January Meeting

The Year of the Dog =

The Book Buddies Book Club meeting yesterday was very busy and lots of fun! All members of the club read The Year of the Dog cover to cover and everyone really enjoyed it. A number of members said it was the "best book ever" and many plan to read the sequel, The Year of the Rat. One club member even felt that Grace Lin should have won a Newbery medal for her effort. Favorite parts of the book included the family stories (especially the story of how the doctor got rich and when Pacy's mom fell asleep in school) and the author/illustrator contest in which Pacy received fourth place. Everyone felt that Pacy was a really good character and someone with whom they could easily identify.

As part of our book discussion, we had snacks of Chinese New Year candy and fortune cookies, and we made Year of the Dog banners for our craft project. We also put together our list of questions for Grace Lin. As soon as I get her responses, I will post the questions and answers on the blog so be on the look out for that!

As a side note, many of the club members mentioned that they either had read, were reading, or were waiting for a copy of The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Hugo Cabret was just honored with a Caldecott Medal for excellence in illustration by the American Library Association. All who had already read it felt it was a fantastic book and one worth checking out!