Kids & Companions introduced me to looking deeper into a book to find what was below the surface, and being there with my mom gave me the confidence to speak up. In my work today, I constantly use those analysis and public speaking skills that I first started learning in book club.

As a homeschooling family, Kids and Companions was a staple of our curriculum for many years.  Terra always did a phenomenal job of choosing monthly reads from a wide variety of voices and on topics that represented, and introduced us to, the lived experience of others.  One of the greatest challenges as a parent is to determine how to introduce and talk with your kids about the tough stuff of life: tragedy, belonging, injustice, etc.  Terra selected books that did just that with the utmost care and often humor. She also provided space and thoughtful prompts for the group to dialogue, pose questions, share concerns and related experiences as well as plenty of room for simply getting to know one another and socializing.  I enjoyed the books as much as my son did and it was always a pleasure to have continued discussions at home.  I highly recommend any family with young bookworms looking for an extracurricular activity check out Kids and Companions, you'll be in great hands with Terra as your guide. 

Being part of Kids and Companions was instrumental for my son in becoming comfortable with having conversations about his thoughts and opinions. His younger sister also joined the group and they were both able to listen to others, learn to reflect, and take different perspectives. Looking back, I can see the critical thinking skills they were developing. The meetings and discussions were inter-generational, as were the conversations. My husband and I both attended whenever we could, and even my aunt at times (their great-aunt). These book club evenings became some of our favorite memories together. Kids and Companions created a wonderful sense of community and belonging. We still miss those meetings and conversations!

Kids & Companions was an incredible experience for our family. Our two children were already avid readers when we started attending, but K & C seemed to cement that trait in both of them. It showed them how reading for pleasure can be applied outside of your own internal experience. Discussing the books with both children and adults seemed to foster comfort with sharing their own opinions in public, patiently listening to the opinions of others, and having their own thoughts considered and valued by peers and adults alike. And it was equally valuable for us as adults to have to do the same. The discussions weren't two-track, with kids having their own side "kid talk" and the adults having "grown-up" conversations. Everyone had to learn to speak to each other. Kids would bring up topics and perspectives that the adults would never have thought of. It was also valuable that our children saw that there were other kids like them: those who shared their love of reading, who had families that liked to discuss what books mean beyond just the stories inside them. Developmentally, I also think it was very influential in teaching both our children to make connections with the stories we read, learning to infer and compare outside experiences in their own lives with the fiction in the books. I really do believe that Kids & Companions made our whole family better readers, speakers, writers, and human beings.

We joined kids and companions when my daughter was 7 because I felt she needed a group that worshipped books the way she did. She continued to participate until she headed to middle school at age 10, and the scheduling no longer allowed us to attend. As mother and daughter team, Kids and Companions gave us a way to connect, and it allowed my daughter an outlet where she could talk with other kids that enjoyed reading and talking about reading as much as she did. Her ability to speak confidently about her thoughts and ideas grew tremendously. Her ability to understand abstract concepts like theme, textual connections, and inferencing grew in an organic way that was exciting to witness. We always looked forward to seeing familiar faces and coming together to discuss interesting questions - even if the book wasn’t our favorite! Kids and Companions was a safe place to express ALL our opinions. As an adult, I really enjoyed reading different kinds of books, and as a teacher I still recommend many of the books we read to my colleagues and students. Even 2 years later, we miss these months connections we made and conversations we had. 

Kids and Companions was a great, family-friendly way to get into reading with my friends! The community was always so positive and the books chosen were amazing. I highly recommend for young readers!

We joined Kids & Companions when my twin daughters were eight; they graduated out once they got into middle school. Coming together every month around the same book with other families was something we always looked forward to, even when we didn't like the book! I found the books to be thoughtfully chosen and we benefitted from reading a wide variety of books. My daughters learned how to talk about books in a thoughtful way. It was fun watching them interact with their peers over books. Even as adult participants, my husband and I enjoyed reading along side our girls and participating with the other mom and dads.  I miss those meetings!

Kids and Companions is one of my favorite memories from my kids' childhood. We joined when my older kid, Kieva was in second grade. Kieva's brother Ezra joined us about 6 months later. We really loved having the chance to read new books that were not always in a genre we would have chosen. Sometimes we were surprised and loved a book that we would never have picked up. Sometimes one of us loved a book that the others hated. One of my favorite things about this book club was that the kids always spoke first, and later on the adults chimed in. My kids enjoyed feeling heard and valued by the adults in the room. The adults at times could provide context on places and times in history that the kids knew less about- I remember once my dad read one of our book club books and told my kids about his experience during the depression- something they had not heard from him before.  The kids provided a fresh perspective and always amazed us with their insight. I am so grateful for Kids and Companions because it helped my kids learn to respectfully listen and dialogue with people who might have different opinions from them. It also taught them to read literature with an eye to how characters change and what message a particular book might have for them. Thank you so much, Terra- this book club was a great gift to our family. 

I loved this bookclub! We were members until Nora grew too old for the age-group! Terra ran it with complete and utter respect for any opinion a child offered on a book and always encouraged everyone to share their thoughts (but if they didn't have anything to say or were shy, that was ok too). We were introduced to a lot of good books we might otherwise not have known about! Thanks to Little Shop of Stories for getting this bookclub started and to Terra for finding a way to keep it going, even through COVID!