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The Cousins Club

carolbaldwin

When my children were young, I enjoyed purchasing autographed books at writers conferences and bringing them home for birthday or holiday presents. Fast forward a few years, and now I’m purchasing books signed for my grandkids.


At the mid-year SCBWI workshop in Florida, I complained to Kim Britt, proprietor of bookmark it, that I couldn’t decide which grandchild I should buy books for. 


In a moment of inspiration she said, “Start a cousins club! Buy a book and then let them pass it around to each other.”


Kim Britt, proprietor
bookmarkit

She got excited explaining how I should create a pocket in the back of the book.  Each cousin could sign, date, and write what she thought about the book and leave her comments in the pocket before passing it along.


Kim’s idea led to the first book dedicated to the Cousins Club by Sara Pennypacker, author of the Clementine books and The Summer of the Gypsy Moths.

And here is the first cousin to receive books:

Ebby Clark

At a recent SCBWI-Carolinas conference I asked Alan Gratz to sign The League of Seven to the cousins, which he was happy to do.




Using rubber cement, I glued this pocket into the back of the book:


Make sure the cement thoroughly dries before you insert a note (or index card) into the pocket.

If you also love sharing autographed books with the young readers in your family, I hope you start your own Cousins or Sibling Club. Send me pictures if you do. I’d love to run a follow-up post on more clubs, thanks to Kim Britt’s novel idea. 

Published by carolbaldwin

Carol enjoys teaching writing and has presented at many educators' and writing conferences. She has published widely in newspapers and magazines and along with Rebecca Wheeler, co-publishes Talking Story, a newsletter for educators and media specialists. When she isn’t reading, writing, or blogging, you’ll find her walking with friends, golfing, or gardening.

30 thoughts on “The Cousins Club”

  6. Carol,Not enough cousins here, but I have read and then given a couple of books to my niece. I should follow up to hear her opinion of them. You've got me thinking. Also, I'm going to share a stack of Cobblestone magazines with my grandsons that I was given when I wrote teacher guides for them. Not current issues, but wonderful just the same. Thanks again for passing along the Cousins Club idea.

    Reply

  8. Fun idea, Carol. We do this in our family with the adults. We don't have youngsters in the same age groups, but I do wish we'd had this when I was young. We had a boatload of cousins and we were pretty close. It would have been fun. That's a pretty happy girl holding the new books!

    Reply

  14. Dear Carol,So glad you took up the Cousins Club! Wonderful idea! Spreads fellowship and great reading traditions for families! Brilliant!Celebrate you and your love of readingNever Give UpJoan

    Reply

  21. Carol,Not enough cousins here, but I have read and then given a couple of books to my niece. I should follow up to hear her opinion of them. You've got me thinking. Also, I'm going to share a stack of Cobblestone magazines with my grandsons that I was given when I wrote teacher guides for them. Not current issues, but wonderful just the same. Thanks again for passing along the Cousins Club idea.

    Reply

  23. Fun idea, Carol. We do this in our family with the adults. We don't have youngsters in the same age groups, but I do wish we'd had this when I was young. We had a boatload of cousins and we were pretty close. It would have been fun. That's a pretty happy girl holding the new books!

    Reply

  29. Dear Carol,So glad you took up the Cousins Club! Wonderful idea! Spreads fellowship and great reading traditions for families! Brilliant!Celebrate you and your love of readingNever Give UpJoan

    Reply

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