Do some research.
• Is your teen or middle-schooler interested? That’s
   probably the place to start.
• Are there existing clubs?
• If there are no appropriate clubs, start your own.

Who is interested?
Talk to teachers, librarians, parents, and of course your child to find out who would be interested in a starting a book club.

Who will organize it?
• You and your student? If so, you will have more
   control and flexibility.

• Teachers? If so, it will be a school-sponsored
   activity.

• Librarian? If so, it will be an activity of your local
   library.

Who will attend?
Good question! Just kids? Or kids and parents? It depends on the age group…and what the kids want.

• Pros for including parents
   Help moderate, keep discussion on track, break up
   spats, help with basic organization work. Even if
   parents attend, they should remain in the back-
   ground, not dominate.

• Pros for having no parents
   Feeling of independence, less self-conscious and
   freer to speak up during discussions. Even without
   parents, an adult should be close at hand.

How many should join?
6 to 15 are best. Too few make it sparse when some are absent; too many make it hard to hold a coherent discussion.

Where will you meet?
Homes? School? Library? The Y? A church?

When will you meet?
• Right after school? Evenings? Weekends?
• Monthly is best.

How formal should you be?
• Decide if you want officers (you may be required if
   school sponsored.)

• Spell out duties of the officers (you may need bylaws
   if school sponsored.)

• Elect president, vice, secretary, and treasurer (if you
   collect dues) annually.

How will you structure meetings?
• 15-20 minutes to discuss club business
• 45-60 minutes to discuss the book
• 30-60 minutes to socialize or do a themed activity

What kind of books will you read?
• Fiction: current or classic; novels, short-story
   collections; drama

• Sub-Genres: science fiction, fantasy, mystery,
   adventure, world folktales, historical fiction,
   romance, sports, techno-thriller, and humor

• Non fiction: poetry, biographies, science, social
   studies, world travel

• Themes: family relationships, friendship, social
   consciousness, coming-of-age, sexuality, race and
   ethnicity, religion and spirituality

• Limits: price? soft cover only? number of pages—
   under 200 or 400?

How will you find books?
• School reading lists
• Librarians recommendations
• Teacher recommendations
• Book Award lists: Parents’ Choice Awards; National
   Book Awards for Young People; Boston Globe Horn
   Book Awards; Printz Award

• Publications and web sites: NY Times Book Review;
   American Library Association, Reading Rockets

How will you select your books?
• Frequency
  — select monthly
  — every 2-3 months
  — all books at the first meeting of the year

• Method
  — vote from a list of recommendations
  — rotate monthly so each student chooses a book.

Who will lead discussions?
This varies according to age and club. If students lead their own discussions, an adult should be on hand to moderate, especially for middle-school ages. Here are some options:

• A librarian, teacher, or invited guest leads.
• One member (agreed upon by others) always leads.
• Each student picks a month to lead.
• Whoever chooses the book leads.
• Whoever hosts the meeting leads.

How will you discuss?
To help with discussions, see our Discussion Questions for Kids & Teens in this age group (Grades 7 — 12). You'll find some good ideas.

High school Juniors and Seniors, might also want to try our adult discussion aids:

  — Read-Think-Talk About a Book
  — Discussion Questions
  — Icebreakers

How will you stay in touch?
• Computer: e-mail, IM, FaceBook, or MySpace:
   students already use these sites to stay connected.

• Contact list: include emails, phone numbers, and
   home addresses.

What kind of activities?
Here are some terrific activities for your book club. For more ideas, check out our 26 LitFun Ideas for Kids— some may work, depending on the age.

• Themed dinner
Cook a book-related menu together or have everyone bring a themed dish (see LitFood.)

• T-shirts
Decorate T-shirts with a book-theme or design a book club logo

• Bookmarks
Design a club bookmark; print your reading list on the front

• Sleep-over
Bring a sleeping bag and watch a book-related movie

• Field trip
Head to a book-related place or event: a play, a movie, concert, museum, zoo, historical site, botanical garden, natural area, sport event, county fair, Habitat for Humanity project

• Write a book
Make up a story with each member contributing a successive chapter (someone follows someone else’s chapter).

• Donations
Collect $1 in dues each month and contribute the proceeds to a local literacy campaign or donate a book to the library.

• Community Service
Give back to the community: tutor younger school children, hold a story hour, or read to elderly shut-ins or the visually impaired.

• Bake sale
Pair baked goods with a related book: for example, To Kill a Mockingbird and "Boo Radley Cornbread"; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and New York cheesecake. (See LitFood.) Use proceeds for a charity donation, club project, or field trip.

• Charades
Divide into teams and act out characters, scenes, or titles of books you’ve read.

• Book-to-movie
Write a screenplay of a scene from a favored book, act it out and videotape it.

• Club journal
Design and decorate a book club journal: keep track of books, published reviews, club discussion points, likes and dislikes. Make a multi-year journal or a new one every year.

• Personal journals
Members can design their own reading journals.

• Collage
Use poster board, magazine clips, pieces of fabrics, other small gluable objects to create a poster-sized collage for each book you read. Display them all at the end of the year.

• Author letter
Write a letter to the book’s author. Discuss what you liked or disliked and ask any questions you might have. Include a group photo, too. Mail it to the publisher—who will forward it on to the author. (Include a copy of the letter and the photo in your club journal.)