A Family Reading Club

By Meredith McCulloch

Book club fans know that reading and discussing a book is a wonderful shared experience. I realized that my grandkids and I often would mention what we were reading, but in the rush of family life, rarely really discussed our books. So drawing from the example of the Bedford Library’s community read program, I suggested to the grandchildren that we all read the same book and then discuss it over lunch.

We needed a book that would interest an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old and perhaps even the 16-year-old.  A friend had suggested The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate and Patricia Castelao.  Reviews said the book, a winner of the Caldecott Award, was for everyone. It sounded good, so I obtained a copy for each family and asked the kids to read it over April school vacation. “Ivan” was hard to put down, and each of us finished it right away.

Ivan is a gorilla who lives in cage at the Exit 8 Big Top Shopping Mall, which is barely surviving financially. He is a silverback gorilla, responsible for looking after his adopted animal family, which includes an elephant and a stray dog, Bob. Ivan sees the world through primate eyes as he cares for and worries about his family. But he finds himself helpless in his glass cage.  Then the janitor’s young daughter gives Ivan a box of crayons, and he discovers he has a special talent.

Ivan’s predicament and eventual success led us to talk about animal rights and what animals we had seen or not seen in zoos. We talked about the humans’ role in helping Ivan and whether his story could be true. This led to a discussion of zoos in general and whether or not they help animals. Comparisons were made between our responsibilities for zoo animal versus those for household pets. Our talk moved on to other books written from an animal’s point of view, such as the Warrior series by Erin Hunter. ^±

There is no special challenge to doing a book discussion in any family group. Be sure to pick a book everyone would like. Agree upon a time to meet well in advance. Be prepared with some discussion questions. If you want ideas, you can probably find them on the Internet or ask a librarian. You can meet anywhere, but it is good to be away from interruptions and to share some food. We had a good lunch at a local restaurant, topped off by chocolate cake. In conclusion we decided to be on the lookout for another book to read and discuss over the summer and another for Christmas vacation. Suggestions are invited.