The Girls' Review of Harriet the Spy

All four kid book club members kind of recommend it. The moms had mixed feelings, but think it might be more appropriate for an older book club.

The girls had to say:

·      “Harriet writes mean things in her notebook sometimes. But she learns a good lesson – to be nicer to everybody and not be mean to her friends.”

·      “Harriet said mean things about Ole Golly’s mother.”

List of Past Meetings

Date	Location	Book	Activity
October 17, 2013	Debbie & Leila’s house	The Borrowers, by Mary Norton	Make a tiny home with small things around the house Snack: English tea
November 26, 2013	Hilary & Julia’s house	Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine	Make a crown or tiara (Enact parts of the book) Snack: veggies and such
January 2, 2014	Lynnette & Lowie’s house	The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson	Decoding puzzle Dinner before going to see Sound of Music singalong
January 30, 2014	Amy & Audrey’s house	Year of the Dog, by Grace Lin	Chinese new year party Food: Chinese dinner
March 10, 2014	Debbie & Leila’s house	Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh	Write a descriptive journal entry, play “telephone” Snack: cake and milk
	Next book:	The Cricket in Time Square, by George Selden

Possible Future Books

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
The Landry News by Andrew Clements
How to Train Your Drago by Cressida Cowell
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Lily & Miss Liberty by Carla Stevens
The School Mouse by Dick King-Smith
Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by E. Coerr
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards

Resources

Resources

Books

·      100 Books for Girls to Grow On by Shireen Dodson – Has lots of book ideas for books which are appropriate for this age group and older. Includes ideas for activities and discussion questions.

·      The Mother Daughter Book Club by Shireen Dodson (this is more appropriate for pre-teen girls)

·      The New Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

·      Great Books About Things Kids Love by Kathleen Odean

Websites

·      Link to a website about open ended questions: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/open-ended-questions

·      How to use open-ended questions with children: http://storiesandchildren.com/open-ended-questions/

·      Reading Maniacs book club, includes list of books in the order they’ve read them over the years: http://www.kidsfirstsoccer.com/bookclub.html