It’s a club devoted entirely to reading, and Orcas children are loving every minute of it.

The “Table of Contents” book club is a collaboration between Orcas Library and Darvill’s Bookstore for fourth to sixth graders. Children’s librarian Nita Couchman works with Darvill’s children’s book buyer Jean Spalti to organize the monthly meetings, which are held throughout the school year.

“Our last meeting is in May, and when I told the kids that last month, there was a big groan,” Couchman said. “I asked them, ‘Oh, so does that mean you really like the book club?’ And everyone answered with a big yes.”

The club is not restricted to public school students, although the majority of participants are from Orcas School; a handful are homeschoolers. Couchman says the group of 12 to 15 boys and girls have had steady attendance since the fall.

“It’s evenly divided between the boys and girls,” she said. “A lot of boys in that age range tend to lose interest in reading, so it’s great to see them engaged.”

The book club is made possible through a grant from the Friends of Orcas Library. All of the books are purchased through Darvill’s, which provides them at a reduced price.

Couchman and Spalti pick a genre for each month, select five possible books, and let the kids vote on which one to read.

“We wanted to broaden their horizons but still have them play an active role in the selection,” Couchman says.

So far they have read fantasy, historical fiction, and novels set in other countries. The first session of the year began with a graphic novel – a book with both drawings and text – to help get the kids interested. During the meetings at the library, each child writes down a question or comment about the book; they all go into a bucket that is then passed around the table. Everyone picks out a comment, which the group discusses.

“We want all the kids to participate equally and we thought this would be a nice way to do it,” Couchman said. “There have been a few books that not all of the kids liked, but mostly they get into them. Several of the books we’ve read were the first in a series, and many of the kids check out the other books. It’s stimulated them to read more. And that’s the hope.”

This is the first year Couchman has led the book club; she was hired as the children’s librarian a year and a half ago and the club went on a hiatus until this September. After the summer, the book club will resume in the fall; parents can call Couchman at the library to enroll their child.

“I’m catching up on reading lots of kids books myself. I’m enjoying that,” Couchman said. “And I also love to see the kids excited about books. To see that enthusiasm – it’s definitely worth it.”