I’ve got a shiny, new You Tube channel and I would love for you to check it out! I’ll be sitting on my porch and talking about books. They are short, sweet and full of literary goodness!
The first in my middle grade books series is Fooled by Susan Haas and her daughter Lexi. (affiliate link)
I read this with my son as a part of my Family Book Club program and we both really enjoyed it!
Grab a few copies for you and your kids and then check out the discussion questions below. If you want the full book club experience, check out the Family Book Club Companion on Etsy!
Family Book Club Golden Rule: No one sprints ahead to the end alone. No spoilers! You connect a long the way and enjoy the story together.
How it works:
- Place sticky notes at the end of chapter 10 and chapter 20 to mark the stop points. These are your rest stops. Everyone reads at their own pace. When you get to a rest stop, you pause and wait for everyone to catch up.
- At dinner, in the car, at bedtime, or anytime that works for you, bring out the discussion question and have a chat.
- Then pick up and keep reading until you get to the next rest stop at the end of chapter 20. Pause. Wait. Chat.
- Repeat until everyone is done with the book. Have a final chat and plan a time to do the extension activity. The activity is designed to create a real, tangible connection to the story.
Here are your discussion questions. If you want the full book club experience, check out the Family Book Club Companion. It includes a templates for a fridge reading tracking map, 3 discussion questions for every rest stop and the end, and 3 extension activity ideas. The real gem is the custom AI prompt that you can use for any book to create a book club for any book you pick.
Rest Stop 1 – Read chapters 1-10
Lil communicates using a mix of talking and an augmentative speech device, which can sometimes feel frustrating when she wants to be heard quickly. How do you think we can practice being better listeners or friends to people who communicate differently than we do?
Rest Stop 2 – Read chapters 11-20
As the rumors grow, Lil and her friends choose to keep playing along with the magic charade even though it is getting risky. If you were in Lil’s shoes, would you have told everyone the truth right away, or would you have enjoyed the new popularity?
End of the book – Read chapters 21-end
Lil has to transition from hiding behind her fantasy world to finding her actual, real-world voice to save her school. What is a situation in your own life where you had to speak up for yourself or your friends, even when it felt incredibly scary?
Extension activity
The DIY Good-Luck Charm Station
Gather smooth rocks, old buttons, cardboard scraps, yarn, and markers from around the house. Sit down as a family and design your own personalized “good-luck charms” inspired by the ones Lil, Dora, and Scoot create in the book. Instead of pretend magic spells, have each family member write a real, encouraging hidden note or wish on the back of the charm for another family member to discover.
Happy reading!
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