Book Clubs

The school’s three book clubs have wound up for the summer.  After a year full of reading and discussion, shared lunches and case loads of Oreo cookies, playing with Photo Story to create book trailers, two electronic conferences and a wiki, and one abortive author visit, student readers are heading out of the school library and into the bookshelves of friends and family, public libraries and bookstores.
The Girls’ Book Club walked to High Park, last Monday, for a picnic.  Once the picnic table was laden with home-made lemonade, brownies, cupcakes, cheese and veggies, watermelon, and spring rolls, we settled on picnic rugs to watch the girls’ ‘party pieces’.  Girls recited poems, told riddles, read ghost stories they had written, acted out skits.  It was a perfect summer afternoon, one made for lying on the grass and looking at the clouds.  A perfect end to a lovely year.
On the following afternoon, members of the Boys’ Book Club walked around the corner from the school to Noah’s house for an Italian afternoon.  We started with pizza in Noah’s lovely back garden. Then we watched The Thief Lord, based on Cornelia Funke’s wonderful novel, which boys read last Fall.  Though I generally prefer books to their screen adaptations, this was a delightful movie.  The small changes in plot added to the tension and helped to make up for the loss of some of the magic of Funke’s written text.  After the film had ended, we ate dishes of ice cream with Italian treats.  I enjoyed an expresso with biscotti!  Many thanks to Noah’s mother, who opened her house to us!
The Intermediate Book Club had planned to go to High Park, last Thursday afternoon, but the day was cool and rainy.  By lunchtime it became clear that we needed to find another venue.  I begged the key to an empty classroom and we took our picnic there, spreading out the food on tables cleared of science projects, and sitting on the floor, since the room is virtually empty.  Students started by eating.  I will never become accustomed to how much food adolescents can consume!  And their food choices!  Mind you, I thoroughly enjoyed the jam sandwiches on whole-wheat bread, something I haven’t eaten a lot of since I graduated from Grade 8.
Then it was time for the readers’ pieces.  Kate and Gen, who’d come dressed at the Weasley twins, acted out a scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Ella read a passage from Pride and Prejudice, complete with characters’ voices, shifts in location to indicate changes in speaker, and explanatory asides.  Nuala and Emily sang while Emily played the guitar.  There was a very funny reading of a poem by Shel Silverstein, an uproarious ‘singing’ of The Lonely Goat herd by Kaitlyn, helped out by Lauren, a scene acted out by Maxine and Diane from The Way Lies North, one of the novels nominated for the Red Maple prize this year, a poem about Book Club written for the occasion, and more.  It was a simply magical afternoon.
To everyone who took part in Book Club this year, have a wonderful summer, and read lots of great books!
FernFolio Editor