by Ann Miller
Amanda Frazier recently submitted these wonderful photos from the Ashburn Library Book to Art Club in Virginia. Her club read “Convenience Store Woman” by Sayaka Murata and created miniature dioramas using Altoids tins.
Amanda says, “Everyone loved the book and our tiny pieces of art!”
Thank you, Amanda, for sharing these! We love them, too!
by Amanda Frazier
The Ashburn Library of Loudoun County Public Libraries excitedly joined Book to Art Club at the start of 2020, announced our reading selection, distributed copies, and then watched the whole world shut down. We’ve been waiting to restart the program, which I think is a wonderful concept, trying to figure out when people would want to start attending our programs in person again and so here we are two years later but we’re making it happen! We have a small but very interested group and have expanded the ”art” part to include crafts. For our second month we read Morgenstern’s Night Circus and made little charm bracelets inspired by the book – everyone loved it 😊 Looking forward to sharing more of our adventures in the future.
by Stacy Brown, Davis Academy
The Davis Academy book clubs are going strong this year. Readers have embraced literacy, art, graphic design, and coding within the book club. In December, fourth grade students read The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern and after a lively discussion, they made digital bento boxes filled with their own treasures that signify who they are as individuals: hobbies, acheivements, and values. Our fifth graders read both Out of My Mind and Out of My Heart by Sharon Draper during these winter months. After reading Out of My Mind, students designed a communication device for Melody, the main character who relies on a technological device to voice her thoughts. Students used paper and pencil sketches, the Makey Makey, and Scratch coding to complete their projects. With Out of My Heart, in which Melody goes to camp, book clubbers designed a wheel chair accessible ramp and tested out its usefulness by coding the robotic Spheros to go up and down the ramp. Next month, both book clubs will be reading Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina. For more book club happenings, follow @21stStacy on Twitter with the #bookclub hashag.
Figure 1: Digital Bento Box
Figure 2: A lively discussion of The Meaning of Maggie among 4th graders
Figure 3: 5th Graders sketching communication devices for Melody, the main character in Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Figure 4: 5th graders coding their communication devices with Scratch
Figure 5: 5th Graders coding Spheros to test out their ramp building skills
Figure 6: 5th Graders designing wheelchair accessible ramps for Out of My Heart's main character, Melody, as she ventures off to summer camp
by Ann Miller
2022 has arrived, and with it, I offer you the first (hopefully annual), Book to Art Bingo Challenge. Participation is completely optional, but I promise you it will be fun!
The rules are simple: complete a Bingo—down, across or diagonal, and submit your card to booktoartclub@gmail.com with Book to Art Bingo as the title. This challenge will run through December 31, 2022, and you will have until January 7, 2023 to submit your results.
Bingo winners will be entered into a drawing for a surprise, so please include your mailing address along with your submission. There will be a second drawing for those who complete the entire card!
I am thrilled to offer this, and I can’t wait to see what everybody has been up to!
Happy New Year!
Click on card to download.
by Ann Miller, Mead Public Library
There’s a chill in the air and snowflakes have been teasing the arrival of winter. With or without a white-covered ground, it is mid-December, and in Wisconsin, winter has started in spite of it’s calendar designation. Lights and baubles combined with greens decorate streetlights, porches, and picture windows, and holiday carols can be heard on the radio.
It’s early enough in the season to view the snow as lovely, rather than a four-letter word, so in keeping with the cozy, holiday spirit, I encourage you to fire up a pot of hot cocoa, garnish it with a peppermint stick, and settle in for a warm, winter read.
Here are few recommendations:
by Samantha Hanchett, Thomas County Public Library
Some of our club (left to right: myself, Sandra P., Frances T., Tiffany L. & Jennifer V.
Rolling out of our third year joining the ranks of the Book to Art Club, I couldn’t be more thrilled with how our small group has grown and maintained. I first ran across this concept back in 2018 and I thought it was brilliant – a combination of two of my passions: art and literature. Working in a public library, I was a bit shocked that we didn’t already host a book club and I really wanted to start one, but the competition is fierce in Thomasville and I didn’t want to offer just another book club to our adult patrons. Then BAM! Book to Art Club – a book club with a twist. I decided to reach out to its brainchild and give it a chance. It hit the ground running right off that bat, but like most things, went through its peaks and valleys (not to mention a tumultuous time of not happening/trying it virtually during the 2020 months, you know the ones).
What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez project - inspired by Picasso's depictions of grief and emotion
Severance by Ling Ma - inspired by Dave Pollot's transformed thrift store paintings and various photographers who inspired Ling Ma's NY Ghost blog
In the end, here we are. Half of our members have been with us from the beginning, half are new to the club and we get a random one trying out here and there, but the whole journey has been so fun! Choosing books for the year (my club likes that I choose and take them out of their comfort zones) and seeing them create something uniquely their own from the project I present to accompany the discussion each month always blows my mind. My group is all across the board, some who think themselves artistically-challenged (totally misguided) are so talented and creating a work of art really helps us look at the novel we just read in a fresh way. One of our members even used one of her works in the State Fair art competition this year and was awarded first prize!
Sin Eater by Megan Campisi - inspired by Beth Lipman's Magical Thinking still life sculptures
All-in-all, Book to Art is a fantastic way to forge a connection and open discussion through literature, which is a main goal of the public library and myself. Books are a powerful tool to open the mind and expand our ways of thinking, breaking down walls and opening doors to exploring topics that are ‘touchy’ in a place we feel safe and forging relationships between those you wouldn’t think possible. Combined with visual art, this pathway to higher-level of consciousness is taken even further. As James Baldwin said, “The artist is present to correct the delusions to which we fall prey in our attempts to avoid this knowledge [of our inescapable, universal and extreme states of being]”.
I recently wrote another blog entry for my library to tie in with our Mead Bookish Bingo Challenge. The challenge was to read a book with a connection to a song written in the year 2000. Now this included books that referenced a song from the year 2000, as well as, songs written in the year 2000 with literary connections. You can read the entire article here.
This limitation of the year 2000 was difficult, but possible, and it got me thinking about other literary-music partnerships. During my research I discovered that Artists for Literacy began a fundraising campaign in the year 2000 to recruit literary-influenced songs by top artists to inspire new readers and support free tutoring programs.
I love this idea. And I love the thought that music could be part of the Book to Art Club. Music is, after all, an art form, and admittedly, it is one that I haven’t utilized beyond creating atmospheric playlists for some of my book discussions. I am including some titles below that are married to music. This is only a small sampling of books connected to song.
I would love to hear about other music and book connections that you’ve had—even better if it relates to a Book to Art Club experience.
Do you enjoy reading letters, emails, texts, or other people’s diary entries? Then epistolary novels are for you. Plainly explained, an epistolary novel is a story told through correspondence. Written in a series of epistles, meaning missives or journal entries, the reader gets an intimate view of the characters’ innermost thoughts and experiences as the story unfolds. As a reader, you cannot help but connect with these characters and think of them as acquaintances by the novel’s end.
Are you new to epistolary novels and don’t know what to choose? I recommend three of my all-time favorites: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Sleeping Giants, and Griffin and Sabine. The former is a heart-warming, post-war story of friendship, love, and resilience. The middle is a science fiction-mystery-thriller featuring extraterrestrial robot warriors. The latter is filled with exquisite illustrations, and you get to physically open some of the letters which are contained in envelopes between the pages.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live a day in someone else’s shoes? Give Gabi, a Girl in Pieces, the chronicles of a young Mexican-American teenage girl trying to survive her final year of high school, or Letters from Black America, a nonfiction narrative history of African Americans told through their own letters, a read-through. Looking for a little LGBTQIA+ inspiration? Try The Perks of Being a Wallflower or Empty Without You: the Intimate Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok.
Maybe you crave a good heartbreaking but empowering tale like Code Name Verity, the story of two friends caught in the snares of WWII espionage, or Speak, the recount of a teen’s high school struggles post-rape, or The Power, the speculative discussion between two authors on what might have happened when females became the physically dominant gender.
If humor is what you’d prefer, check out The Screwtape Letters, a satire on human foibles discussed through missives passed between a bureaucrat from Hell and his incompetent apprentice; or consider Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging, a Bridget Jones’-style tell-all journal of a year in the life of a British teen.
Fancy something a little more scandalous? Try the French epistolary novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. You might be familiar with the films it inspired: Dangerous Liaisons and Cruel Intentions. Of course, there is also The Diary of Anaïs Nin. Yes, THAT Anaïs Nin.
Whatever satisfies your prying inclinations, there is an epistolary novel calling your name, so don’t fight it. Indulge and enjoy it guilt-free. After all, it was written for you, reader.
Winter seems to be staying here in the Midwest. Paired with quarantine orders, this is the perfect time for sipping tea, snuggling under warm blankets, and getting cozy with a “cozy” mystery as you wait for your next Book to Art Club session. A few thrilling possibilities are:
Stay cozy and warm!
by Ann Miller
As we plan our future book discussions, we face the exciting challenge of creating a balance between favorite, familiar books, authors and genres, and expanding our selection to embrace new, thought-provoking, potentially life-changing reads. We know that one reader may connect with a tome and its characters through shared life experiences, while another reader will experience an eye-opening moment of enlightenment. This is why diverse reading selections create a more inclusive book club.
These are a few stories that I’ve recently read and found inspiring mixed in with a few favorites. You’ll find even more on the Book to Art Club Title page. I hope you will check them out!
by Ann Miller
Make: magazine created the Maker Faire as a way to gather creative people to showcase what they are making and for people to share ideas with each other. There are Maker Faires now occurring annually all over the world in celebration of arts, crafts, science, technology, engineering and innovation. With the pandemic COVID-19 looming over the world, many Maker Faires were forced to cancel, so Make: created the Virtually Maker Faire this year. I was honored to be selected to run a very special Book to Art Club session for all ages to discuss J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”.
The entire event came together in only a few weeks, so there wasn’t a lot of time to promote it, but I was pleased with the turnout that we had. Our group was small, but we had a wide range of ages and decent discussion of the reading. I’d like to especially thank my fellow Book to Art Club facilitators who attended. I know that you were invited very last minute, and I sincerely appreciate your support.
by Ann Miller
“Social Distancing” is an ubiquitous term these days with the spread of COVID-19, coronavirus, because it affects all of us. In simple terms, it means that we should avoid physical contact and close proximity to each other.
Book clubs are gatherings of readers sharing in discussion, and in the case of the Book to Art Club, sharing art supplies. Due to the spread of coronavirus in my area, my library has canceled all programs that meet person-to-person for the foreseeable future. You may be finding yourself in a similar situation.
The simplest solution, of course, is to cancel or postpone your book discussions. Although this is disappointing to do, it helps protect you and your club members from getting sick, and that is extremely important. Another option is to meet via video chat, like Skype, Zoom, Facebook Messenger, or Microsoft Teams, just to name a few, or through a conference telephone call.
The Mead Public Library Book to Art Club will be meeting in April and May via Skype, and to keep the making element, I have asked my members to register so that I know how many project making kits to prepare. In April we will be discussing Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger, and I will fill sealable bags with an assortment of fun paper scraps, wire pieces, leftover art supplies, steampunk-inspired cutouts and 3D printed objects, such as gears and clocks. May’s discussion will be Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend, and I will, again, provide take-and-make bags with a few items, like drink umbrellas, cat cutouts, and any of our craft leftovers that I think would be fun to include.
I’ve included links on the book titles, in case you would like to see how I am coordinating this. I would like to emphasize that there is absolutely no shame in simply canceling your book discussion. Safety is the number one priority. I just wanted to provide an alternative option so that things don’t seem so bleak.
The Thomas County Public Library’s Book to Art Club is continuing strong in the new year with good reads, great discussions and fabulous projects.
We have started our 2020 season with a few new and old members and it is off to a great start so far! Our last read was Goodbye, Vitamin which lead to an interesting discussion on where love goes when a relationship is over and our views on life in general. —Samantha Hanchett
Check out Thomas County Public Library’s Pinterest page for inspiration to pair with these titles. Thank you, Samantha, for sharing with us!
Watercolour constellations for All the Ugly & Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
Collages to challenge the mind/Alzheimer's thoughts for Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
Stacy Brown from The Davis Academy recently submitted these wonderful project photos from her fourth and fifth grade Picture This: Graphic Novels! group, a book club that reads graphic novels and makes hands-on projects while discussing them during their lunch recess break. What a fun idea!
So far they have drawn their own comics after reading El Deafo, designed survival badges after reading Bad Island, read New Kid and created their our own new kid self-portraits with edible treats and made stop motion videos about their own experiences, and built bioengineered pets out of Play-Doh after reading Sanity and Tallulah. The club also had lunch with author Laurel Snyder as they discussed her book My Jasper June.
Samantha Hanchett from Thomas County Public Library recently submitted these wonderful projects from her library’s club. What a fun variety of projects to engage her members with! I’m looking forward to seeing what they make in 2020.
The Power by Naomi Alderman (Street flyers for feminine power)
The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey (Zombie paper dolls)
The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro (Sticker-by-Numbers: Famous Art)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Book page poetry)
September marked the second year of The Great Big Romance Read created by The Ripped Bodice Bookstore, an all-romance bookstore located in Culver City, CA. It is The Great Big Romance Read’s goal to “connect romance readers all over the world and celebrate a shared love of romance by reading the same book during the month of September.”
Another book club that I facilitate, Romance on the Rocks, participated this year, and I am sharing this event because the chosen title, “The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics” by Olivia Waite is more than a historical romance read. It is also a book that inspires women to pursue science careers, a beautifully and sensitively written lesbian romance, and a story that ignites creative visions of stars and botanicals, telescopes and embroidery. In other words, this book is perfect for the Book to Art Club, too!
“The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics” by Olivia Waite has been added to our title list. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!
In honor of National Book Lover’s Day, I thought it would be fitting to feature a title for future Book to Art Club discussions, a novel that is written about and for book lovers. One of my absolute favorite Book to Art Club reads so far has been “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern. It isn’t new, of course, but it is worth reading, and even reading, again, in my humble opinion.
Even more exciting is that Erin Morgenstern has a new title coming out soon, “The Starless Sea”. I am elated to be reading this book with my club in Sheboygan at the start of the new year, and the story’s concept seems to hold limitless possibilities for art-making. Below is the description from the author’s website.
Far beneath the surface of the earth, upon the shores of the Starless Sea, there is a labyrinthine collection of tunnels and rooms filled with stories. The entryways that lead to this sanctuary are often hidden, sometimes on forest floors, sometimes in private homes, sometimes in plain sight. But those who seek will find. Their doors have been waiting for them.
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is searching for his door, though he does not know it. He follows a silent siren song, an inexplicable knowledge that he is meant for another place. When he discovers a mysterious book in the stacks of his campus library he begins to read, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, lost cities, and nameless acolytes. Suddenly a turn of the page brings Zachary to a story from his own childhood impossibly written in this book that is older than he is.
A bee, a key, and a sword emblazoned on the book lead Zachary to two people who will change the course of his life: Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired painter, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances. These strangers guide Zachary through masquerade party dances and whispered back room stories to the headquarters of a secret society where doorknobs hang from ribbons, and finally through a door conjured from paint to the place he has always yearned for. Amid twisting tunnels filled with books, gilded ballrooms, and wine-dark shores Zachary falls into an intoxicating world soaked in romance and mystery. But a battle is raging over the fate of this place and though there are those who would willingly sacrifice everything to protect it, there are just as many intent on its destruction. As Zachary, Mirabel, and Dorian venture deeper into the space and its histories and myths, searching for answers and each other, a timeless love story unspools, casting a spell of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a Starless Sea.
For further inspiration, I have added “The Starless Sea” to our menu of titles. Bon appétit!
Judy Wile with Book Club Reboot!
Judy Wile of Camas Public Library in Washington has had a very successful year! Her Book to Art Club for adults was so popular that she started a Book to Art Club, Jr. for 6th-8th graders and their parents in February of this year. Additionally, Judy and her club were featured in the new ALA book, “Book Club Reboot: 71 Creative Twists” by Sarah Ostman and Stephanie Saba. Congratulations Judy and Camas! We are so excited for you!
Below are works of art from “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett and “The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate” by Jacqueline Kelly.
Kristy Bowen of Columbia College Chicago shared these beautiful images from her Book to Art Club’s yearlong Grimm fairy tale study and project.
We finished up our 2017-2018 year devoted to Grimm's Fairy Tales in May with both an exhibit of the work created during the college's spring Manifest Celebration, and the issuing of our final project inspired by Grimm Fairytales, DARK FOREST, which is available for sale in the Library. This limited edition book arts anthology project features prints, broadsides, postcards, and pamphlets from Columbia College Community artists & authors, and provides a dynamic look at beauty and darkness of fairy tales and folklore. - Kristy Bowen
We are so excited to have you participating in the very first Book to Art Club Big Read, “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle! Here are some images that we have received so far, and we will continue adding as we receive.
Mead Public Library
Milwaukee Public Library
