Find a place to hold the book club meetings. The most obvious place is the school library, but a classroom, a public library, the bookstore or a park are all good places. You can also allow each member to host a meeting at their home.
Invite the children to sign up for the book club. Place sign up sheets in each school classroom, the public library or any other place where potential members are. Make sure that they include their name, age and grade level on the sheet. The goal is to get eight to 12 members, but the more, the merrier.
Determine the average reading level. Based on the grade level of the sign-ups, determine the level of reading that's appropriate. You might need to separate the book club by grade level; fifth and sixth graders are on a similar reading level, but third graders shouldn't be placed in the same meeting with sixth graders.
Select books based on the reading level of the members and their interests. Look on the book for its suggested grade level. If several members are Harry Potter fans, you may want to select a few science-fiction books. Children typically like to read "up." For example, fifth graders want to read books about older kids--junior high and high school kids, not about third graders. Keep that in mind when selecting appropriate material. You can also ask members what books they want to read or what books they've enjoyed.
Set a schedule for the elementary book club meetings. Spread the meetings far enough apart so that the participants have time to read the book--once or twice a month will work. Weekly meetings can be too time-consuming for many members and their parents.
Assign a secretary to send out reminders for book club meetings, keep track of the schedule and meeting places and assign any duties to members or parents (e.g., carpooling, snack-bringing, etc.). An older child member or parent could occupy this role.
Build discussion and activities around the selection. For a kindergarten reading group, the book "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss could be accompanied by a snack of green eggs. The selection "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Sadako Sasaki could be accompanied by a discussion of the book's theme and symbolism, and paper crane building. Distribute question and points of thought to accompany each reading before the meeting.
Set up a snack to have during the meeting. The snack could be something simple such as cookies and juice, or something that will expose the kids to a culture that was featured in the book. For example, when reading "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins, about a 10-year-old girl in Bangladesh, offer a snack of Bangladeshi fry bread covered in sugar syrup.