BOOK CLUBS.

A can-do kid brings fellow readers together

November 21, 2004|By Fern Schumer Chapman, author of "Motherland--Beyond the Holocaust: A Mother/Daughter Journey to Reclaim the Past."

At age 11, Sarah Yockey has accomplished something many people can't manage before their 20th high school reunion.

Sarah--a tiny, freckled 6th-grader at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School in Naperville--has reached out beyond her clique of friends. All by herself, she has organized a book club for six classmates, demonstrating social and logistical skills that would do anyone proud--not to mention a youngster who weighs barely 80 pounds.

"We're from all different [social] groups," Sarah says of the book club's members, who just began meeting this school year. "We have bonded because we share an interest in reading. It's nice to learn things about people who are different from you."

Virginia Frankenthal, whose daughter Alex is a member of the book group, marvels that Sarah has accomplished the formidable task of establishing an organized forum for discussion. "Sarah had this vision and she persisted," she says. "She is a leader in a special, gentle way."

One of the biggest beneficiaries of Sarah's efforts is classmate Ashley Olsen, who started at Sts. Peter and Paul this year. "I didn't know anyone," she says, so when Sarah handed her a flier about the club, Ashley signed up immediately.

"I thought it would be a great way to make friends," she says, and she hasn't been disappointed.

Though the girls have ample opportunities to read and discuss books at school, their book club holds its own appeal: They meet and talk independently, with no parents overseeing the group.

"It's fun to do it on our own," Nora Kenny says.

"We can do it our way," Ashley adds. "We can show our personalities more."

And that's a major reason Sarah organized the group. "I wanted to have someone to talk about reading with instead of my parents, who haven't read the book," she says.

Of course, the girls gain much more than discussion partners by coming together on their own, Lea Cahill says. "We learn independence," she explains. "We wouldn't learn nearly as much if our parents did this for us."

Sarah, who hopes to be a teacher when she grows up, is busy right now with the book group and her position as secretary of her Girl Scout troop. Her peers and adults alike consider her a gifted organizer. "You should see her room," says her best friend, Crissy Tancredi.

"OK, I'm a neat freak," Sarah says, laughing. "I admit it."

She's also a master delegator who has assigned a particular job to each member of the group. At their meetings, held every other week, the girls take turns pondering different aspects of the books and recording their thoughts in notebooks provided, not surprisingly, by Sarah.

The assignments, based upon "How to Get Your Child to Love Reading: For Ravenous and Reluctant Readers Alike," by Esme Raji Codell, include:

- The Discussion Director, who thinks of questions for the group to address.

- The Language Lover, who picks out new vocabulary words.

- The Literary Luminary, who identifies meaningful passages.

- The Imperial Illustrator, who captures turning points in the book in a collage or drawing.

- The Practical Predictor, who identifies "cliffhanger" moments and, before reading on, predicts what will happen.

This week's book, which Nora describes as "as good as Harry Potter," is "Behind the Bedroom Wall," by Laura E. Williams. It tells the story of a young German girl, Korinna Rehme, who in 1939 becomes a member of a Nazi youth group because she believes Adolf Hitler is helping the world by dealing with the "Jewish problem." Shocked to discover that her parents are hiding Jews and trying to help them escape, she finds her loyalties tested when neighbors tip off the Gestapo.

"What would you do if you were Korinna?" asks Discussion Director Lea.

"I don't know what I'd do," Crissy says.

"Our lives are so perfect," Sarah says. "We have it really good. It makes you think about the people in Iraq and how difficult their lives are."

"Yes, we're spoiled here and we don't realize it," Crissy agrees.

As they interpret the story and share their ideas, it's easy to forget how young these girls are--until Sarah captures the group's attention and then forgets what she wants to say. The room suddenly falls silent, all eyes focused on Sarah, as the group waits for her insight. Panicked, Sarah searches for her thought but, when she makes eye contact with Crissy, the whole group bursts out laughing.

Now that the word has gotten out at school about the book club, many girls have expressed interest in joining, but the group wants to keep membership at fewer than 10. Others may organize their own book clubs, perhaps with help from Sarah as a consultant.

In an e-mail written after the book club's discussion of "Behind the Bedroom Wall," Sarah credits her teachers and her parents with developing her love of reading through constant encouragement to "read, read, read." Most revealing is this can-do kid's vivid, rainbow-hued signature: "Life. Live it. Love it. Embrace it. Sarah Yockey"

Tip: Sarah says it's not difficult to organize a reading group. "If you are really passionate about reading," she says, "go for it. Make fliers. Distribute them at your school. See who wants to participate." It's important, too, to make sure everyone knows all the details--time, day, place--to choose books everyone will read and want to discuss, and to gently keep discussions focused on the book.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-11-21/entertainment/0411200041_1_book-group-book-club-girls-gain
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