By Noah Lyons | [email protected] | The San Diego Union-Tribune
A monthly book club is transporting children to the past in an effort to broaden their perspectives along the way.
The History Matters Book Club for Middle Graders was launched in September and will extend its monthly meetings into June. It was formed in a partnership between the Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial and the La Jolla/Riford Library.
At 3:30 p.m. the third Thursday of every month during the academic year, children in grades 4-8 have the opportunity to listen to readings by young participants, discuss a book from a different era of history and learn how to search Mount Soledad's veterans database.
The club is led by La Jolla resident Katia Graham, who was youth services librarian at the La Jolla Library and children's librarian at the Coronado Public Library before she launched Librarian on the Go, an à la carte librarian service, in September 2023.
The book club began after the National Veterans Memorial sought to expand its educational programming.
Graham, education program manager for the veterans memorial, said she saw a demand for historical books during her time at the La Jolla Library.
"You can't help but notice that these historical fiction [and historical non-fiction] books are flying off the shelves for middle-graders," she said. "And I had that in the back of my mind when I selected books."
Some months, Graham selects a themed story, such as Blake Hoena's "Navajo Code Talkers" for Native American Heritage Month in November. In other months, Graham identifies critically acclaimed books that she feels students will connect with.
February's selection, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's "The War That Saved My Life," is a World War II tale from the perspective of a 10-year old girl who is prevented from leaving home because of her clubfoot. As the British government evacuates children in England, she finds an opportunity to take her life into her own hands.
"'The War That Saved My Life' is a book that's just beloved by most of the people who read it," Graham said. "They're going to learn some things about World War II, they're going to put themselves in the shoes of what it would be like to be a child in London at that time. ... [It] happens to be set during a time of conflict, but it's more about the characters."
Students in the club also have read titles such as Candace Fleming's "Enigma Girls," about 10 teenagers who helped turned the tide of World War II for the Allies, and "Ground Zero," which follows a 9-year-old's perspective amid the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Attendance at the book club typically ranges from four to eight children from schools including Bird Rock Elementary and Muirlands Middle in La Jolla and Pacific Beach Middle School.
Lucy Sandoval, a sixth-grader at Pacific Beach Middle School, got connected with the group after her mother caught wind of the program as Lucy attended La Jolla's Gillispie School with Graham's son.
Since then, Lucy has attended four club meetings. She said it's hard to pick which one stuck out the most. "I liked all of them," she said.
She has been reading "The War That Saved My Life" ahead of the next meeting on Thursday, Feb. 20. The book is "really good but also a little sad," she said.
Still, Lucy believes it's important to dive into the uncomfortable parts of history.
"I do think history is important because it's history," she said. "If the people in our community made mistakes, they can learn from those."
Graham said she has seen the stories resonate with students and seen "some light bulbs go off" as they make connections and share their takeaways from the books.
"They get inspired," Graham said. "They read this story about a kid their age who was able to get through this incredibly challenging time. And maybe they'll feel like they might be able to get through a challenging time with that same spirit and endurance that this kid in the novel did."
"We're more similar than we are different," she added. "And we're all looking to belong, we're all looking to be safe and we're all looking to be loved and seen. So that's one of the things I hope kids will take away from this club."
Children who want to attend the book club meetings are encouraged to check at the library for each month's book. The La Jolla/Riford Library is at 7555 Draper Ave.