Helpful Advice on Book Club Hosting~or Idle Suggestions and Riff Raff or Bric a Brac or maybe just Chit Chat

Thank you Shel Silverstein for keeping me a bit batty and this artwork. Check out Shel's posthumously published book on spoonerisms, Runny Babbit, a laugh a minute ride!

And now for something completely serious ~ A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR HOSTS distilled from bookmuse.com and Caroline's somewhat water-logged brain ~ 

1. Check out some of the links!
2. Formulate 3-5 questions- minimum- for discussion and/or choose 3-5 passages to discuss.
   Choose open ended questions- not "yes" or "no", but "why does" and "how did", etc...
3. Dumbledore and Ron (yes, Ron!) tend to be great resources for quotes worthy of discussion.
4. Topics for discussion are not limited to plot mysteries or intrigues but can and should also include things such as : language-word choice and tone; narrative voice-who is telling us the story & why- what's their deal?; character development- how a character is introduced, matures, unfolds throughout the story; plot development- how, where, and why does it evolve, progress and culminate; author's vision and intent- what is the author's purpose, angle, interest in telling us the tale; mood and setting- Where are we? Why are we there? How does the mood and setting help or hinder the story and our experience?; Background Inspirations for Story-Dig into the "back story" of the story; etc...
5. Reading- or having a reader- read a passage out loud prior to discussing it- the host child might be perfect for this task.
6. Do have comfortable seating arranged before guests arrive- circlish spaces near floors work well when children are present-tables and chairs infer class time...for the grown ups, a few chairs would probably be appreciated...
7. Be aware when prepping for your host time that there exists loads and loads of mis-information out there regarding these- and other- books. Check your resources carefully and question if you're not sure...One very useful site that I visited (www.sparknotes.com) listed J.K. Rowling's first name as Joanna (its "Joanne") and said that Harry was created in her mind when she was a single mother living on welfare. In fact, Harry was "created" during a train ride prior to J.K. Rowling's eldest daughter's birth and nearly five years later the first novel was completed while Rowling was receiving government assistance as a recently divorced single mother who was also working in the teaching field at the time. Our perception affects our understanding.
8. Sometimes an individual talks too much during group discussions- cornering the market as it were; hosts can re-direct the talking by calling on someone new to participate or prompting with a new question. Other techniques involve suggesting that the group "get back to the focus topic- question- passage, etc" or "So and so has been wanting to put ideas in for a while, let's hear from them". Politeness, perseverance and persistence pay off!

Links for exploring Harry's world

www.sparknotes.com/lit/harrypotter/study.html Essentially this is an on-line Cliff Notes with study guides. Excellent resource for getting to the plot kernel within each book-maintained by Barnes and Noble
www.jkrowling.com/en/thankyou.cfm The lady herself.
www.hp-lexicon.org/index.html The definitive encyclopedic guide to every topic in Harry Potter's world
www.mugglenet.com/ The popular and well organized fan site, full of spell lists, character bios and the like- includes fan dicussion chat rooms and forums that are well moderated- voiolators of rules are banned from the site- effectively!
www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/- Sister web site to Mugglenet- just as good, but different- the founders of the two sites were the only "adults" granted an (invited, actually) interview with Rowling at the release of the sixth book- at her home in Scotland
http://harrypotter.warnerbros.co.uk/main/homepage/home.html- Film company web site
www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/ The US publisher's web site full of activities, excellent discussion questions, and occasionally contests
www.bloomsbury.com/harrypotter/ The British publishers web site
www.teach-nology.com/teachers/child_lit/harry_potter/games/ This site is actually just other links to more teaching topics sites- many of which offer role playing on-line activities, sorting hat via on-line, and educational downloads. Type in "Harry Potter" in the search window and then follow any link that seems to inspire or intrigue you.
www.armoredpenguin.com/wordsearch/ This site allows you to create your own wordsearch puzzles- think themes- motifs- or symbols!!!
www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/literature/harry/- the lesson plans you've been looking for to host your evening of Potterology! Look for age appropriateness, and applicable topics and themes for the book and chapter we're working on at any given time. Excellent help here for the time hindered!
http://www.pottermore.com/ - an interactive website for all things Potter from the author and Sony. In depth exploration of the books.

Introduction to Potterology

Welcome!

Want to know more about the world of Harry Potter? Interested in unraveling the history behind the names of spells? Curious to understand all the plot twists before book seven comes out? Want to see what a book club is all about with your Mom or Dad?
Then this club is for you!

Potterology is a new club designed with simple goals:
· To spend time with our moms or dads while having fun, digging deep, and reading a lot– (not really recommended for children younger than 6 or 7. {Book 4 and 6 have particularly scary moments}– but this is up to individual parents)
· To provide a book club experience for children and their parents-over a period of about 15 months
· To meet monthly until all six books published thus far have been (re)read: Harry Potter and the-Sorcerer’s Stone (1); -Chamber of Secrets(2);- Prisoner of Azkaban (3);- Goblet of Fire (4);- Order of the Phoenix (5);- Half-Blood Prince (6)
· To provide a forum for discussion of all the characters, author techniques, plot lines, history and lore that J.K. Rowling folds into her novels
· To engage in activities that tie into and enhance the reading experience and the understanding of these wonderfully entertaining stories: such as creating puppet dragons, marauder maps, invisible ink, zany characters, cloaks and wands, or our own self-penned myths & legends, etc


Obligations: Parents (or teams of), that are interested, will facilitate meetings with prompting questions for discussions, activities and hosting of meetings. Any costs for materials will be shared by all participants. Minimum 200 pages per month will be read.