April Book Club: Lunch Money

Our book selection for the month of April was "Lunch Money" by Andrew Clements. It's a very fun, fast-paced book about money! Well, more specifically about a twelve-year-old boy named Greg who has always been good at coming up with schemes and projects to make money. This time Greg thinks he can make money by designing, producing, and selling his own line of mini comic books at school. But it's an uphill battle. His plan brings disapproval from the principal and he soon has a rival comic artist in the form of his neighborhood nemesis and lifelong rival, Maura. In the end Greg and Maura make an unlike team to bring many changes to their school. Their mini-comic book business succeeds beyond anyone's expectations and they learn how to solve their differences in constructive ways. It's a good read and the book club kids seemed to really enjoy the book.

December Book Club: "Matilda"

The December 4th meeting of the Ashburn Kids Book Club will feature the book, “Matilda” by Roald Dahl. This wonderful book is about an extraordinarily gifted young girl named Matilda. Matilda’s parents are neglectful and self-centered and do not recognize or appreciate Matilda’s brilliance. Fortunately, there are other adults—a librarian and Matilda’s beloved teacher, Miss Honey—who take an interest in Matilda and nurture her amazing intelligence. But Matilda is more than just super-smart. She also possesses the power of telekinesis, or the ability to make objects move just by using her mental energy. This power is put to good use on her evil school headmistress who has tormented children for years and also cheated Miss Honey, her niece, out of her rightful inheritance.

The author, Roald Dahl, is considered one of the most beloved writers of children’s literature. Although he died in 1990, his books continue to be widely read by children. Some of his most famous books are: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, The Witches, and The Twits.

In 1997, a movie version of Matilda was released. We will be watching this movie for our book club event on December 4. It will be fun to compare the movie to the book and see which one we like best. Since the movie is 98 minutes long, we will start it promptly at 7 pm and will be finished around 8:30 pm. Feel free to bring your pillows and blankets to spread out on the floor. Families are also invited to join us for this fun event.