It’s our 4th year in a Mother-Daughter Club, and it just keeps on getting better!

When the girls were in 3rd Grade, I heard about Mother-Daughter book clubs from a friend in Washington, D.C. These books clubs were very popular in the nation’s capitol where Shireen Dodson wrote about her experience in a book titled, The Mother -Daughter Book Club: How Ten Busy Mothers and Daughters Came Together to Talk, Laugh and Learn Through Their Love of Reading.

Of course, the magic word “book” guaranteed my interest, and I was open to anything that would encourage my daughter to love books as much as I do. Then my friend explained that the real value of the book club was the opportunity to discuss issues affecting our maturing daughters in a non confrontational setting. At a Mother-Daughter Book Club you get to talk about the taboo subjects that usually set girls screaming in horror - personal hygiene, puberty, dating, etc. I was hooked, and with Dodson’s how-to manual, I was armed with everything I needed to get started.

Getting Started

1. Find some girls (and moms) who love books. Ask your daughter or her teacher for suggestions.
2. Choose a regular date with sufficient time for everyone to read the book. Meeting on Sunday afternoons every 6-8 weeks usually works for us.
3. Choose a host and a book. We let the hosting girl (and mom) choose the book, select the questions, and provide refreshments and/or activities that tie in to the book. It can be a lot of work for the host, but it’s fun and infrequent.
4. Meet. Enjoy the refreshments. Set aside time for the girls & moms to socialize. Let the hosting girl initiate the discussion, and moms can add follow-up questions. As the group learns to trust each other, these conversations will lead you to surprising discoveries and greater understanding of your daughter and even yourself.

Choosing A Book

Selecting the book can be almost as difficult as finding a convenient meeting date. Here are some ways that we find books:

• Find books, discussion questions, and ideas for activities and field trips in Shireen Dodson’s 100 Books for Girls to Grow On.
• Find reading lists, book reviews, meeting ideas, and author interviews at Motherdaughter Book Club.com
• Visit a bookstore, library, or your Scholastic Book Fair with the girls to look at possible books.

Book Extensions

There are many ways for your club to exend the fun and deepen appreciation of a book.

Watch the movie, after you read the book. Bridge To Terabithia and Harriet The Spy are two popular books that are widely available on DVD. Consider upcoming attractions at the cinema. Hurry up and read the book version of Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass before it arrives at the movie theatres on December 7th. If you love fantasy and adventure, you may end up reading the entire His Dark Materials trilogy.

Go on field trips. After reading E.L. Konisburg’s From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, we had to visit the Metropolitan Museum to see for ourselves how two kids could hide out in the famous museum. Since we also read Ellen Potter’s Pish Posh, this trip wouldn’t have been complete without a dash of glamour. Shopping on the Upper East Side with a stop for cosmetics at Sephoras and frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity’s was exactly what we needed.

Visit the author’s website. Most recently, we received a visit (via speakerphone) from Heather Vogel Frederick, the author of our current novel, The Mother-Daughter Book Club. In a serendipitous twist of fate, our host duo chose this book at a time that the Ms. Frederick’s website was publicising a special invitation from the author to book clubs. It was so exciting to converse with the author of a book that we all loved. The girls lined up to take turns asking questions, and they each had several turns. Even the moms couldn’t resist asking a few questions! Heather Vogel Frederick was so approachable and her responses were nearly as entertaining as her books. I think that each girl, and some moms, left inspired to do some writing.

Living By Learning

When you’re living by learning, your life is full of surprising adventures and discoveries. Who knows where this book club journey will lead? Don’t be surprised if we evolve into Book Babes: The Mother-Daughter Book And Writing Club.

If you would like to receive free articles from On Living By Learning by email, click this link.