I’ve been working on the book group titles for the next two months, and here they are:

The 5th and 6th grade book groups will be reading the same book in September, one of my personal favorites from my own childhood, The Diamond in the Window by Jane Langton.  Unfortunately, it has just gone out of print (I had bought a new paperback copy for the library a year ago, but there are no copies to be found now), so many of the copies that I sent home with the book group kids were pretty gross, and it has definitely prejudiced them against the book.  I hope they give it a chance, and read the whole book before they judge it.  And I’m toying with the idea of trying to contact Jane Langton, a local author who often shopped in the Toy Shop in my managerial days.  At the very least, I’ll make a field trip to Concord to take a photo of the recently repainted house, so the kids can see that it actually exists.

The October book for the 7th to 9th grade Teen Book Group is Geraldine McCaughrean’s The White Darkness.  As mentioned in previous posts, I LOVED this book, and can’t wait to hear what the teens think of it.  I’m planning to bring my laptop to that book group meeting, so that the group can write a post for this blog about the book and their thoughts on it.

In October I’m also hoping to start a 4th grade group, if I can drum up enough group members.  The book choice for that group will depend partly on who joins, but I’ve pulled several potential titles, including Fergus Crane.

I chose the October books for the 5th and 6th grade groups based on  how well I know the groups and what they like to read.  The 5th grade October book will be Crispin: Cross of Lead by Avi; we’ve been a little fantasy-heavy lately, and a good piece of historical fiction will be welcome.  As for the 6th grade group, I chose Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce, which promises to be funny and engaging.

Lots of reading ahead – as soon as I’ve finished The Lightning Thief I’ll get started on some of these great book group titles!