In the Winter of 2010, Allie read The Mother-Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick and it quite literally changed her life. She became fascinated with Jane Austen first, then Louisa May Alcott. She read Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.
She was inspired by The Mother-Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick to start a book club with her friends. She emailed several of her friends and their mothers and asked them to be part of it. Allie decided that meeting once a month would be a good idea, giving the girls time to read books they wanted to read as well as the book club selection.
As a group, we decided that we would all take turns hosting and whoever hosted picked the book for that month. We also decided that we would all bring snacks to share so that the hostess wouldn't be overwhelmed, PLUS we all enjoy cooking and baking and it's really more fun when you share it with friends!
For our first meeting, Allie selected one of her favorite books:
If you have read it, you know the significance of the pink cupcakes ;-) If you have not read it, I highly recommend reading it. You will never forget this book.
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| I LOVED that our friends made these cupcakes and I LOVE the experience of sharing not only a discussion of each book, but how all of the moms look for clues of something to bake or cook based on the story. It really brings so much meaning to each book. |
At our first meeting, the girls were hesitant, unsure of how to talk about a book together. The moms asked most of the questions.
For our second meeting, our good friends chose this book:
We decided to ask each girl to write a question on a slip of paper and put all the papers in a bowl. Then each girl picked a slip of paper and read the question, answered it and then the other girls got a chance to give their opinion. It worked well. But the girls all asked the same question.
For our third meeting, our friend chose:
This was the most fun book we read and the moms got really into preparing treats for this one. Can you imagine a table LADEN with chocolate goodness? What better way to introduce your daughter into a world of female friendship?
We continued with the questions on slips of paper. After the girls finished with that, the moms, who had all been reading Deconstructing Penguins by Larry and Nancy Goldstone, asked value questions, questions to get the girls really thinking about what they would do in a situation, if something was right or wrong and why.
Our fourth book was chosen by another friend:
This was a book that one of my co-workers at the library had introduced me to and I was so excited to share this with my girls and their friends! It is an absolutely spellbinding, compelling book. I think it may have been the group favorite so far.
The girls were so energized by this book and the questions kept coming. "Would you do this..." "What did you think when..." "Did you think she was right..." It was a fabulous discussion!
Our fifth book was a perfect summer read:
The girls were fascinated that this was a true story and that really energized and inspired the discussion. This time, none of the girls wrote the same question and they all had opinions on why she didn't kill Ramo or why she did what she did or didn't do what she didn't do or what the saddest or scariest parts were. The discussion for this book far exceeded the discussion on any of the other books. The girls had so much to say about this book and it was truly awesome to have seen the evolution of this book group.
Next month is our turn to pick again,
we have chosen:
This is another of Allie's favorite books and I can't wait to see what the conversation will be like!
