How to Start a Children’s Book Club

When my children were toddler and preschool age, we fell in love with good literature. We spent hours reading from huge stacks of books every day, but sometimes a particular book would be on repeat in our house. I thought it would be fun to invite some friends into a preschool book club and do activities related to a book we were loving. We would spend an afternoon playing games, doing crafts, and enjoying themed snacks for books like Go Dog, Go! and Blueberries for Sal. It was so precious and began to shape a deep love for good literature and a culture of being book lovers in our home.

As they grew, we began to read aloud short chapter books like The Trumpet of the Swan and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I loved the idea of ending each book with a celebration to reflect on what we read and invite my children into fun experiences related to the themes in the story. After doing this on our own a few times, I decided to invite a few close friends to join us again for a book club. Over time, we invited more and more friends and adjusted things to be more of a collaborative effort. We continued this book club consistently for almost two years and it was hands-down one of the highlights of my children’s education so far.

We have recently started hosting a book club again and I had forgotten how much we all love it! This time we are choosing family-style chapter books that engage my children ages 5-12.

Recently, we read Swallows and Amazons with our local Wild + Free group. We met together for snacks inspired by the book and made origami paper sail boats, pitched sheet tents, created flags and reenacted the story. The kids shared their favorite characters and parts of the story and gave it a “review,” which gave them a chance to practice public speaking. It was an all-around perfect homeschool day and a wonderful celebration of a really great book!

If you love good literature and want books to be celebrated in community, I am sharing how we have set up our book club over the years and some tips to begin and facilitate your own!

In this blog post:

How to start a children’s book club with your friends or homeschool co-op
Activity ideas for children’s book club meet-ups
Read children’s literature with Treehouse Book Studies

How to start a children’s book club with your friends or homeschool co-op

Children's Book Club - Treehouse Book Studies

Here are simple steps for creating a children’s book club with your friends, local community, or homeschool co-op.

Choosing book club members for children’s book clubs

I recommend inviting families with children within a similar age range as your children so they can enjoy the same books and participate in the activities together. For many years, the children in our book club ranged from 4-7 years old, which worked well for our group. Now, our group has children ages 5-12. Truly, any age group can work if you choose books that all can enjoy and think ahead on how to adapt activities to various ages.

I also recommend limiting your book club to a number of children that is manageable for leading activities. When it was mostly younger children, my general rule was to have as many children as could fit around a kitchen table. Now, with older children to help and a larger space to host, our group is closer to 15-18.

As you are inviting parents to participate, communicate that the book club is a collaborative effort. You will want to find parents who are willing to host/ lead, help create experiences, and are willing to be involved and help their children with the activities. This works best when it is a group effort where everyone makes suggestions and helps facilitate the learning. I personally wanted a committed group of moms that would make it a priority to read the book with their children and attend as many meet-ups as possible.

For communication purposes, you could use a private Facebook group or an app like Heylo or GroupMe.

Making a book list for children’s book clubs

In my groups in the past, all of the moms submitted books they wanted to use for the book club. We made a list and posted it in our Facebook group. If there were any books on the list that certain moms didn’t want to read for any reason, we removed them from the list. We constantly added to the list as we discovered new books we wanted to read together.

Creating a host rotation schedule for children’s book clubs

The main reason our book clubs have been successful is because all of the parents share the responsibilities. The planning does not fall on any one mom. In our group, the moms rotate who hosts and leads. This has worked well for us.

The host is responsible for:

Choosing the book. Using the book list that we compiled, the host chooses which book is next to read and communicates that to the group.
Choose the book club date. We usually go about four to six weeks between meetups. It is the responsibility of the host to determine how much time families need to finish the book (less time for shorter books and more time for longer books). It is also their responsibility to communicate to the group and nail down a date that works for everyone. The host creates the event on whatever platform you choose or through a text thread with all the details. Meet ups could be anywhere between 2-5 hours, depending on if you want to make space for lunch and free play as well.
Choose the location. The host either has the book club meet up at their house or chooses an outdoor location with picnic tables.
Keep communication going as we prep for the meetup. During the weeks leading up to the meetup, the host reminds the other moms to RSVP and to submit their activity and snack ideas to the group so that we have a good variety.
Facilitate the meetup. While each parent is responsible for contributing a themed snack and one group activity, the host is responsible to make an order of events for the book club to keep the activities going on meetup day. We like to set up the order of events in a way that moves the kids around throughout the activities, rather than keeping them in one spot for a long period of time. We have done activities in the kitchen, outside, in the living room, and at the kitchen table. We put snack time in somewhere in the middle and do some book discussion or presentations as we munch. We have also experimented with breaking the group into two smaller groups and rotating the smaller groups through activities. The host is responsible for looking at the activities and deciding on the best order and way to implement them with the group. Whichever mom brought each activity, also leads the group in the activity.

Incorporating babies and toddlers in children’s book clubs

If you have baby and toddler siblings in the group, it may help to set up a separate area for them to play during the meetup and rotating moms in to watch them. At one time we had seven babies and toddlers that came to our meetups, so it got really loud and challenging to lead activities without a plan in place. When we set up a play area for them, it helped so much! Of course, there are still baby-wearing mamas, nursing sessions, and toddlers needing their mama, but having an area set up just for them with toys or sensory bins has been a helpful option.

Activity ideas for children’s book club meet-ups

Here are some ideas for book club activities I have loved over the years:

Role play – Play charades using scenes or characters, create costumes of characters, make props from the story, and invite children to reenact scenes in the story.
STEM challenges – Design something related to the story like igloos out of sugar cubes, a bridge from popsicle sticks, or an animal trap! This could be guided with clear instruction or left open for kids to experiment and work as a team to figure things out.
Bake or cook together – Use a recipe inspired by the story and cook or bake together as a group.
Create and craft – Get creative by turning any of the themes in the story into a handcraft or project. The sky is the limit here. We’ve made bird houses, party hats, clay swans, and so many more. It’s so fun to create something to bring home to remember the story.
Games – Light-hearted competition and team games like paper sailboat races, capture the flag, or any other game that connects to a theme in the story can be great fun and connect the group together.
Tutorials – We’ve done group origami, sketching, or watercolor tutorials of animals or objects related to the book. We’ve had an older child or a mom lead and other times have used a video tutorial.
Discussions and presentations – Often during snack time, we start discussions about the book by asking questions. We’ve also had a time for presentations where children can share their favorite part of the book, favorite character, or show and tell something they wrote, drew, or created at home while reading the book.

Read children’s literature with Treehouse Book Studies

Treehouse Book Studies were designed as a way for children to learn together through great literature. These are suitable for family read-alounds, homeschool co-ops, or children’s book clubs.

Treehouse Book Studies are digital download book studies of classic children’s literature, available for both Primary and Intermediate Years. Use in your homeschool as literature curriculum or as book study with a small group. Create lasting connections through rich stories while you study themes such as science, nature, geography, history, and language arts. Each download includes: Book Study with weekly lesson plans, recipes, Book Report Template, Extension Book List, Multimedia Reference Materials links, and Book Club Meet-up Guide.

My Side of the Mountain Book Study

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George is an adventure story that begins when 12-year-old Sam Gribley decides to leave his family and their small, cramped New York City apartment to seek a quieter life and explore the world. Told from the first person through journal entries, notes, and drawings, Sam embarks on a journey in the Catskill Mountains, relying on his own survival skills to make it on his own. Along the way, Sam learns how to build fires, forage for food, and catch fish as he seeks independence in the woods. Prepared with only a few items like a pen knife, an ax, and the clothes on his back, Sam quickly learns that surviving in nature involves more than he has read about in books.

The Black Stallion Book Study

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley tells the story of a unique and enduring bond between a boy and a horse. Alec and the black stallion (referred to as the Black throughout the book) find themselves in grave danger early on, yet their perseverance leads them to a deep friendship that helps them overcome the odds.

The Black’s mysterious past brings uncertainty to their journey, but one thing is certain: the bond between Alec and the horse is unlike any other. Together, they form an unlikely team that ventures into the thrilling world of horse racing, where Alec finds himself once again facing unexpected challenges.

This book explores themes of persistence, determination, and the unbreakable connection between a boy and his horse.

The Secret Garden Book Study

When Mary Lennox, a spoiled and self-centered girl who has experienced little of real life, is sent to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor, she is both friendless and thoughtless, content in her solitary ways. However, life begins to change for Mary as she meets a variety of colorful characters at the manor. With the help of a brick wall, a robin, and a mystery, Mary embarks on a quest to unlock the Secret Garden. The story’s charming characters will warm your heart (while others may prompt reflection on your own behavior).

The Secret Garden is a timeless tale of transformation, revealing what lies on the other side of our own limitations. With hope and a touch of magic, Mary—and readers—learn that the true magic of the Secret Garden lies in friendship, kindness, hope, and love. Featuring beautiful writing and rich garden imagery, The Secret Garden continues to captivate and inspire readers of all ages.