Mother-daughter book club.

Dots and I were recently invited to join a mother-daughter Book Club. We met for the first time last week.



Our first selection was The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. Dots and I really enjoyed this book, billed as "a short novel mocking the conventions of old-fashioned children's books stuffed with orphans, nannies and long-lost heirs." The writing was clever and witty with a lot of subtle references to classic children's literature. Another fifth grade girl led our discussion, which was quite lively and interesting. Her questions ran along the lines of "How does the author make it amusing to read of children with truly awful parents?" I was impressed with the girls' thoughtful comments and also with their respect for one another and their willingness to take risks with their answers.

At the back of the book, Ms. Lowry included a glossary. The girls loved sharing their favorite definitions from it. An example: "cryptic means seeming to have a hidden meaning. If your mother says, "Consider yourself grounded, mister!" it is not at all cryptic. But if she says in a certain voice, "We need to talk," she is being cryptic. And you are about to be grounded."

Here are the books the girls chose for the rest of the year:


The City of Ember
Dots is reading this right now and will not set it down long enough for me to even look at it.



The Invention of Hugo Cabret
This book has fabulous illustrations that help tell the story. We have given it as a gift several times, and it has been very well-received.



The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1
Dots ranks this series among her all-time favorite books.



A Mango-Shaped Space



The Thief Lord