even better. Even if kids haven't read. Hearing about others' reading lives can be an important building block to literacy.
I'm not a bibilotherapist, but I believe in the power of books to become, as Rudine Sims Bishop says, "windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors" (1990). When we provide experiences to connect as a community through literature, we might be able to use the words a character says to highlight emotional conflicts we may be feeling. We can use the author's words as a framework to say what we ourselves may not have the courage to. From there, discussion of the characters may help create some understanding among each other. And don't we need more of that?