Deconstructing Penguins: Parents, Kids, and the Bond of Reading

Excellent book for starting a kids' book club. We have a book club of 5-10 year olds that was kind of lackluster in the kid-led discussion category. We applied some of the techniques in this book (eg, talking about protagonist/antagonist and approaching the book like a mystery), and the discussion just exploded.One star deducted because a large proportion of the book is devoted to applying their techniques to specific kids' books, and I would have liked more general information and additional methods for sparking discussion.

I have been a fan of the Goldstones since reading their books on book-collecting, e.g. Used and Rare, Slightly Chipped etc. This book is different, it is about how to approach book discussions for both young and old. I am the parent of a two year old girl, and books are a big part of our lives [I am a book collector myself]...although this book may still be too advanced to put into practice with my little one, it really gives me great ideas on how to go about discussing books in a more interesting manner, and sets me up with great guidelines for beginning a parent/child book discussion group a couple of years down the road. I look forward to more enlightening works by the Goldstones.

I originally bought this book for myself. I read a selection from it to my daughter to help her understand what to put in a book report, and she loved it and begged for more. Reading it together has been fun, inspiring and rewarding; my daughter has really grasped the concepts covered in the book and been able to apply them to other books she's reading, and to her writing as well.When I first read the book I couldn't imagine how I would share it with my daughter. It seemed odd to read a book about a book club, but thanks to the way it's written, it turned out to be really a lot of fun. The authors pose a question, then share the responses of the other book club members, and then my daughter would respond with her own ideas--without the pressure of worrying what other kids might think. It's been like getting to sit in on the coziest, most convenient literature class you could imagine.

This is one of the best books that I have read this year! Entertaining, enlightening, and encouraging...all in one book. While reading this book I realized how many of the great children's classics that I have never read. I want to start a parent-child book group now. I would give this book 10 STARS if I could. I am recommending this as a great read to parents, teachers, and anyone concerned with this fast paced society and children's education.

Love this book! I've had a highlighter/pen in hand the entire time I read. It's a treasure trove for parents and kids alike.To learn how to read between the lines, is a life-long tool.Buy it. You'll never read another book the same way again. :)