Episode 216: Creating Book Clubs That Work

August 20, 2025

In episode 216 of the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast:

Creating Book Clubs That Work

Book Clubs are a great way to get (and keep) kids reading, but there are tricks to making them work – particularly for teens. Allison and Megan, along with special guest Trish Buckley, look at the ingredients for a successful book club for kids of any age.

Books we mention

Click on the titles to find out more or buy. See contact page for affiliate disclosure.

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Bookmail and TBR pile

‘A Loo of One’s Own’ by Eleri Harris

‘Best of All Worlds’ by Kenneth Oppel

‘The Locked Room’ by Adam Cece

‘Once upon an A to Z’ by Amy Dunjey, illustrated byDeb Hudson

Other

Allison’s event at Kiama Library on Saturday 30 August at 1.30pm, FREE, ages 10+.

Bookings: A. L. Tait: Can You Solve A Murder?

Creating Book Clubs That Work

Research links

Australia Reads (2024) Understanding Australian Readers
Green. M. (2023). Building communities of engaged readers in Australian schools: Five ways to create conducive classroom conditions for student engagement in reading for enjoyment. Practical Literacy, 28(1), 7–10.
Merga, M. (2019). Reading Engagement for Tweens and Teens. California: Libraries Unlimited.Milne, Harrington, Jackson, Boyask (2023)
Merga, 2022, ‘Learning to Read for Pleasure is Serious Business’

Megan’s Build a Book Club ebook

A six-part ebook distilling all of Megan’s experience, research and resources into easy-to-follow steps. This e-Book is especially useful for parents and educators working with students in years 3 to 8 or children aged approximately 9–15 years old. More details and buy here ($19.95).

Raising Readers: How to Nurture a Child’s Love of Books (2025): revised and updated edition of the bestselling book by Megan Daley