On a Wednesday in February 2023, anyone stopping by the North Branford Senior Center in Northford, Connecticut, might have expected to hear big-band music or golden oldies, not Disney songs. But that was before the 4th-graders got there.
“There’s so much that we share / That it’s time we’re aware / It’s a small world after all,” several older adults sang along with students, who were visiting from nearby Totoket Valley Elementary School (TVES) as part of an intergenerational book club. The song was part of the club’s discussion of the picture book Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis, which is set during the 1893 world’s fair in Chicago.
“There [are] moments where suddenly, the years melt away, and the 4th-graders and the seniors are responding in similar ways to the story,” says Carrie Seiden, former teacher-librarian and gifted education specialist at TVES.
For example, during their reading of Mr. Ferris and His Wheel, some participants disclosed small details—like that they loved Ferris wheels or found them scary—while one older adult talked about actually attending a world’s fair. Her story got the kids hooked. “She just made it really real,” Seiden says.
In intergenerational book clubs, members of different ages come together to discuss literature. Libraries often host them in partnership with local senior organizations, offering young people and older adults the chance to socialize, build connections, share stories, and find out what they have in common.
“We had some seniors involved who did not have children or grandchildren and were just so grateful to be part of the program,” Seiden says of TVES’s club, which began in 2019. “On the other side, we had kids that didn’t have that generation in their lives, so it was just very sweet and tender.”
Not your typical classroom
At Montgomery County (Md.) Public Libraries’ Little Falls branch in Bethesda, the intergenerational book club between local middle schoolers and retired adult volunteers from the Jewish Council for the Aging, which began in the spring of 2020, is held virtually. It started as an attempt to create more virtual programming in the height of the pandemic but has remained an offering due to its popularity. It is run by Judy Ehrenstein, head of children’s services, and Shawna Leonard, teen librarian, both from the Little Falls branch.
Recently, the club read Attack of the Black Rectangles, a middle grade novel about censorship by A. S. King. Leonard says that while she thought students would be more focused on the importance of learning about censored content, they ultimately focused more on why the characters in the book chose to censor in the first place.
Students are encouraged to stray from the typical book report format, Ehrenstein notes. The club’s aim is to help students develop their public speaking skills outside the classroom. “We’re trying to give them the freedom to say, ‘I just don’t think that these were good choices made in this book’ and ‘I don’t understand,’” she says. “I don’t think you ever get to say that when you’re in school.”
Some seniors and students were hesitant to speak up at the beginning of TVES’s club, Seiden says, because they were afraid to read aloud or say the wrong thing. Soon, they learned to laugh at their mistakes; learn from one another; and to take turns teaching, speaking, and listening. “The seniors get to see how intelligent and thoughtful 4th-graders are, just how wise they are in their own way,” Seiden adds.
Finding common ground
Arlington (Mass.) High School (AHS) has hosted its Intergen Book Club in conjunction with its town’s Council on Aging each year since 2005. Students can submit the hours they participated in the book club for their community service requirement. Participants help choose what they read and have read titles across many genres, including frequently banned books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Maus by Art Spiegelman, and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
“Since banned and challenged books have been so much in the news in recent years, our members have certainly been interested in understanding that,” says Stacy Kitsis, AHS library teacher and book club co-organizer.
There [are] moments where suddenly, the years melt away, and the 4th-graders and the seniors are responding in similar ways to the story. —Carrie Seiden, former teacher-librarian and gifted education specialist at Totoket Valley Elementary School in Northford, Connecticut
Marci Shapiro-Ide, a social worker from the Council on Aging who co-runs the club with Kitsis, says that over time, American society has gone away from living in multigenerational households. Reading Maus, in particular, was eye-opening for students: They learned that some of the senior members had parents or other relatives who were Holocaust survivors.
“There are a lot of kids who don’t have exposure to people of different generations,” adds Shapiro-Ide. “These interactions help boost kids’ empathy.” One student went on to write his college essay about the positive impact the book club left on him.
Sharing wisdom
Little Falls’ club organizers have considered transitioning to in-person meetings but found that participants prefer the virtual format because they can join the meetings from anywhere without having to find transportation or navigate conflicts with other activities.
“There was one student who would call in from the gym because she had practice until 4:30 and we started at 4:30,” Leonard says. Offering multiple meetings per book, she adds, is what makes the club successful; it allows students to get comfortable around adults and gives them time to build confidence during discussions.
AHS’s Kitsis emphasizes the importance of fostering a nonjudgmental, welcoming environment. People are encouraged to come regardless of what point they are in the book, “even if you didn’t get to start [it].”
She adds, “Don’t ever feel like if you didn’t finish it, you can’t come and talk. We don’t judge anybody, and I think that makes a big difference.”
Seiden recommends acquiring large-print books for accessibility purposes. Ones that appeal to multiple ages are becoming more commonplace, she says, though it might be difficult to find them in a local or school library. “The key to these intergenerational book clubs is just finding the right texts,” Seiden says. “I think it would work regardless, but the right book just seems to become magic.”
