BookPeople and Austin Allies invite you to come gush, rant, swoon, and ramble all about our favorite thing in the world: BOOKS!
Join us at the store Saturday, Nov. 18 at 12:30 PM to talk about Cece Bell’s graphic novel, El Deafo. All kids ages 8-12 are welcome to attend. This is the perfect place to make new friends, talk about the latest book you’ve read, and make some book recommendations of your own!
When Austin Allies set out to start a book club for kids, they were looking for ways to build empathy in young readers, and this thought goes into every book they select. We were all inspired by Katherine Applegate’s recent visit to BookPeople, and Wishtree, which we discussed at last month’s meeting, proved to be a perfect book club pick!
At its heart, Wishtree is all about friendship, empathy, and forming connections with people who may sound or look different from yourself. Its characters have to make brave choices that require them to think about others.
At her BookPeople event, Katherine Applegate asked readers to make three wishes:
- Make a wish for yourself! This can be as selfish as you want it to be. Some kids wished for a pet dragon or a new dog– even a delicious dinner at Olive Garden!
- Make a wish for someone else. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and consider what they might want or need. A few people suggested clean water for communities in need, or supplies for low income schools.
- Make a wish for the world. Think BIG! Some kids wished to end world hunger or imagined a world without litter, and quite a few hoped bullying would cease to exist.
From wish to wish, kids started thinking on a larger scale. We tried this exercise at book club, too! (Above: Book club members add their biggest wishes to our wishtree, handmade by the Kids staff)
And why even make wishes, one might wonder? They probably won’t even come true. Lukas, one of our book club members, says:
“People sometimes want things they know they could never have, but it still helps if they say it to someone out loud. It gives them hope.”
We loved spending time discussing Wishtree with these incredible young readers and we can’t wait to meet again! Join us at our next book club meeting Saturday, Nov. 18 at 12:30 PM to talk about Cece Bell’s graphic novel, El Deafo.
Wishtree is also a Books by Mail pick!
There’s still time to purchase The Wishtree Box, which includes a signed copy of Wishtree, an exclusive Q&A with Katherine Applegate, and a few literary inspired presents (hint: owls may be involved)! Subscribe to our Signed Books subscription service here.
BookPeople 
One thought on “BookKids: Join our new book club!”