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When we decided to start CJ's Bookshelf, we spent a ton of time emailing and passing notes in order to get all the details right. That's why I thought we could give you some answers to the questions we had when starting our own club.hopefully, you and your club will find it much easier with these tips!
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WHAT ABOUT A NAME? The first thing we did was pick a name for our club. I wanted to call us the Rockin' Readers, but the rest of the group voted for CJ's Bookshelf. |
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They said it was because CJ could stand for anything (like Crazy Jugglers?) and also because I had the idea. I just think that they really didn't like my suggestion and didn't want to hurt my feelings!
WHEN SHOULD WE MEET? Decide on a day and time for your meetings and don't change them. We decided the second Monday of the month right after school. This way we can all leave school together and our parents are aware of it well in advance so they don't worry. Our meetings usually lasts about 2 hours. WHERE SHOULD WE MEET? And who's responsible for what? We decided that each month we would rotate where we would meet between our houses and that whose ever house we were meeting at would be responsible for sending out an invitation and arranging for snacks and stuff. For Twitches, I hosted the first meeting. My dad got us pizza - because Cam and Alex are ALWAYS going to the pizza place. And my mom helped me make a "witch's brew" punch to drink during the meeting. Yum! (Jenni is hosting next month and I think her mom is going to make cupcakes and let us decorate them!) WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO AT THE MEETINGS? Deciding the format of your meetings and how often you want to talk about a new book is the toughest part. Since we have a lot of schoolwork to keep up on, we spent our first meeting reading the book and just talking in general about what we think is going to happen and what we think about the characters. Next month, everyone is supposed to have finished the book and we're going to spend our time really talking about the book - we all are going to pick our favorite part and act it out. Kate also suggested that we each bring one or two questions to ask the group. We also decided that whoever is hosting should probably come up with at least four questions so that there is plenty to talk about! WHAT IF WE RUN OUT OF STUFF TO TALK ABOUT? Not to worry, hanging with your friends is really the best part of the club. We got tired of *just* reading during the first meeting, so we made these really cool pouches with glitter and stuff that reminded us of Twitches. Lesa also brought her Magic 8 ball and we asked silly questions about who we would marry and what kind of jobs we'd have when we get older. Kate brought her big bin of nail polish and we mixed some together to come up with "Cam" and "Alex" colors. HOW DO WE DECIDE WHAT TO READ NEXT? Well, there are several ways to decide. Either the host can select the next title.or each person can bring a book that they think everyone will like and the group can vote OR you can consult CJ's Bookshelf (that's what I would recommend!). Since our club's picks run in Girls Life magazine, we only have a new book every other month. However, Jenni had a great idea last night to put together a booklist of books that we all like that you could read in between our "official picks." We were all very excited about that idea, so check back soon to see what ELSE we are reading! RETURN TO TOP |
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Recent Picks | CJ Recommends | CJ's Past Picks | CJ's Journal | Quiz Me | CJ Sweeps | How To Start a Book Club |
