Family Book Club: September Edition

It’s back to school time! While I imagine a collective “yes!” from parents, realistically there is an audible sigh from many kids across the country. For the month of September, these four book picks for your family book club help make school cool again. Ease your young ones back into a homework routine with these fun reads so recording minutes in the oft dreaded reading log is so much easier. There are lottery winnings to consider, a clever homework-eating fox, a secret sheriff, and double the trouble inside the pages of these books to help with the transition back to the classroom and back into some family reading time.

About the Author(s): Who is Honest Lee? Well, say the two names together fast enough, and honestly, we’re not exactly sure. Matthew Gilbert is a real person, with a real moustache and a penchant for tacos. He has written Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles novels, penned shows for Nickelodeon, and loves monster movies. This is the first book in a length, and hilarious, series. Illustrator Joelle Dreidemy lives in France and plays guitar in a rock band!

For the Meeting: Make your kids feel like they won the lottery by serving up their favorite foods at this gathering. Dessert for dinner, anyone?! After you discuss the book and questions, have them craft their own chapter and submit it to Honest Lee.

Questions for Discussion:

• What would you do if your teacher won the lottery and gave you one billion dollars?
• Which classmate was the most sensible with their spending? Which classmate spent their money in the most eccentric way possible?
• What can’t money buy you?
• How do you think the classmates were different after receiving all that money? How were they the same?

About the Author: David Blaze is a nom de plume for Timothy David. He created this persona to craft an imaginative world as an inspiration for his young son, Zander Blaze. His books are about loyalty, sincerity, and being honest and they are also full of fantasy. He dedicates every book he writes to his son, with the words “Wow! That’s awesome!” as an homage to him. They live in Florida with a dog named Sapphire, Zander’s mom, and an overabundance of chicken nuggets.

For the Meeting: Serve up some chicken nuggets, of course (a favorite of the author’s son). And consider a discussion on anthropomorphism in children’s literature. This book is certainly a bit more fantasy than fact and talking animals are not often seen in middle grade literature.

Questions for Discussion:

• How would you react if a talking fox showed up in your backyard?
• Why do you think Joe felt responsible for helping to save the farmhouse?
• When you were the new kid somewhere, how did other kids react? How do you treat new students to your class?
• What do you think Joe and Fox are up to now?

About the Authors: It takes two to write double the trouble in this series starter. Mac Barnett and Jory John met in 2002 at a San Francisco educational nonprofit organization. Over a love of writing and binge-watching television, they crafted this clever series. Barnett is an award-winning children’s author with more than one million books in print in over thirty languages. John is an award-winning author of books for kids both big (adults) and small. Together, this book is the start of a fun and addictive series.

For the Meeting: Before you begin your meeting, take the oath at the end of the book and consider pulling a prank on your own kids! Kids will also be delighted to discover that they can submit their own prank on the Terrible Two website. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Questions for Discussion:

• What is the International Order of Disorder?
• How can being a prankster be a good thing? And how can it be bad?
• What pranks have you pulled on friends or family?
• Which of the pranks in the book did you like the most?

About the Author: Inspired to become a novelist in fourth grade, Sonnenblick has since written more than ten books. As a teacher, it was one of his students, Emily, who inspired his first book. Emily’s brother was undergoing treatment for cancer and Sonnenblick thought if he found just the right book he could help her. When his search turned up fruitless, he decided to write a story for her. He has been writing books ever since.

For the Meeting: Wrangle your deputy sheriffs to your table for a family meeting. Serve up a nice lunch or dinner and be prepared for a deep conversation about poverty, substance abuse, and opportunities to make the world a much better place.

Questions for Discussion:

• How does Maverick cope with the loss of his dad and having a single mom that struggles with her own issues?
• Why do you think Maverick wants to be a quiet hero?
• How does humor help him get through his days? And how do you think he feels about kindness, given the things that have happened to him in his lifetime?
• What do you have that you appreciate more after reading about Maverick’s struggles?