I�m not an expert or experienced in book clubs year round, but there exists a somewhat famous book club called C.R.A.B.s. which stands for Children Raving About Books.

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"Oxon Hill [Maryland] is home to the famous CRABs -- Children Raving About Books -- a book-discussion group started 13 years ago by children�s librarian Birdie Law [now deceaed]. Currently, about 10 to 15 regulars, ages 10 to 13, meet every Thursday at 4, sometimes inviting a favorite author to speak, bestow an annual CRAB-bery Award, and prepare an annual booklist." (from the Washington Post��https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/11/28/libraries-turning-kids-into-readers/f4ea2395-076d-4e2c-aaa2-c7e649c457cd/?utm_term=.d7ce958f63a6�).

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Maybe you can write them for information on how to run a CRABs program in your school.

Oxon Hill Branch Library. 6200 Oxon Hill Rd. Oxon Hill, MD 20745. Telephone. (301) 839-2400. �

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Maybe some of the ESLprintables� members have heard about it. If so, hopefully, they can remember the details of the program and share?

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What I remember from a summer reading program CRABS is that the children had to read a book of their choice from a specific, assigned genre.� Then the participants would talk about the book they read.� They would mention what they liked or didn�t like about the book.� After everyone had reported on and presented their book, they would eat desserts and or snacks.

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Each week the assigned genre would change.� This encouraged the participants to sample genres they had never tried before.

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I don�t know if it was part of the CRABs program, but it might be helpful to have a list of award winning books to choose from such as Caldecott or Newberry Awards. A complete list of awards is here� �http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/awards/browse/bpma?showfilter=no� and lists of recommended books to read can be found here for various age groups�https://libguides.ala.org/recommended-reading

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Here are two reviews that came up when I was searching for how to run a CRABs program. (I am not sure of how recent the reviews are).

"Anonymous said...

growing up, i was lucky enough to be a part of CRABS -- Children Raving About Books -- a weekly book discussion group run by Birdie Law, a most wonderful librarian who won Librarian of the Year once upon a time.

it was an incredible group. we put out yearly Recommended Reading Lists, annual book-themed plays and, of course, recommended books to each other with great enthusiasm.

i returned to the Oxon Hill Library in Maryland a few years ago to find that it had undergone a complete restoration inside. i also discovered that CRABs is still running strong." (from:�https://thegotya.blogspot.com/2010/06/flashback-friday-library-days.html�)

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" As adults, we can easily forget really how profound that impact [ the impact of books on children] can be. The right child plus the right book or poem plus the right moment is a formula more generative than the enchanting "E equals MC squared." A feeling perhaps never to be recaptured in later life in quite the same way. I�m thinking of some good friends in Oxon Hill, Maryland: the CRABS. Literary, not crustaceous; an acronym for a reading group called Children Raving About Books. The title isn�t exaggerated. These boys and girls are superbly turned on and tuned in to reading." (from:�https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED068915.pdf�)

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Unfortunately, I could not locate any information on how to set up the program, so if anyone��remembers CRABS from their own experience, please share the rules with us or if that fails, you can always write to the Oxon Hill Branch Library for their information..

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