Book buzz

Neighbor launches children’s reading club

Story & Photo by Brittany Nunn

Neighbor Ann Fink got her degree in English, which she used to teach GED and later to land a job with the federal government.

“All the while I wanted to be teaching reading, because reading is so close to my heart,” she says.

Now she’s fulfilling every English teacher’s dream by encouraging students to read, through a book club she hosts in her living room once a week.

When Fink retired, she moved into The Enclave at Ash Creek off Lakeland and Ash Grove, and she was pleased to find there are lots of children who love to read living in her neighborhood.

“I’d see them and I’d say hi, and I’d ask them, ‘What are you reading? Tell me what you’re reading,’ ” Fink recalls.

After a while, the kids began bringing their books to her house. Fink would put lawn chairs out on the driveway, and the kids would gather around and read together.

One day, she gave them each a bookmark that pictured three little birds. One of the little girls noticed that all the children had the same bookmark and said they could have a book club, to which Fink replied: “You’re right, we could.”

Fink sent an email out to the Enclave community, inviting children to participate in Three Birds Reading Club. In July, about a dozen students between ages five and 10 began meeting at Fink’s home for an hour every Monday evening. Soon they plan to split up into two groups — one for ages 5 to 8, another for ages 9 to 12.

Even when they’re not in reading club, some of the neighborhood kids still enjoy