On December 7th, 2018, Imani Ariana Grant and the board members of Love of Literature Book Club, hosted their first book club meeting at Center Road School in Vernon, Connecticut. It was a well-attended event enjoyed by over 15 children accompanied by their parents. The theme for the evening was centered around the mission of the book club with an emphasis on the acceptance of differences.
Each child was given the opportunity to introduce themselves and share their favorite subjects and the reason they joined the book club. The most common responses for favorite subjects were math, science and reading.
“I joined the book club because I want to be good at reading at a higher grade level,” one child said boldly. I joined the book club because I enjoy reading and I want to meet new friends,” said another with enthusiasm in her voice.
Heather Sotomayor, teacher and mom vice president, divided the club members into small groups where they played a round of Dice Breaker. “This game not only help to break the ice, but the purpose of this game was to help the children discover things about another member that they could not have known by just looking at them,” Mrs. Sotomayor explained.
The book entitled, ‘I May Not Be Like You, but We Can Be Friends’ written by Sabrena Bishop, was chosen as the opening book for the book club. The story is a valuable lesson on the importance of individual differences, sharing feelings, being a good friend, dealing with bullies, teasing and painful childhood lessons. In an open discussion about the book the children were asked to express their thoughts.
“I learned that no matter what people look like you should be nice to them because they just might have problems with their ears or head or something else. It might be a little scary, but you must be nice to them. In the book, the girl who was running had a metal leg. You shouldn’t be mean because that can hurt other feelings and make them feel like they should not be the way they are. When you don’t say anything mean, they feel regular because no one is making them feel bad,” one child said profoundly.
“I am really glad you read this story because my friend had cancer and she lost her hair and so she looked different. I like that the book told you that I may not be like you, but my hair will grow back. It reminded me of my friend. Now my friend is healthy and happy and goes to school.” Another child said sympathetically.
Dr. Melissa Sue John, Mom-vice president of LOL book club, spoke to the children about the importance of reading books that will not only reflects their own lives but also exposes them to the lives of others so that they are aware of what others might be going through.
Overall the evening was amazing. It ended with a fun celebration for Imani Ariana’s 10th birthday. Imani Ariana would not have her birthday any other way than to celebrate with her new and old friends at the LOL Book Club Launch.
If you missed the first meeting, no need to worry. RSVP now for our next upcoming meeting. See more details here. At the LOL Book Club, child will have the opportunity to meet new friends, discover and explore new things through literature and meet guest authors. The book club is currently open to children ages 6 through 13. To join our notification list, simple text JOIN LOL to 347-575-8654 and you will be added to our WhatsApp notification list.
You may purchase a copy of the book, I May Not Be Like You, but We Could Be Friends by Sabrena Bishop below. This is a great book to add to your child’s book collection.
We would like to thank the Vernon Board of Education Superintendent, Dr. Joseph Macary and the principals of Center Road School for believing in the mission of the LOL Book Club and for providing a home for the LOL Book Club at Center Road School. See more images below. Were you at the Book Club meeting? Can you please share your experience below in the comment box. Join us at our next meeting. Click here for more details and to RSVP.
