Speaking Volumes

Here at the Saxton. B there is a new Book Club. We call ourselves the Book Thieves. Right now there are about 8 of us. We voted on books to read as a group and we have met twice so far. When we meet we have a book related snack, chat about the book (and of course chat not about the book), and do some kind of craft or activity related to the book. All of us are between age 10 and 13 – except for me, I'm the oldest book thief :)

In September we read Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull, which was a HUGE hit with the club. Everyone seemed to like the book and there have been long reserve lists for both the second and third books in the Fablehaven series. We had milk and brownies as a snack (if you want to know why you'll have to read the book!), and made our own 'Hugo.' In the book Hugo was a giant made of rock and mud that did chores on the magical preserve of Fablehaven, we made our Hugos out of clay.

Here are some of our Hugos:

In October we read The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick. It's a huge book, but the story is told through both pictures and writing, so it is actually a fast read. It was a really different reading experience having to 'follow' the illustrations, but I loved it! The rest of the book thieves weren't so sure. Some enjoyed the pictures, but many didn't like having to look though all the illustrations and found themselves skipping ahead to the writing. We had croissants for a snack and made our own mini automatons out of wood and metal pieces. What's an automaton you ask? We'll heres pictures of some we made below, but if you really want to know, you'll have to pick up the book!

Here are some of the automatons we made:

Next month we are reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney, and in January we'll be reading Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief, by Wendelin Van Draanen. After that it's back to voting for the books for the rest of the year (Feb – May). Our group has fifth through eighth graders, boys and girls, and all different interests and tastes in books. It's not an easy task to come up with an array of books to vote on that will please most, if not all, of the Book Thieves. Not to mention find books that they haven't already read!

So here is my challenge to you. If you have any suggestions for books might be a good fit for our group let me know! I have some ideas floating around, but any recommendations would be really appreciated!!

I have to end this post by echoing Su's query: WHO ARE YOU?? Read Su's post below and let us know. Who has been peeking at our blog 1600  times this month? My curiosity is killing me!