Deconstructing Penguins

Deconstructing Penguins: Parents, Kids, and the Bond of Reading by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone.

This book is about the book clubs that the authors have conducted with elementary school aged children. Each chapter gives an example of how one of their sessions would go. They describe a book that they read such as Charlotte’s Web and the literary discussions that would occur. They try to emphasize going deeper into the meaning of a book. They also demonstrate how they discuss things such as protagonist and antagonist.

At the end of the book, they give a few examples of books that they have used with the children in their book clubs. The list includes many examples of classic literature such as Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.