When I launched Heritage Book Club nearly seven years ago, I had no idea that it would grow to be such an incredible blessing to my family and others. At the first meeting, my young daughter led her friends through Lulu and the Duck in the Park by Hilary McKay as they sat near a pond surrounded by ducks and geese. It was picture-perfect. And today, that same group of friends, along with welcomed newcomers, are preparing to dig into some juicy young adult books like Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

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I couldn’t have known it at the time, but launching a kids’ book club has provided us with many unexpected benefits:

1. It promotes a love of reading. We choose fun and interesting books for our meetings, and our only expectation is that kids enjoy the process. Nothing more. This freedom helps them associate reading with pleasure, and that’s something that can be overshadowed when their only books are school books.

2. It exposes kids to books they might not otherwise read. Book club encourages kids to read widely, often outside their preferred genre or subject, and this provides many opportunities to connect with new authors and ideas. I can’t tell you how many times kids in our group, including my own children, have said that they loved a book club book that they initially had no interest in.

3. It’s a fulfilling activity for every age group. We now have groups for children ages 4 through 17, and book club is enjoyable at every stage. The group dynamics are different as the children grow. The younger ones tend to lean into book-related activities as they chat while the older ones generally prefer to just talk for most of their gatherings.

4. It encourages deeper exploration of books. Much is to be gained when children read alone for pleasure, but discussing their books with friends leads to deeper thinking and consideration of the plots, characters, and ideas presented by each author.

5. It provides kids with a safe space for sharing their true thoughts. I always remind my book club kids that they don’t have to censor their thoughts on a book just because I’m there or because their friends feel differently about what we’ve read. Specifically, I let them know upfront, “You have every right to say that you hated a book, but you have to be able to tell us why.” I think having a platform to gush about a favorite character or scene or vent about how you think the author went wrong adds vibrancy to the discussion, and it gives children a voice at the table.

6. It’s a meaningful way to add diverse voices to our children’s thought life. Our book club groups primarily read books written by and/or about Black people, and this is a special opportunity for our kids to swim in our culture. Whether their home or co-op curriculum is diverse or not, they know that they can count on book club to bring plenty of mirrors and windows for them to get lost in.

7. It helps children form lasting friendships and see reading as a social activity. Adults like to talk about what they’re reading, and children are no different. Book club gives kids a reason to gather and provides plenty to talk about, repeatedly. As they chat about books, they learn more about others and themselves, and they have opportunities to explore broader conversations with the same friends each month (or however often you choose to meet).

Interested in starting your own book club? Check out How to Start a Culturally Rich Book Club, and feel free to look through our past titles for inspiration. We just announced the newest lineup of books for the upcoming school year, and there are plenty to choose from.

You can find me chatting about books, kids, and other things on Instagram at @heritagemomblog. Hope to see you there!