Our Book Reveal Party: This Year’s Book Club Picks

Book Club (aka Party School!) is one of the reasons we love to homeschool. This year our middle school and elementary book clubs gathered for the grand announcement of our book choices for the year. Clues, snacks, gifts, and fun brought over 30 kids to this year's Book Reveal Party.

Our book clubs began a few years ago as a way for my oldest daughter (10 at the time) to meet other homeschool girls. We invited six other girls to join us in reading a book and then meeting for some fun. That tea party kicked off a new adventure in literature for the kids. Each month the girls read the chosen book and at the end of the month, we meet for book club. What started out as a way for the girls to socialize has grown into a love of literature and reading. Girls who would complain about reading now are excited to discover what the next month's book will be. The next year we added a second book club for my younger daughter who was feeling a little left out.

Now, we have an elementary co-ed book club and a girls' middle school book club.  Each year, I organize the book clubs and plan the year's book choices with the help of fellow book club moms. This year, we decided to take the fun a step further and plan a "book reveal" party. Each mom promised to keep the list of books a secret until the big day.

The Book Reveal Party

Before the party, I secretly packaged each of the books in gift bags. I used different colored tissue paper to differentiate between the book clubs. I also numbered each bag so I could remember which book was in each bag.

As the book club members arrived at the party, they each received a clipboard with a clue sheet and a pencil.

The clue sheets had brief summaries of each of the books. The children worked individually and in groups to try to guess this year's book choices.

On hot summer days in the South, most of our get-togethers involve some sort of water activity. So, we planned the book reveal party with a swim party. This worked out perfectly as it gave me time to meet with the moms and answer any questions they had while the kids played.

Book Reveal Party Snacks

Every good party school must have snacks. Since this was an outdoor swim party, I opted to go light on the snacks. Popcorn and a soda bar worked fantastically to keep the kids refreshed while they swam. The soda bar has been a fun addition to all our outdoor parties this year. The kids love creating their own soda concoctions from the Torani syrups.

Middle School Book Club Picks

For the last few years, we have chosen short novels. Since the girls are moving into middle school, we decided to add a few more advanced novels for the teen crowd to this year's selections. I love the Golden Lines journal idea from Brave Writer, so we decided to incorporate it into this year's book club. The girls were each given a journal and told to copy their favorite quote from each book-their Golden Lines. They will be able to share these at each book club.

The elementary club is growing a bit older, so we are moving to choosing books that are a bit longer. Since this group is a co-ed group, the book selections are a bit more diversified.

Elementary Book Club Picks

We can't wait to "pop" open our new books and set off on a new adventure in literature this year. The book club has given the girls new friendships and opened them up to various types of literature -- some they love and some not so much. But, always, it has taken them to new worlds through their imagination. The book club is one of the highlights of our school year and we look forward to it all summer.