Them of the really exciting news – the fact that they would be the ones planning and facilitating the book club, with fourth grade students as their guests – I could hardly believe their enthusiasm. 5th grade planners and I met once a week to brainstorm ideas, create teams, and make our plans into a reality. When I told the fifth graders about the book, they were excited: But when I informed I shared our new book club choice with students using this short video. It isn’t until she finds a way to let go of her guilt that Manami can reclaim the piece of herself that she left behind and accept all that has happened to her family. She and her grandfather are devastated, but Manami clings to the hope that somehow Yujiin will find his way to the camp and make her family whole again. Manami decides to sneak Yujiin under her coat and gets as far as the mainland before she is caught and forced to abandon Yujiin. Manami is sad to go, but even worse is that they are going to have to give her and her grandfather’s dog, Yujiin, to a neighbor to take care of. It’s 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Manami and her family are Japanese American, which means that the government says they must leave their home by the sea and join other Japanese Americans at a prison camp in the desert.

Ten-year-old Manami did not realize how peaceful her family’s life on Bainbridge Island was until the day it all changed. Set in the student-beloved backdrop of WWII but telling a unique story, this timely and thought-provoking novel was a perfect fit for our students. For our text, I chose the book Paper Wishes, a new novel from author Lois Sepahban. I wracked my brain trying to come up with a creative plan for them when it hit me – why am I the one doing the planning? Why not let them do it? Since fifth grade was so passionate and capable with their reading and discussion, why not let them put a book club together for younger readers?Ī book club planned and facilitated by students, for students. I also knew that they were a creative force with energy to spare.

It was time for 5th grade to have a chance to meet and discuss again, and I knew that this grade had something special – a unique enthusiasm for reading and the ability to hold deep, meaningful discussions about text.

After the success of our last book club, I needed a fun and creative idea to keep the momentum going.

Paper wishes by lois sepahban