Bibliotherapy Book Clubs

Mrs. Peyton and I are thrilled to be doing another year of joint book clubs.  Our Bibliotherapy book clubs focus on a social skill or life experience, target a group of kids who match that skill or experience, and read a book to help discuss it. We are bowled over every semester by how engaged these students get, how focused they are, how responsible they are with their reading, and how it bonds us together as a group.

We started two groups a couple weeks ago.  We're reading Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri with a group of 4th grade boys, and Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie with a group of 3rd graders. The students are already reading and responding in our meetings.  We're building relationships together in our group and having a lot of fun.  Check out Aiden reading this book- he has always been an outstanding reader.

4th Grade Book Club Wrap Up!

It was awesome but a little bit sad as Mrs. Peyton & I finished our 4th grade book club last week.  We've had so much fun reading & discussing Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri.  Check out the bags they made as a secret surprise activity for our last meeting.  These boys worked so hard, kept up with their reading, and had the most insightful comments as we worked through our book.  Great job, readers!

Skyping with G. Neri

Our "photo" with author G. Neri

G. Neri, author of the Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee Ghetto Cowboy, was kind enough to Skype with a group of 4th grade boys who are currently reading the book as part of our Book Club.  They asked him lots of insightful questions despite being starstruck by the author of this wonderful book, and he was so gracious and kind to spend his time with us.

He told us that he's currently working on three upcoming projects- a picture book, a novel AND a graphic novel.  We can't wait to check those out. Mr. Neri told us about his swap from a filmmaker to an author, and why he thinks it goes a little faster that way.  He also mentioned his amazing book Hello, I'm Johnny Cash that came out a few months ago.  I ordered it a couple weeks ago and it's amazing.  We've already got a line of kids that have it on hold.  

Check out this video for a tiny snipped of our conversation.  Thanks so much, G. Neri, for talking with us.  It meant a lot to our students to have this experience, and we learned a lot about writing from one of the best in the world!