Creative Ideas to Extend Book Fun for Children

Today’s post is a special one designed specifically for parents looking for ideas to continue the bookish fun for their children long after the last page was turned!

Whether you’re a homeschool family or parents of kids who will soon be home for summer, here is a book plus bookish ideas to go along with and extend the book love!

I’ve been running an elementary age book club for the past two years. Sometimes it’s difficult to come up with something that they will all equally enjoy and love, but when we do, it’s always a win!

All of the kids absolutely adored a book we read titled Frindle by Andrew Clements. It is a humorous, hilarious, laughing-out-loud sort of book with witty characters and a fast-paced plot. If you have not heard of it, I highly recommend it! It’s also a great option for reluctant readers because of the humor and the fact that it’s not too long.

Young readers will love class-clown Nick and his sudden revelation that everyday items such as a pen no longer need to be called by their assigned names. Why shouldn’t a pen be called… a frindle?

Below, I have activities and discussion questions that we used in our meeting, and it kept the kids engaged and on their toes the entire time!

Frindle book club

Activities 

*Custom Pen Decorating Station

Supplies: Pens and model magic to decorate the outside

Tie-in:

Since a pen becomes famous in the story, kids create their own special pen.

Name the pens:

“This pen shall forever be called __________!”

Invent-a-Word 

Tell the group to make up a word and give a definition 

Snacks

Pretzels sticks (pens!)

Discussion Questions 

As for the discussion, I actually now prefer to have a more open-ended conversation and let them wander wherever they want so long as they stay on the topic of the book 😊However, if you do want a more structured way to go, here are some great questions!

1. Why did Nick invent a new word?

2. Do you think rules should ever be questioned? Why or why not?

3. How did the adults react differently than the kids?

4. What makes a word “real”?

5. How did one small idea turn into something big?

6. Would you have used the word frindle at school? Why?

7. What kind of person is Nick? What words describe him?

8. How do words change over time?

I hope this post inspired you with some creative ideas. Happy reading!

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Maybe your child has already read Frindle! If so, not to worry! Check out this book No Talking by the same author! It is also well-loved by kids, especially in upper elementary and middle school.