A library, a reading child, and an involved family: an account of the experience of a book club in a private school in Recife

Resumo

School libraries adopt different strategies to foster readers, among them the book club, which can take different formats according to each context. This paper aims to present an experience report about a Book Club promoted by students and families at Escola Eleva, located in the city of Recife, Brazil. This is an experience report with a qualitative approach. The initiative was launched by a 3rd-grade elementary school student and their family, who sought the library as a space to hold meetings at the end of the school day. The club follows a methodology established through an alphabetical list of members; each month, one child chooses the book to be read by everyone, and on the meeting day, the student leads the discussion based on previously prepared questions to stimulate debate. As a result, the experience became established within the institution, reaching its third year with the same group and also leading to the creation of two additional book clubs with 2nd-grade students. The experience highlights the importance of initiatives that connect the student–school–family triad in the process of developing readers. This experience contributes to the field of Library Science and Information Science by highlighting the role of reading mediation and family participation in the development of readers in school context.