Critical Book Clubs: Reimagining Literature Reading and Response

Abstract

Literature circles, or book clubs, are a long‐standing pedagogical tradition designed to support students' reading and response to literature. However, critics of these student‐led literature discussions have argued that this format can limit opportunities for students to engage meaningfully with political, social, and cultural issues. The purpose of this article is to provide readers with a framework for designing critical book clubs that support students' development as empowered readers and writers who critique the world around them and advocate for social change. Drawing on findings from a yearlong study in which third‐grade students interrogated representations of disability, difference, and stereotypes, the authors describe a four‐phase model for scaffolding critical book clubs, as well as instructional strategies for supporting students' navigation of new forms of critical interactions with texts and their peers.

Examining Readers’ Critical Literature Circle Discussions of Looking for Alaska

“…However, YAL can also position readers in ways that reinforce stereotypes and power imbalances (Connors & Rish, 2015) and promote damaging ideologies and assumptions, which astute readers would need to recognize and navigate (McKenzie & Jarvie, 2018). Similarly, scholarship on literature circles exposes the ways this discussion practice can reify participants' stereotypes (Jocius & Shealy, 2018), reinforce dominant power structures (Lewis & Zisselberger, 2018), and fall short in helping readers see themselves as complicit in judging others (Ginsberg & Glenn, 2019). Without teacher facilitators' dexterity and instructional tools to support critical and dialogic talk, these outcomes may undermine attempts to introduce critical literacies with YAL and result in unintended consequences.…”

Transformative Learning in a Mexican American Mothers’ Book Club

“…Book clubs have been embraced across the United States and by Latinxs, as evidenced in the success of Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club (http://lasco madres.com/latin olit/latino-bookclub/). Book clubs are also a long-standing instructional practice that promotes engagement and social interaction among a community of readers, with opportunities for personal response, opinion formation, question development, critical thinking, and making connections to past and present cultural experiences (Jocius & Shealy, 2018;Raphael & McMahon, 1994).…”

Talking About Books: Scaffolding Deep Discussions

“…Students discussing books in small groups has been a curriculum staple for intermediate‐ and middle‐school students. Beginning in the late 1980s, these groups over time have been called literature groups, book clubs, literature sets, or critical book clubs (Daniels, 2002; Jocius & Shealy, 2018; Lightner & Wilkinson, 2017; Raphael & McMahon, 1994; Short & Pierce, 1991). In theory, small groups give students more opportunities to talk to their peers as well as direct the flow and pace of the conversation.…”