Virtual Book Club
Our virtual do-it-at-home book clubs for all ages continue! The best part? Everyone who participates gets to keep the book!
Pick up your free book and activity packet by visiting the library. Every book will come with a blank review form, a few questions you can think about, and a small craft or activity that ties into the book. All we ask is that you read the book: do as much or as little of the rest of it as you want. No matter how much you do, the book is yours!
The books are:
- Grades 5-8: Rain Is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith. It’s been six months since her best friend died, and up until now Rain has succeeded in shutting herself off from the world. But when controversy arises around her aunt Georgia’s Indian Camp in their mostly white midwestern community, Rain decides to face the outside world again – at least through the lens of her camera. Hired by her town newspaper to photograph the campers, Rain soon finds that she has to decide how involved she wants to become in Indian Camp. Does she want to keep a professional distance from the intertribal community she belongs to? And just how willing is she to connect with the campers after her great loss?
- Grades 9-12: Night Witches by Kathyn Lasky. Sixteen-year-old Valya knows what it feels like to fly. She’s a pilot who’s always felt more at home soaring through the sky than down on earth. But since the Germans surrounded Stalingrad, Valya’s been forced to stay on the ground and watch her city crumble. When her mother is killed during the siege, Valya is left with one burning to desire: to join up with her older sister, a member of the famous Night Witches – a regiment of female pilots who fly light planes through curtains of fire to bomb crucial targets. Using all her wits, Valya manages to get past the German blockade and find the Night Witches’ hidden base. That’s when the real danger starts. The pilots have been assigned a critical mission, one with the power to inflict serious damage on the Nazis. Valya will give anything to fight for her country, but when the person she loves most goes missing, she must make a choice between duty and the deepest desires of her heart.
We will have a post for each book on https://www.splyouth.org for anyone who wants to discuss the book or comment on any of the questions or activities. If you’d prefer not to go online, fill out the included review sheets and get them back to the library, and we can post your comments for you! Even better, everyone who either posts on our site or brings back anything included with the book – even if it’s just a picture of the craft you did – will also get a small prize at the library!
See the books for grades K-3 and 3-5.
Want to learn more about what's going on for youth at the library? Visit splyouth.org! Featuring posts discussing books, activities, submissions from kids, and more!