Written by Grace Cruickshank:
The first Sunday of the month is when we meet with our Junior Bookclub, and the past few months we have continued to meet virtually via zoom chats. Although we’d obviously prefer to meet in person at The Bookhouse, the virtual meetings have been a great way to keep in touch, and continue our conversations about the books and authors we are enjoying together as part of bookclub.
This past Sunday was a particularly exciting meeting as we were joined by the author of the month’s pick, Joan Haig. We discussed Joan’s debut novel, Tiger Skin Rug, which received 5-star reviews from our Junior Bookclub members who also described it as ‘exciting’, ‘adventurous’ and had a clear theme of friendship.
The book follows the main characters of Lal and Dilip who have recently moved to Scotland but are homesick and miss India. They are taken on a wild adventure with their new friend Jenny when the tiger skin rug in their creepy new home comes to life and asks for help completing a quest. One of our bookclub members noted that Joan’s experiences of travel throughout her life are evident in the book as the story takes the reader from Scotland, to London, to India, and our club members also felt the storytelling was so realistic that they could imagine themselves there.
We loved getting to know Joan and it was a great opportunity for us to ask her so many questions: from her inspiration for the book, a discussion about other well-known tiger characters in books and films, not to mention what we can expect next!
This was undoubtedly one of Junior Bookclub’s favourite books so far (some even read it twice!), and it was definitely exciting to talk directly with the author about our thoughts and queries. For those who wish to read it, we still have some copies available.
A big thank you to Joan for her time in talking with us, and as always, a thank you to our Junior Bookclub members who always have such interesting comments and perspectives on the books.
Our next Junior Bookclub will be held virtually on Sunday 5th July where we will be reviewing ‘What Stars are Made of’ by Sarah Allen. This book is now available to purchase via our website and remember bookclub members receive a special discount. Get in touch if you have an avid reader (Age 9+) who would like to join our group.