The Big Family Book Club 2024
We’ve chosen a book everyone in the family can enjoy, Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott! Read the book with your family and complete activities! All participants will receive a FREE copy of the book and postcards in the mail with activities and discussion questions to guide you as you progress through the book. (Books are available for pick up on a first come, first served basis while supplies last.)
Please note that you must pick up the book in person at your home library — we do not mail out the books.
Questions? Feel free to reach us at ask@mympls.org.
Registration Starts on June 17th!
You can register in person, over the phone, or through our online form until we reach capacity. Register here!
Books are still available so we have extended registration! Registration will close once we’ve reached capacity, so be sure to register soon in order to participate in The Big Family Book Club. The program runs from July 1st – August 24th.
You must be registered to receive a FREE copy of the book, and activity postcards. You must pick up your book in-person at any of our locations while supplies last. (Books are available for pick up on a first come, first served basis while supplies last.)
Copies of Dragons in a Bag are also available through our digital library on Libby as an e-book and an audiobook.
Watch the author, Zetta Elliott, read the first few chapters of Dragons in a Bag on YouTube here.
*To receive postcards in the mail, you must register for the Big Family Book Club*
The Book — Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott
When his mother goes to court to challenge an eviction notice, she leaves Jaxon with a strange lady called Ma. The miserable old woman clearly doesn’t want Jax around, and she tries to hide a curious package mailed to her from Africa. Jax soon learns that Ma is keeping secrets. She isn’t actually his grandmother—she’s a witch! Ma’s last task before retirement is to transport three dragons from Madagascar to another realm where magic still thrives. Though his mother long ago rejected the chance to apprentice with Ma, Jax decides to help the old woman get the dragons back where they belong. But what does a boy from Brooklyn know about magic?
For further discussion suggestions and activities, check out this guide!
About the Author!
Zetta Elliott was born in Canada and moved to the United
States in 1994. She is the author of over forty books for young readers,
including the Dragons in a Bag series and the award-winning picture
books Bird and Melena’s Jubilee. She is also a contributor to the
anthology We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices. Elliott is an advocate
for greater diversity and equity in publishing. A longtime resident of
Brooklyn, she currently lives in Chicago. Visit her at zettaelliott.com or
follow her on Twitter at @zettaelliott.
The Big Family Book Club is supported by the Shelley A. Marshall Foundation Fund.