Young Critics Book Club

2025

Monthly, on the third Thursday

Young Critics Book Club is a monthly book discussion for ages 8-12. We will share ideas for other great reads while enjoying fun activities and snacks. Even if you have not finished the book, join us anyway. A parent or guardian must be present for this event.

Be sure to RSVP via the events calendar.

Your family will discover the benefits of reading!

Joining our Young Critics Book Club will cultivate a love of reading in your child in the best environment and help improve their performance in school. Book clubs are a great place to get in the habit of critical thinking. Children will read and analyze the story to find deeper meanings in the literature. The selected book’s literary analysis will aid your child’s development of conversational skills and expand their ability to express ideas. Our activities are related to literature in one way or another. By being in the club, your children will be in the best environment to develop a love for literature.


A Note About Library Book Clubs for 2025
Reading lists will be available in our events calendar under each Book Club entry.

For questions, contact Youth Services via email.

January 2025 Session

Happy New Year to our Young Critics!

The snow didn’t keep these five critics away from the library!

We hunkered down and talked about The Perfect Score by Rob Buyea. It’s a story about five kids under pressure in their home lives who eventually find that you can’t know someone until you realize their struggles. The kids eventually have to make a difficult choice that will affect them individually, and each considers the others in their decision.

We created collages that helped us tell each other a little bit about ourselves, and then we feasted on vanilla and chocolate cupcakes—a favorite snack of one of our book characters!

Next month’s book: Auggie & Me by RJ Palacio

December 2024

Charlotte’s Web by EB White

We had a whole house of reviewers for our November Young Critics Book Club! We discussed “Out of My Mind” by Sharon Draper, the story of a young girl, Melody, with Cerebral Palsy who is non-verbal and has limited physical function. We started our discussion by answering questions only using words on a board similar to Melody’s as answers. This was very limiting. Then, we used our voices to discuss Melody’s hardships and difficulties and the behaviors of those around her. In the book, Melody is frustrated and sometimes embarrassed by the fact that she has to be fed. For a snack, we had pouches of applesauce. The kids were challenged to allow someone else to feed them. Some accepted the challenge, but others were not interested! The final challenge was using word clouds of book paragraphs and writing a new story. This is where the creativity flowed!

October

Inside Out and Back Again by Lai Thanhha

Written in rich, free-verse poems, this moving tale follows a young Vietnamese girl leaving her war-torn homeland for America in 1975. With Saigon about to fall to the communists, 10-year-old HA, her mother, and her brothers are forced to flee their beloved city and head to the United States. But living in a new country isn’t easy for HA, and she finds adapting to its strange customs challenging.

September

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznicke

Orphan, clockkeeper, and thief Hugo lives secretly in the walls of a busy Paris train station. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life and his most precious secret are jeopardized. A cryptic drawing, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s late father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

July

When Stars Are Scattered

The Young Critics had an engaging and heartfelt discussion this month, with ten participants diving into a graphic novel memoir by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed. The emotional journey of two boys separated from their mother during the war in Somalia struck a chord with everyone. As they created star ornaments and enjoyed “scattered stars” cupcakes, the Critics were enthusiastic about the possibility of meeting the author in Lancaster, PA.

June’s Gathering

Wonder

The Critics discussed the book Wonder by RJ Palacio. They were very insightful about the main character, Auggie’s struggles at school and the difficulties of the other kids accepting a kid with facial deformities. The theme tonight was kindness. We painted kindness rocks to place around the community. The stones are labeled “If found, tag Parkland Community Library on FB with #YoungCriticsBookClub.” Please join the next session on July 18. Please join us anyway if you did not finish reading the book!

May’s Gathering

Night Diary

Our ten critics discussed the Historical Fiction Novel Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani. The story was written through the eyes of a 12-year-old girl writing to her mother. In August 1947, India became free from British rule. Suddenly, travel was dangerous as Hindus and Muslims who had been living peacefully with one another now became enemies. Much of the story revolved around food, so our snacks for this program were authentic Indian snacks. Most of the group was unfamiliar with these flavors, but they enjoyed them! We all enjoyed crafting our diaries.

January

2024

We tried something different for January’s session. Our library group read a book of their choosing and reviewed it for their peers to have their book selected for upcoming clubs. Each kid created a bookmark that represented the book they reviewed. The artwork will be used as the Young Critics promotional bookmark. Patrons can learn about our group at the Youth Services desk.

Add biography text for your team member here. You can also remove this text if you’d rather just have a name and title.



All programming is sponsored by The Friends of the Parkland Community Library. 
Learn more about The Friends on their webpage.

Most Circulated Young Adult Titles 2024

View the most popular young adult titles. We are thrilled to present the most circulated Young Adult titles of 2024, which include a diverse mix of traditional and graphic novels. These books have been a hit among patrons, captivating readers with engaging plots and relatable characters. From gripping mysteries to heartwarming coming-of-age stories, these titles…

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