Last year I did a summer book club with Lexi. We’d read the same book, then go to the coffee shop for snacks and talk about it. This year we did it again.

And Milo joined in.

I didn’t think Milo was ready for chapter books. He’s been reading those numbered early readers (1, 2, 3) that I find brain-numbing, and I thought he was still struggling with those. But when I started the book club with Lexi, he wanted in. He’s definitely not ready for the harder middle grade books Lexi is reading, so we opted to do a separate book club with him and he totally nailed it.

As we talked about the books, it was clear Milo completely understood what he was reading. I even tested him to see what he could read, and discovered he couldn’t actually read a lot of the bigger words. But he could still figure out what was happening in the story. That’s pretty incredible. (My wife the teacher is rolling her eyes; apparently this is what all kids go through as they learn how to read.)

So I did book club with both kids. We didn’t get started until July, and reading for two different kids took more time, but we still got through three books each.

Lexi’s Book Club:

• Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass
• I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin
• Bird by Crystal Chan

Lexi’s favorite: I Lived on Butterfly Hill

My favorite: Every Soul a Star
(Learning about solar eclipses was pretty cool—we’re planning to check out the 2017 total solar eclipse in Nebraska next summer.)

Milo’s Book Club:

• Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst
• Ellray Jakes Is Not Chicken by Sally Warner
• Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker by Megan McDonald

Our favorite: Lulu and the Brontosaurus (we both liked that one best)

Since we got a late start and I couldn’t seem to keep up with both kids, it didn’t feel like we got through many books. Both kids are wanting to keep doing book club in the fall (I imagine more motivated by the chance to go get a snack than anything), so we’ll have to see. It is a fun way to engage with them.