Five Family Favorites: Leading Bloggers Share their Family Favorite Books, #2
By Nicki Richesin, The Children’s Book Review
Published: May 8, 2012
From left to right: Catherine, Cindy, and Madeleine Hudson.
For our second installment of Five Family Favorites, we asked Cindy Hudson to share her family’s all-time favorite books. Cindy is the author of Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs (Seal Press, 2009) and the creator of the wonderful Mother Daughter Book Club.com. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two daughters.
From the time our girls were born, my husband and I had fun reading to them. We started with titles like Pat the Bunny and Dr. Seuss books before working our way up to novels to read out loud as a family when they got older.
Reading time was always my favorite time of day, as the four of us piled together on the bed, snuggling under blankets in the winter or enjoying the feel of a breeze from the window in summer. Often, our favorite books were ones that made us laugh or painted a vivid picture of another time or a different world. Here are five of our all-time favorites, books we’ve read more than once and wouldn’t hesitate to read again, even though the girls are all grown up now.
By E. B. White
Until I read the book by E. B. White I thought Charlotte’s Web was just a cute movie for kids. But the rich story in the book about the unlikely friendship that develops between a spider, Charlotte, and a pig, Wilbur, stole my heart. What seems to be a simple story on the surface has so much more beneath it, from the meaning of true friendship, to being resourceful while bringing about change to your world, to suffering grief from loss and learning how to carry on afterward. And as you would expect from a classic that has stood the test of time, adults can appreciate the deeper meanings while both generations enjoy the surface story. (Ages 6-11. Publisher: HarperCollins)
By Roald Dahl
Ever wonder where Dahl got the ideas for some of the wacky and evil characters that punctuate his fiction? You’ll find out when you read Boy: Tales of Ch
I am so honored to be a part of WOW! Women On Writing’s blog tour for Cindy Hudson, who is the author of a wonderful book for parents titled Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs. Cindy has been in a mother-daughter book club with her own children for several years, and she has written a book that draws on her experiences as well as other parents around the country. This is a guide book for any parent who wants to start a group with her child, or for parents who are already involved in book clubs and want new ideas!
Cindy is here with us today to answer some questions about her book. Best of all, we are giving away a FREE copy to one lucky winner who comments on this post by Thursday, April 29 at 8:00 p.m. CST. You can tell us about your parent-child book club, ask Cindy a question, make a comment about her interview, or simply say, “I would love to win this book.” Please make sure to have included your e-mail address with your comment, so we know how to contact you!
Okay, on to Cindy:
Margo: Welcome, Cindy, to Read These Books and Use Them. I am so in love with your book about mother-daughter book clubs because you are doing exactly what I preach–using books! What do you think is the most important chapter in your book for mothers to read who are just starting out in the mother-daughter book club world?
Cindy: Book by Book is organized in three sections: one to help moms set up their groups, one with ideas for enriching meetings so clubs can thrive for years, and one for troubleshooting issues. The first ten chapters are a step-by-step process that leads moms through the whole process of getting started, and I think each helps them determine a crucial piece of putting together a reading group. With that said, if moms were going to read just one of those first ten chapters, I would recommend the chapter on deciding who to invite. You’ll see the moms and daughters in your group on a regular basis, possibly for years. It’s worth it to spend some time thinking about who you want those people to be.
Margo: That’s something I never really thought about before, but you are so right. It is important to have a good dynamic in your group to keep it thriving! What are two or three books that stand out in your mind that mothers and daughters particularly liked in your mother-daughter book clubs?
Cindy: Before I answer, I’ll say when everyone likes the book it doesn’t always mean you’ll have a great discussion. Often the best discussions come when the feelings are mixed. That’s when you’ll get diverse opinions that may help the moms and daughters in your group see things from a different perspective, which can be a really great function of book club.
It’s wonderful when you find books that are well-liked and give you a lot to talk about. Here are some I can recommend based on my experience:
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen—As the story flips from Bryce’s point of view to Juli’s, readers see how the same events can be seen in totally different ways by different people experiencing them.
Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce—When some of the greatest art in history comes to the dying town of Manod in England, it helps the citizens find new hope and
Cindy Hudson is hosting me today at Mother Daughter Book Club. We're talking about change and the trials of adolescence. Come on over!
Charlotte’s Web
Boy: Tales of Childhood
Great interview and I love the idea of a mother-daughter bookclub.