An update from our twentieth Book Club meeting!
Last Saturday, September 26, was the Stone Soup Book Club’s first Book Club meeting at its new meeting time: 9am PST on Saturdays. The Book Club ran for around an half-and-a-half and was attended by thirty participants from across the US, as well as in the UK. The book we discussed was The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, which is the sequel to our previous read, The War that Saved My Life. In The War I Finally Won, Ada and Jamie continue living under the care of kindly Susan in rural England during World War II.
Our first activity was splitting into “ARTT rooms” which are social breakout rooms of three or four people. In these breakout rooms, people introduced themselves and were able to share out and talk about their favorite books. The ARTT rooms are a great way to get to know people!
Next, we split into two groups, each of which discussed the similarities and differences between The War I Finally Won and The War that Saved My Life. It was really cool to hear what people thought of the two books, and which one they liked better!
We then went into discussion groups to talk about the characters and settings in The War I Finally Won. It was great to get everyone’s perspectives on these topics (as well as to hear who their favorite characters were!), and to explore how all of the people and places in the book are connected.
We also talked about themes in The War I Finally Won; we discussed what elements of the book impacted the themes, such as places, actions, and people. Some of the themes we came up with are these: bravery, trust, friendship, acceptance, and finding a home.
Finally, before we chose our next Book Club book, we read an email interview that author Kimberly Brubaker Bradley did- just for us! When we discussed The War that Saved My Life, we sent her ten questions about the book. Then, we were able to send her three more about The War I Finally Won. We read out the answers to all of these questions in our meeting. It was extraordinarily cool to hear Ms. Bradley’s thought process on different parts of the book, as well as her advice about writing; and of course, we thank her immensely for answering our questions about the book! Please, if you attended this Book Club meeting, we would love it if you would write a thank-you note to Ms. Bradley. You can send them to me at anya@stonesoup.com and I will forward them along to Ms. Bradley.
Lastly, we chose our new book. There were ten options, and the one we chose is: Keeper of the Lost Cities (book 1) by Shannon Messenger. We will be discussing this book at our next meeting on 10/31. And, since that meeting will be on Halloween, we are inviting all of our Book Club participants to dress up as their favorite book character for Book Club (and bring candy, if they wish)!
Our Next Book (to be discussed on 10/31): Keeper of the Lost Cities, by Shannon Messenger
Special Halloween Book Club Activity! Since our next meeting is on Halloween, we are inviting all of our Book Club participants to dress up as their favorite book character for Book Club, and bring candy, if they wish!
The Stone Soup Book Club is open to all kids ages 9-13. We will meet on the last Saturday of October and the first Saturday of December at 9am PST via Zoom. Registration is required. It is $10 per class–and half off for all subscribers. You can sign up for Book Club here.
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