Main Street # 5: The Secret Book Club

by Ann M. Martin

Overview

Flora, Ruby, Olivia, and Nikki start their own summer book club when well-loved books start appearing on their doorsteps in the fifth of Ann Martin's wonderful Main Street books.

Flora and Ruby are about to start their second summer in Camden Falls. An element of mystery is instantly added when someone -- the girls don't know who -- leaves copies of a very special book on their doorstop, with instructions to read and discuss it. Olivia and Nikki also get books, and soon the girls are starting their own book club -- with some very interesting ties between the books they're reading and the things they're facing over the summer. But who's their literary benefactor? The girls don't need to read Nancy Drew to track down the answer....

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780439868839
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2008
Series:	Main Street Series , #5
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 7.56(h) x 0.66(d)
Lexile:	790L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Ann M. Martin's The Baby-Sitters Club series sold over 176 million copies and inspired a generation of young readers. Her novels include the Main Street series, BELLE TEAL, the Newbery Honor book A CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE, HERE TODAY, A DOG'S LIFE, and ON CHRISTMAS EVE, as well as the much-loved collaborations P.S, LONGER LETTER LATER and SNAIL MAIL NO MORE with Paula Danziger, and THE DOLL PEOPLE and THE MEANEST DOLL IN THE WORLD, written with Laura Godwin and illustrated by Brian Selznick. She lives in upstate New York.

Editorial Reviews

Flora and Ruby have live with their grandmother Mim since losing their parents in a car accident. They are concerned that they are facing a boring summer. Mim takes them to her shop, Needle and Thread, every day. The girls want more activities and independence. One morning when they arrive at the shop, they are surprised by four packages one for each including their friends Nikki and Olivia. Each package has a book and a letter, encouraging them to establish a book club. A new package will arrive every month with a Newbery award book. Except for Ruby, who hates to read, the other three girls love getting acquainted with: Roll of Thunder, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM, Understood Betsy, and The Summer of the Swans. They are excited by the mystery of who is sending the books and what book will promote what project next month. The summer includes many thrilling events: a fire occurs at the diner; the girls meet a boy with Down Syndrome; Olivia is left out of Tanya's pool party, and the girls celebrate Nelson Day. They get a tour of a secret historic underground railroad and an opportunity to "Go Green" by planting a vegetable garden. This is the fifth book in the "Main Street" series, and the author of "The Baby-sitters Club" series creates the town as another character in the story in this new group of books. A detailed map allows the reader to follow the girls as they explore around Camden Falls. The last few pages have directions for starting a book club, recipes, a craft activity, and discussion questions. Reviewer: JoAn Watson Martin

Children's Literature - JoAn Watson Martin

Gr 4-6

Ann Martin's series involves four friends in the small community of Camden Falls and exhibits her usual mix of impeccable prose and ease with today's slang. In this episode (Scholastic, pap. 2008), Flora, Ruby, Olivia, and Nikki find books that are mysteriously left at their door-Robert O'Brien's "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H," Dorothy Canfield Fisher's "Understood Betsy," "Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry" by Mildred Taylor, and several others. Each book comes with a message telling them to read the book and do something new. Who could be sending these books? Before long, the four friends form a book club. Ariadne Meyers makes each girl's voice unique as well as those of the other characters. She perfectly slips in and out of dialogue and expository text. A must-have for fans of the series.-B. Allison Gray, Goleta Branch Library, Santa Barbara, CA

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