Just for Boys

A few months ago, a friend invited my son to be a part of a new book club for boys.  I thought this was a fabulous idea.  I haven’t heard of too many book clubs just for boys.  I hear many comments about how it is difficult to get boys to read and there just aren’t enough good books for boys.  This book club is a wonderful way for boys to connect and enjoy great books.

My son was skeptical at first, not sure if he would like the books selected to read.  I later realized that he thought the moms were selecting all the books, and that made him a little concerned.  Once he discovered that the book club member hosting the next meeting would get to choose the book, he was relieved.  He also immediately started making his list of potential books for his turn to host.

One thing I really like about this book club is that the moms are encouraged to read the book as well, and they attend the meetings with their son.  The host’s mom offers refreshments upon arrival, then a craft or other activity related to the theme of the book, followed by the boys gathering to discuss the book.  The host’s mom has a list of questions for the boys to discuss.  I wasn’t sure how that part would go, but found that the boys’ conversation flowed naturally.  The first book chosen was not a book that any of them particularly liked, but they had a great time talking about it.  The second meeting went really well.  The boys all liked the book– The Million Dollar Putt by Dan Gutman (http://www.dangutman.com/index.html).

The most recent book is the Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (www.edwardtulane.com) .  My son finished it today and now it is my turn to read it.  I am looking forward to it!

Update on the puppy search… We met a breeder only two hours away from us that we really liked.  Their dogs are beautiful!  They really have a top notch breeding program there.  An added bonus, we got to see and play with some 4 1/2 week old puppies.  They were precious!  My children LOVED playing with them and meeting the older dogs, too.  Now we are on the waiting list for the next litter.  We are hopeful that the perfect puppy for our family will be in that litter! 

We have also been watching taped episodes of the Dog Whisperer EVERY night.  I think we have all got the “puppy bug” really bad.  Actually, I think my husband might have it the worst.  He is completely consumed and is spending all his spare time researching dogs and all that you need to learn about them.  I have even noticed that he has starting parenting like Cesar handles his dogs.  He had a discussion with our son this evening about an undesirable behavior he noticed him exhibiting.  My husband told him that his behavior wasn’t acceptable to the rest of the pack (our family).  He went on to tell our son that when the pack noticed this behavior,  the pack would move away from him until he became calm and respectful.  Yes, my husband has it real bad.  The puppy can’t get here too soon!