Our local homeschool support group has read a variety of books over the years, and we’re always on the hunt for something fun and interesting to read. I lead the 8-10 year olds, and this month’s book was a Christian novel based on the lives of real-life sisters – Alena, Kaityln, Olivia, and Camryn Pitts.

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Our group is mixed-gender, but this title definitely appealed more to the girls than boys – so much so that the few boys we have in this female-dominated group decided to sit this book out. It’s always a delicate balance because we want to choose books that appeal to everyone, but so many of the books for this age group are decidedly targeted to girls or boys but rarely both.

Ansley’s Big Bake Off is the first book in a series about four young sisters who rebuild their lives and find joy in unexpected ways after their mother’s death.

“Ansley and her family move to a new city to seek a new start after the death of their mother. But that also means…a new school, new friends, new everything! Fortunately, even though no one could ever take the place of their mom, Aunt Samantha has moved in to help Dad and all the girls. Ansley ends up relying on the loving and prayerful support of her family to help her follow her dreams while navigating a difficult relationship with Taylor, a girl who teases Ansley and seems determined to see her fail.”

Icebreaker: What is your favorite thing to cook or bake? And if you don’t cook, what is your favorite thing that your mom or dad makes? If you had to make it with a twist, how would you change the recipe?

Before diving into our discussion questions, we watched a brief introductory video featuring the authors and their parents, including their real-life mother who passed away unexpectedly in 2018. This is actually a promo video for the Lena in the Spotlight series written by the oldest daughter, Alena Pitts, so don’t be confused by the cover image shown.

Following the video, we launched into our main discussion time using these questions to guide the conversation:

• Did you like the book? Why or why not?
• What are some of the similarities between this book and last month’s book, Ways to Make Sunshine? (moving houses, wanting to fit in at school)
• Right before moving into the new house, the girls lost their mom. Have you ever lost someone you were close to? What helped you feel better?
• Crepe Suzette made a huge mess of the girls’ lemonade stand. Have you ever ruined something that belonged to someone else? How did you make it right?
• How did the twins get their nicknames – Cammi (camera) and Kitty?

The main character, Ansley, is based on the life of Kaitlyn Pitts. We took this time to watch another short clip of her honoring her mother’s “heavenly birthday” with her favorite memory. The memory shared happens to be how much she loved having her mom homeschool her. Yay!

Following this clip, I asked the question below and followed it up with a Bible story video explaining the parable:

• Ansley’s dad mentions the Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25. What does that have to do with Lena deciding whether to pursue singing?

And more discussion questions…

• What talents has God given you?
• Mrs. J-J’s Bible journal prompt at school was, “When have you felt closest to God this past week, and when have you felt furthest away?” Who would like to take a turn sharing their answers to those questions today?
• Ansley feels bad for boasting about knowing Mallory Winston. Have you ever done or said something you wish you hadn’t? How did you try to make it right?

Then we took a break from the questions to watch part of an interview the authors did with their aunt, Chrystal Evans Hurst (daughter of Tony Evans):

• Which sister do you think you’re most like and how?
• At the festival, the reporter revealed some new information about Taylor. Did you feel differently about her after you heard the news?

Closing activity: Finding things you have in common is one way to build new friendships. Celebrating differences – like how the sisters all have different interests and talents – is another way to grow closer friendships. Let’s practice introducing ourselves to the group so we can all get to know each other a little better. Hopefully, we’ll find some similarities and differences that will make our friendships grow closer.

This was the official end of the meeting, but the girls begged to watch a video of Alena Pitts singing, and I couldn’t deny that sweet request, so we watched this video before signing off the Zoom call:

As I do every month, I mailed all of the girls two small gifts: a book charm to add to the silver chains they received the first month and a set of pretty scripture cards to remind them of the verses the girls meditated on in the book.

If you enjoyed these book club lesson plans, you may enjoy reading about some of our previous meetings:

• Clubhouse Mysteries: The Buried Bones Mystery by Sharon M. Draper
• Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson
• The Last Last-Day-of-Summer by Lamar Giles
• The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill
• Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World by Mildred Pitts Walter

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