Mother-Daughter Book Club; An Invitation

I had an idea several years ago and I still have yet to implement it.  My idea was a Mother-Daughter book club.  I thought it was a great idea, an important idea, but I was always afraid it wouldn't work.  Every time I try to get it off the ground, I worry that it won't work, and I stop.  I still worry that it won't work, that nobody will be interested, that I will fail or be embarrassed, but I'm going to do it anyway.  My older girls are already becoming disinterested, and I'm running out of daughters!  Plus, I realize that my kids aren't reading some of the absolute must-read classics, and I am looking for ways to broaden their base of experience besides me handing them a book and saying, "I loved this when I was your age."  That hasn't worked for me so far.

So here's the deal:  Everyone is invited to my house the third Saturday of the month from about 4:30-5:30 for book club.  It seems like a random time, but there are very few conflicts during that small window between soccer, etc., and Saturday evening plans.  The first book will be Diary of Anne Frank.  Araceli, my third grader, will be invited to participate, and I don't know whether this book will be over her head.  She suggested Tuck Everlasting, and I think that's a great idea.  We'll plan on having two books on two different age levels to read and discuss every month.  And sons are welcome, too, of course.  I just like the sound of "Mother-Daughter Book Club."  I'm not good at committees; I'm better at either being in charge or following orders, so I'm tempted to choose the books for each month myself, based on what I want my girls to read.  However, one of the things that is most valuable about book clubs in general is that you end up reading books you wouldn't have chosen yourself.  So if everybody comes to the first book club with ideas, we'll put together a calendar and a reading list.

I know this is just One More Thing in our busy lives, but I feel inspired.  I'm reading a book called Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire by Rafe Esquith, a teacher famous for his success in the classroom.  His quote that inspired me:  "  If young people develop a love of reading, they will have better lives.  That objective is not listed in our state curriculum standards.  Our assessment of reading may begin with standardized test scores, but in the end we must measure a child's reading ability by the amount of laughter exhaled and tears shed as the written word is devoured."

I know kids have a lot of homework and not a lot of time, but I want to give them the enjoyment and satisfaction of reading for pleasure, not for a grade.  I so desperately want them to love reading.  Even if Mother-Daughter Book Club results in just one book read, it is better than nothing.  Ari, Freestone and I are already on Chapter 7 of Tuck Everlasting and it only took a little bit of time.

My house, January 22 (which is actually the 4th Saturday, but it works better).  4:30.  No age limits, no rules.  You don't have to be a mother have a daughter, and if you live far away from me, you can still read with us!  It's just a reason to read a good book and talk about it.  And eat brownies, of course.