Family Book Club: "The Fourteenth Goldfish" and "We Don't Lose Our Class Goldfish"

Pick up copies of this month's books at the Youth Services desk at the Middendorf-Kredell branch. A book club for the whole family! Each month, we will provide one copy of a chapter book suitable for grades 4-6 and one copy of a picture book suitable for grades K-3. Read either or both books at home (we encourage reading them aloud!), then join other families at the Library to discuss the books, do a related activity and craft, and pick up copies of the next month's books! This is a family/group program; children attending must be accompanied by an adult. This month, we are discussing: The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm: Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He’s bossy. He’s cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie’s grandfather, a scientist who’s always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth? We Don't Lose Our Class Goldfish by Ryan T. Higgins: Penelope Rex has one fear—Walter, the class goldfish. So when Mrs. Noodleman tells the kids that they'll be taking turns bringing Walter home, Penelope gets carried away by her anxious imagination. The weekend has a rocky start—from Walter ominously licking his lips to a sleepless night where the fish's bowl appears to move closer and closer to Penelope's bed. But after a mix-up with a donation box results in a visit to the local aquarium, Penelope realizes she might just need to confront her fear of Walter—in order to save him.