I have two book groups that meet during the school year, one that’s recommended for 4th grade and up and a second that is geared towards 6th grade and up.
During the summer I have one large book group and we do something special. In 2007 and 2008 I did Pizza and Pages, a book discussion that included pizza and drinks. The first year I did really popular books like Twilight, Uglies, Eragon, and Harry Potter and had a tremendous turnout (average 12 participants). The following summer I chose less well known books like Peak, Shark Girl, Airman, and the Luxe and had a good turnout but not as high as the first summer (average 6).
The summer of 2009 I changed from pizza to movies and popcorn. I did Movie Talkers Book Group, where we watched the movie, enjoyed popcorn and drinks, and then spent 15-20 minutes comparing the book and the movie. I showed City of Ember, Twilight, Coraline, and Inkheart and had another great turnout (average 10).
Summer 2010 continued Movie Talkers Book Group. We watched The Lightning Thief, Alice in Wonderland, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and New Moon and averaged 16 tweens and teens per movie.
Promotion Ideas:
Summer 2010
Summer 2009
Tween Book Talk (fall 2010)
Teen Book Talk (fall 2010)
