The Reading Pros gathered this afternoon to discussed Rebecca Stead’s book When You Reach Me. After discussing whether or not we would go back in time to change something or not (most of us would, for various reasons) we played the “speed round” of $20,000 pyramid.
Then, we learned how to make origami frogs like Miranda does in the book.
We rounded up the afternoon with the final round, or “Winner’s Circle” of the game show. A big thank you to our volunteer, Mary, for bringing in pizza and chocolate milk for the snack and for staying for the discussion!
When You Reach Me is one of my favorite middle grade books because it’s not afraid to ask big questions, ranging from: “is time travel possible?” to “how do we see who people truly are?” As one of the Reading Pros pointed out during our discussion, you think the book is all about the main character, but it turns out to be about a lot more than that.
Have you read When You Reach Me? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
The Lupine Librarian 
I just noticed the picture of the kids here and the empty-ish room. I’ve learned the hard way, to do one last check before a program starts. Look around the room as if you are a child the age of the kids coming in. For these guys I’d look for runways and stops. That is- look for open areas that just beg to be run through. And, look for ways to move tables and chairs in ways that ask for kids to stop and rest or do something engaging.
Good tip–that’s something I often forget to do!