Student-led book group changes lives in Michigan elementary school
David Ayer Posted On June 3, 2026 
What do you get when public Montessori meets the wildly popular books of Canadian children’s book author Gordan Korman? A student-generated book group, of course — would you expect anything less?
But “book group” might be too mild a word for what the Upper Elementary students at Okemos Public Montessori at Central, in Okemos, Mich., have been up to. What started as an ad-hoc fan club for the Korman’s books has evolved into a formal school club with a website, membership tiers, scheduled meetings, a reading list, and a 20% discount at the local bookstore — all developed and led by the students.
It began with five of them: Evan Guo, Gracie Yan, Shiloh Bardy, Naomi Lee, and Ariel Ku.
“So we saw this book called ‘Restart,’ and we figured out it was an award-winning book, so we all just really wanted to read it,” said Yan. “After that, we discussed what happened in the book, and why we liked the book so much, and why we may think that it’s award-winning, and we kind of just wanted to include this discussion with other people too.”
As they were roping others into the discussion, they realized that Korman had written over 100 books, and that they could delve into his worlds almost endlessly. And they had a taste for his writing style as well.
“We all really loved his sense of humor … and his books range from adventurous tales to straight-on action, and his twists are super exciting to us,” Yan said.
The students pitched the idea of a book group first to their guide, Christine Batora, then to their principal. Then tech wiz Evan Guo created a website, slideshow, and Google form to help pitch the club to classmates, while 3D printing enthusiast Ariel Ku developed reading-tier goodies.
“We have a bookmark for reading one book by Gordon Korman, and we have a 3D-printed silver medal for people who have read five books by Gordon Korman, and we have a gold 3D-printed gold medal for people who have read 15 books written by Gordon Korman,” Ku said.
The students also spent their recess time generating buzz by writing “Join the Gordan Korman book club,” all over the sidewalks in chalk.
Their multi-tiered strategy worked — soon enough, most of their classroom was in on the fun, and then word started to spread to other classrooms. The school librarian got involved (she’s currently trying to line up Korman for a Zoom classroom visit), and the group’s Friday recess meetings are currently on hold while they figure out how to involve the entire school.
Guide Christine Bator isn’t the least bit surprised at the club’s success.
“They support each other, they guide each other, they collaborate with each other, they inspire others. “The joy of reading and the joy of collaboration, and the fun that they’re sharing, I think that’s what’s drawing people to them,” she said.
As of this writing, the club continues to grow and become more complex. There’s now an introductory sub-group for students new to Korman’s work, and fun student-developed quizzes for those who want to challenge their own reading comprehension.
The students have also turned their club website into a donation collection machine meant to bulk out the classroom’s book collection. And a phone call to the local Barnes and Noble resulted in a standing 20% discount — for the entire school.
A dangerous business, Frodo
For guide Christine Bator, it’s a classic example of public Montessori in action.
“It’s pretty impressive, and a great example of reading, independence, extensions — chosen by the child. I received an email from a parent in this class celebrating the book club, and they thanked me, and I had to quickly reply, ‘I did not create this book club!’ It’s just the beauty of Montessori, and the beauty of these Montessorians.”
The reason the parent was so thankful? Up until the book club started, the child in question was only reading graphic novels. And according to Shiloh Bardy, that unnamed student isn’t the only one whose literary horizons have recently expanded.
“A majority of the books I read were graphic novels, but when I discovered the Gordon Corman books, I changed a lot. It was really cool to see how much I changed just because of a book,” Bardy said.
It’s the first step in Bardy’s newfound lifetime of adventure, something like Bilbo venturing out from his garden gate and following that road going ever on and on.
And that’s not just a literary metaphor.
“I just started the whole Lord of the Rings series,” Bardy said.
David worked in private Montessori for more than twenty years as a parent, three-to-six year-old and adolescent teacher, administrator, writer, speaker, and advocate. In 2016 he began working with the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector. David lives in Portland, Oregon.
