“It’s so critical that we stay grounded in our neighborhoods and maintain connections in an increasingly global world,” said Shailey Patel, Ashnis mother. “My daughter, Ashni Patel (age 11), hosted a book club for eight rising 4th-grade girls who read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry this summer. This is a Newberry Award-winning book. This is the second year she shared her love of learning (and aspirations to be a teacher) with this group. It’s astounding to me that young people these days can make such an impact and have fun along the way.”

Ashni created PowerPoint, taught the girls about different literary viewpoints, and administered vocab and weekly quizzes. Her book club took this initiative one step further with fundraising to benefit Holocaust survivors or the Museum of Tolerance in LA in keeping with the theme of their book.

“I read this book in fifth grade. It’s a good book for them to learn one year ahead of their grade level. I also think this book helps them learn history and the difficult times the Jewish community faced. It’s a great story and an important lesson about overcoming challenges,” said Ashni.

Ashni Patel’s Summer Book Club Participants:
Sianna, Leia, Royal, Layla, Shivani, Aria, Kaavya and Samaira