Book Clubs for Young Readers
Kathy Clayton
Ashland Beacon
On a chilly Friday evening, two teenagers are setting up displays just inside the entryway of Broadway Books on Winchester Avenue, as customers stroll in from the street to browse through the selections.
The teens, both employees of the bookstore, are hoping to inspire others their age to love reading as much as they do. Reading is not only fundamental, to quote an advertising phrase, it’s also enjoyable, improves students’ overall educational achievement, and promotes lifelong learning.
With this objective in mind, two young employees are starting book clubs for teens and pre-teens. Elliott Fosterwelsh, a senior at Paul G. Blazer High School, has started a book club for high school-age students. Maggie Wehrle, a junior at Russell High School, is starting a book club for middle-school-age students.
“People would come in (the bookstore) and ask if we have a book club, and now we do,” said Elliott. (Note: Broadway Books has an adult book club that has met for a few months.) He said he wants to focus on books that are “newer releases, books that relate to what’s going on the world,” and will include different genres.
“We (the high school club) just started last week, and we meet on Saturdays at five at the bookstore,” Elliott said. “I had read ‘Lark Ascending,’ by Kentucky native Silas House, and it’s a really good book. It has some deep themes like climate change and authoritarianism, but it’s also hopeful.”
Elliott said he wanted to get people to “sit around and talk about books and buy books. We haven’t decided how many pages to read each week, but I’m putting together questions for discussion.” He also said he hopes to get the author Silas House to come to Broadway Books for one of the discussions.
“I think everyone should be interested in reading,” said Maggie. “I’ve always been interested in books, and I came in one day and asked if they needed help. I’ve only been here a few months.” The middle school book club that she started meets at 6 on Fridays. “Two kids showed up the first week, and no one came last week. But hopefully, we’ll get some more people.”
For her first book, Maggie chose Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. The first in a series, Hatchet was written in 1986 and describes the adventures of a 13-year-old boy surviving alone in the Canadian wilderness. “I’m thinking maybe we’ll try a mystery for the next book. I like mysteries.” She said the club members would decide on the number of pages to read per week, and she will provide questions for discussion.
“We wanted to start book clubs,” said co-owner Jill Donta.
“And, the workers readily agreed to it,” said co-owner Nancy Miller. “They wanted to do it.”
Miller noted that the adult book club, which has been meeting for a few months, took a hiatus over the holidays, but is back up and running. Donta noted that the adult club meets at The Mill on Wednesdays at 6:30 for a dinner meeting and discussion. “We switch up the genres,” she said, adding that she likes a bit of fright in a book. “I like somebody to die when I read a book,” she laughed. “Next we might pick a mystery.”
Donta also said that Broadway Books has a children’s story hour on Saturdays at 11 a.m.
A current feature of the bookstore, in keeping with March Madness, is a bracket featuring a contest of people’s favorite books. The bracket includes both children’s and adult books, and classics as well as newer books. Look for the giant bracketology display in the window.