Family Dinner Book Club: Cook-A-Doodle-Doo

It is time for us to share the details for the June Family Dinner Book Club!  This month we are featuring the book, Cook-A-Doodle-Doo by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Cummel.  We hope that you’ve been enjoying reading the book with your family.  If you haven’t started to read or are just learning about Family Dinner Book Club, you still have plenty of time to participate!

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Just to review a bit… Family Dinner Book Club is a monthly book club for your family.  On the first of each month, we share the title of the book that is being featured.  Then, on the 15th of each month we share all the details for your special club dinner.  Jill from Enchanted Homeschooling Mom shares art and craft ideas for decorating your dinner table.  Sarah from Daisy at Home shares a special menu to compliment the book.  And, I will share conversation starters for your special family dinner.  We invite you to share a picture from your dinner with us anytime during the month on our Family Dinner Book Club Facebook page. Now, on to preparing for book club this month!

Family Dinner Book Club:  Cook-A-Doodle-Doo

The Book

Cook-A-Doodle-Doo

If you love the story of The Little Red Hen, then you are sure to enjoy this version too.  Rooster pulls out his Great Granny’s cookbook and finds a yummy recipe for strawberry shortcake.  He then finds some friends- Turtle, Iguana and Potbellied Pig to help him create the dessert.  Well, lots of mistakes and learning along the way finally result in a yummy strawberry delight.

The sidebars of the book include lots of useful cooking information for added discussion and learning.

Table Topics

I’m pleased to share six conversation starters to get your Cook-A-Doodle-Doo book club rolling.  Just click on this link (Cook-A-Doodle Doo Conversation Starters) for a one page PDF file 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.  Happy talking!

• The animals work together to create the dessert.  Tell about a time when you worked with others to get something done or made.
• If you could make any recipe that you wanted, what would you want to make?
• How do you become an expert at something?
• The animals get confused in the story because so many words have more than one meaning.  Can you think of some words that have multiple meanings?
• Pig had a hard time being patient in the story.  Tell about a time when you had to be patient.  Was it easy or hard?
• Though the story was make-believe (fiction) there were lots of real informational pieces in the borders of the pages.  Tell something you learned about cooking from the informational pieces.

Adapting for Different Ages

Though Family Dinner Book Club works very well for children ages 4-8, you can adapt the club for younger and older children.  Younger children may enjoy a picture book story called The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear by Wood or Jamberry by Degen.  Older children may prefer to read a chapter book such as Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski.

Table Decorations

For lots of table decoration ideas, head over to Enchanted Homeschooling Mom for her Cook-A-Doodle-Doo Inspired Storybook Decorations for Your Family Dinner Table.  Jill shares ideas for table decorations for you special dinner.

Menu

For your yummy Cook-A-Doodle-Doo Menu, head over to Daisy at Home.

And please snap a picture and share with us on our Family Dinner Book Club Facebook page.  We will also be talking about the book and how the club is going on the page too.  We’d love for you to join us!

Check back on July 1st to see which book we will be featuring for the new month! Is there a book you would like to see us feature this year?  Please share your ideas below in the comments or on our Facebook page.