Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Oprah's Book Club?

Last week we had a mini-book fair at school. It was fun and very successful. I overheard some parents discussing a book they were going to buy for their second grader. One mother said “this book is one the books that they read in Guys Read. When they finish he (refereeing to me) put a guys read sticker on it. It’s like having an Oprah Book Club sticker on it.”

I got the stickers a few years ago when Jon Sczieska’s Guys Read Book first came out, and decided to just use them. I guess they are having some impact.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff: You Wish


Last night was our monthly Guys Read Book Club. The “guys” discussed The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff: You Wish by Jason Lethcoe. A few finished the book in two days. I tried to get them to not just talk about their favorite parts, but they are eight and nine so….. After the initial discussion they did go deeper. There were comments about how sad it was that his parents died, and how that would “suck”. I was surprised that no one picked the battle and the boomerangs as their favorite parts.

We talked about when the book was written and what plane crash Ben’s parents were in. I asked them “Why did you like this book so much? Why is it your favorite?” Chris answered “He writes like Dav Pilkey. He makes you want to read more and not put the book down.” I don’t think a boy can give a better compliment to an author!