• Lists

    12 Middle Grade Books that Lead to Great Book Discussions

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    Books are a great way to discuss big topics, themes, and feelings with kids of all ages. Middle grade students especially like to talk (we know that!) and the books listed below are not only great discussion titles, they’re all great titles period. Whether you’re looking for the fantastical or…

  • Activities

    Family Book Club: Spooky Titles

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    For my second-ever Family Book Club (check out my first one), I’m sharing some spooky titles for the fall season. Now, I’ll be the first to admit, that I am the biggest scaredy-cat out there! I don’t like haunted houses, I don’t like scary movies, and even scary middle grade…

  • Activities

    Family Book Club: Icky, Sticky, Slimy, Gross & Gooey

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    I’m launching something completely new today and I’m so excited about it! I’ve created family book club kit that is prepped and ready to go, all you need are some family members or friends! Today’s theme is Icky, Sticky, Slimy, Gross & Gooey. I figured that a theme that would…

  • Activities

    Blogging A to Z: Join a Book Club

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    Peer pressure is definitely something that can be tapped into (in a good way!) when it comes to reluctant readers. Find a book club in the area for your reluctant readers and their friends. Because if everyone else is reading, won’t your reluctant reader want to as well? Find a…

  • Activities

    Blogging A to Z: Inherent Boredom

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    One of the top reasons I hear at the library as to why a kid doesn’t want to read? “It’s booooorrrrrrriiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg.” And of course, they drag out the word for as long as they can! But, books don’t have to be boring! I would argue that many of the kids…

  • Activities

    Blogging A to Z: Have Conversation

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    When you love something, you want to talk about it! It should be the same about books! Talk to kids about what they’re reading and ask them questions about the story. Kids might not be willing to share what they’re reading right away, so you might need some questions to…

  • Activities

    25 Books To Get Your Tween Talking

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    If you’ve ever wanted to reach past the one-word answers in response to your questions to tweens, try books! Books are a great way to open up a discussion about interesting or difficult topics. With so many things changing in their own bodies and minds, tweens tend to not want…

  • Lists

    Project LIT Community

    There are so many children and young adult literature champions in our world and I’ve got to spend a few minutes here to share another one that, although I’ve heard a lot about, never got a chance to really understand his project until now – Jarred Amato. Jared Amato is…

  • Activities

    AtoZ Blogging Challenge – (Book) Discussions

    Program Name: Page Turners What: You don’t think I could go through the whole alphabet without talking about book discussions, do you? We’ve offered book discussions for all ages from 3rd grade through adults. I think book discussions work really well because you can create different book discussions for different interests or…

  • Activities

    Programming for Millennials

    I’ve been thinking about how to entice millennials to use our library more for over a year now. And now, I feel like I’m finally in a place to start planning some programs to attract this generation into the library. Being a millennial myself, I know how much millennials hate…