"It was a real pleasure to visit by phone with Iris Halpern's lively and intelligent book group. For a writer who necessarily spends most of his time working alone, it is a treat to spend time with the people who read and enjoy these books."
Cheers,
Clay Carmichael, authorCheers,
MOTHERS
“What a wonderful idea: joining the daughter-mother book club. Zena and I are big readers but joining the book club helped me do to read the same book and have a very interesting discussion with my daughter. The book club book suggestions helped Zena to get introduced to different types of books and style. We both look forward to the monthly meeting.”
"Being in a Mother-Daughter Book Club has given me the opportunity to connect with my daughter at a time when mothers and daughters can drift apart and lose the lines of communication. It also gave me the chance to share the joy of literature with my child and to help her see how a good book can reflect the experiences we all have."
Laura
"I love spending time with my daughter, her friends and their moms! I wish we had the opportunity to do book club when my 16 year old was 10. I love watching the girls gain confidence and feel like pretty soon they will run book club!"
Cindy
"Our daughter is dyslexic, so book club has helped her develop a love of reading. She always wants to attend book club to see her friends and socialize. When we first started book club, I had to read a lot of the books to her. Now she is able to read most of the books on her own. It really has helped her develop a love of reading."
"I have loved the time I now spend with my daughter reading. She and I discuss thoughts and issues that would not come up in our normal discussions. I recommend this to all my friends."
"The book club has been wonderful for my daughter and I to discuss books and topics that would not normally come up. Book club has allowed me us to spend some special time together apart from her siblings. It has also helped us both develop a love for reading all sorts of books."
"The book club has broadened the girls’ minds in choice of books and helped to develop a love of reading. The girls have gained confidence in speaking out in front of a group and are enthusiastic to share their opinions. The discussion of life experiences is great for the girls and will only increase in time. It has been a great experience."
"The book club has been a wonderful experience for both my daughter and I. We have a great group of girls and moms. The girls are so sweet and respectful. It has been so much fun to get together."
"I love the Mother Daughter book club because it gives my daughter and I an opportunity to step out of our roles of Mother-Daughter and experience a sort of peer relationship."
"...I think this meeting reminded us how much and why we enjoy book club. The girls are getting to such a heightened awareness and conversation level…"
"Besides getting the girls excited about reading, sparking creativity, and teaching them about literature, our book club has been the greatest window into their world." I've learned to much about their peers, how they're perceived at school, and events in their lives I'd never hear about otherwise." But the biggest perk according to Eve Silverman, is the way it's helped her connect with her daughter. "It's such a bonding experience, " she says. "All the girls usually start out giggling and talking together, but by the end of the meeting, each one is in her mother's lap."
"Raising Confident Girls," Child magazine, September 2001
"Raising Confident Girls," Child magazine, September 2001
DAUGHTERS
OTHER ADULTS
"What I like about book club is getting to spend time with my mom and getting to discuss a book with her and reading new books with my friends and their moms."
"I like book club because its fun to read books with other people. I also like it because I get to spend time with my mom and friends."
"I like mother daughter book club because I can spend time with my mom. Also I get to read books I normally wouldn’t find."
"I love this book club. Reading is my favorite subject so that is one reason why I joined. Another reason is because then when my mom and I read the same book, we have something to talk about."
"I like book club because I can hang out with my friends and I read really good books and talk about the book."
"I like book club alot and I like to tell people my feelings. It makes me feel good."
"One thing that I like about Book Club is that I get to express my feelings about the book with others. Although we read some books that are wonderful, thay can be hard to finish with homework and other activities."
"Iris is a wonderful resource for anyone involved in a book club! She loves books and is passionate about the sharing and horizon-expanding possibilities that book clubs offer. She also helped us get our mother-daughter book club started and has been an invaluable resource as we have begun to travel down the road of sharing the reading experience with our daughters and their friends. I cannot image a better source of inspiration and ideas than Iris!"
Laura E.
"...It's about revealing and questioning, voicing opinions, speaking out and exploring. It's about mothers and daughters, girls and women and how reading and talking can enrich our relationships with each other and strengthen our daughters' courage to be themselves.
Our shared communications allow girls to feel comfortable and safe raising questions both in and out of the the club setting. By talking about plots and characters, we reveal candid thoughts on issues like friendships and marriage, school and social issues, illness and death.”
-Etta Gold, Library Director, Temple Beth Am