[Saturday Reads] GatheringReaders’ Books for January-June 2015

Myra here.

I just met up with my GatheringReaders book club participants at the Jurong West Public Library last Sunday, 18th of January. Usually our first meeting for the first half of the year has to do with book nominations and a great deal of booktalk as we consider which titles would be great for us to read in the coming months. And just like the previous years, I am extremely grateful that there are book trailers now that I can use for my booktalk. See a snapshot of my gallery of slides:

Here are the books that we will be discussing for the first half of 2015.

February: Most Likely to Win An Award in 2015

Here are the books that I suggested to my tweeners:

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm

And the children’s choice:

Virtual Meeting: 1 February, gatheringbooks.org

Face to Face Meeting: 8 February 2015, Jurong West Public Library, 11 am – 12 nn

29 March 2015: Meet the Author

Catherine Carvell is an emerging children’s book author with her first book Darcy Moon and the Deep Fried Frogs released in March 2014. She was born in England, but moved to Australia when she was just a girl. She now lives in Singapore with her husband and two children. Catherine has a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism, a Diploma in Professional Writing for Children, and a Diploma in Non Fiction Writing and Publishing. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Australian Society of Authors and when she is not writing, she enjoys holidays, reading and food. Catherine is currently writing her second book for children and hopes to write many more.

April: Graphic Novel

I booktalked the following titles:

El Deafo by Cece Bell

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew

And the readers’ choice:

Virtual Meeting: 12 April, gatheringbooks.org

Face to Face Meeting: 19 April, Jurong West Public Library, 11 am – 12 nn

May: Classics in Contemporary Realistic Fiction

My recommended titles:

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan

The View From Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg

The children’s choice:

Virtual Meeting: 10 May, gatheringbooks.org

Face to Face Meeting: 17 May, Jurong West Public Library, 11 am – 12 nn

June: Poetry/Novel-in-Verse

My suggested titles:

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Crossover by Alexander Kwame

And the readers’ choice:

Virtual Meeting: 21 June, gatheringbooks.org

Face to Face Meeting: 28 June, Jurong West Public Library, 11 am – 12 nn

Our February-June 2015 Schedule at a Glance

If you have read any of these books, dear friends, please feel free to join us during our virtual discussions.

Looking forward to our upcoming sessions in GatheringReaders.