Exploring Australia: Family Dinner Book Club

We’ve traveled to Haiti, China, and Sweden.  Now, we are headed to our next destination in the Around the World Family Dinner Book Club.  Pack your bags because we are going down under to Australia.

We have ideas to plan your menu, make table decoration crafts, have great conversations about the book and complete a family service project below. We have thought of everything you could need to make your dinner a success!  Get a copy of the featured book and join in on the fun.

If you are new to the Family Dinner Book Club, here is a little background on the club.

Family Dinner Book Club is a monthly book club for families.

• On the first of each month, we provide all the details for your dinner.
• Laura from Sunny Day Family shares easy table crafts.
• And, I will share a menu, conversation starters and a service project for your family.

Please share a picture from your dinner with us anytime during the month on our Family Dinner Book Club Facebook page.  Plus, you will want to follow along there for more bonus ideas to use with the books each month.

Now, let’s get to the details!

Exploring Australia

Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

The Book

Finding a widely available book for Australia that fits our criteria was definitely a challenge. We are going with The Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Diane Arnold.  Joshua loves to run and he gets lots of energy from eating pumpkin slices.  So this unconventional runner signs up to race from Melbourne to Sydney.  But, winning isn’t the most important thing to him.  The crowd can learn a thing or two from him.  This book is based on a true story.

More Books

If you are looking for more books to read about Australia, check out these books.

Mirror by Jeannie Baker is a mostly wordless book that compares a family in Australia with a family in Morocco.

Are We There Yet? by Lester takes you on a driving trip as a family crosses Australia.

For a chapter book option try Blinky Bill Grows Up by Dorothy Wall.

Menu for The Pumpkin Runner

Enjoy this pumpkin-themed menu for Family Dinner Book Club.

Conversation Starter for The Pumpkin Runner

Here are six conversation starters to get your dinner dialogue started.  Just click on the link below for a one-page document that you can print and then cut apart.

Use the cards on your chosen dinner night.  You, of course, don’t have to use all of them or you may even have some other discussion points that developed while you were reading.  These are just meant to be a guide. Enjoy your dinner conversation!

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE SET OF CONVERSATION STARTERS

Do you like to run?  What type of exercise is your favorite?

Joshua was fueled by a love of running (and pumpkin).  What do you love so much that you want to do it every day?

Did anyone expect Joshua to win the race when he joined?  Why?

Imagine traveling across Australia.  What sights would you like to see?

If you won a $10,000 prize, what would you do with the money?

Should age matter when you want to do something?  Why?

Family Service Project

There are many organizations that hold races (marathons and walks) to raise money for different causes.  Research what events are being held in your community this month or in the near future.  As a family, join one of the races and raise money to support the cause of the group.

Table Activity for The Pumpkin Runner

Then, check out the tie-in table activity at Sunny Day Family.—>click here for pumpkin table activity

More Resources About Australia

Australia for Kids

Wild Kratts Australian Outback

Are you ready to hold your own Family Dinner Book Club with your family? Remember that we want to see pictures of your dinner.  Please share them to our special Family Dinner Book Club Facebook page.

See all the rest of the line-up for the year.—>Around the World Family Dinner Book Club Line-Up

And, join us again next month for another Family Dinner Book Club when we will travel to Vietnam (Exploring Vietnam: Family Dinner Book Club )and read Grandfather’s Dream by Holly Keller.