“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

Charles William Eliot

On a hot summer afternoon, a mother and daughter were discussing nowadays when kids are, they rarely pick up books to read.

The mother said, “You started reading because I loved to read and you always saw a novel or a book with me. Parents these days rarely read themselves and how will the kids learn”.

This statement started a debate and ultimately was the starting point for the idea of doing something to inculcate the habit of reading for fun and pleasure.

They started to formalize the idea. A library or a book club seemed so mundane.

Why not start a book club with a twist and call it a ‘Reading Club’? Instead of targeting a specific age group, why not open it for all age groups including adults and senior citizens as well.

It soon had a name “Wonderleaf Club” scheduled weekly, Saturday late afternoon for an hour and a half. The private collection of books (~ 500) was starting for the book collection of Wonderleaf Club.

The first reading session took place on May 13th, 2017 from the living room of their home.

And the journey began…….

We have had close to 100 kids and parents part of our reading club, about 20 of those are our regular readers and we like to fondly call them ” Wonder Readers”

There is a peaceful and serene environment, members can pick any book and read for an hour. We help the kids choose a book when are unsure.

After the reading hour, we all talk about everything and anything under the sun, be it about the books, playing atlas or dumb charade, discussing difficult words, summarizing the books we read.

Recently we started with “Story Telling” as well.

This is just a beginning with a long way to go!

Fingers crossed!