Parent Book Clubs

I meant to launch this first posting with something involving technology, but I can't get my mind off this fabulous idea of parent book clubs! A counselor friend of mine shared the idea with me recently, and I immediately realized that it was an easy, fun way for librarians to connect with the parent community and also do some parent education in an informal setting. As I began thinking about titles that would work, the first one that came to mind was Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox (a big WOW! on anything Mem Fox does!), a book I have seen but never read before. For those of you out there that don't know the book, it is absolutely perfect as a first book to start off the book club--easy to read, filled with practical ideas of how to read aloud to your child and it never talks down to parents who aren't reading to their children right now but instead guides them into how to get started. What a perfect opportunity to support the classroom teachers and the parent community by providing a discussion group about this topic that seems so easy to us as teachers and librarians but really can be challenging if you are not trained.

In some schools, the PTSA (or PTA) might even be able to fund buying the books. My plan is to include the title in a newsletter to generate interest and enthusiasm at the end of this school year and then start the club in the fall, but I'd love suggestions for other books that might be great for parents.

Some other titles bouncing around in my head...

The Reading Bug by Paul Jennings
Third Culture Kids by David Pollack and Ruth Van Reken (for the international community, TCK is a hot topic)
How To Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esme Raji Codell

I would love any titles that anyone else could recommend so I can start a running list.