ITHACA— Tompkins County Public Library’s 2019 Community Read selection, Richard Blanco’s “The Prince of Los Cocuyos,” with its themes of immigration, identity, and family, has inspired a variety of reading selections for TCPL’s book clubs for youth.
At the Tween Book Club for children ages 9 to 12, meeting Wednesday, October 9 from 3:45 to 4:45 pm the discussion will focus on “The Night Diary,” by Veera Hiranandani. This special session of the book club will meet at the Johnson Art Museum on the Cornell University campus. Along with discussing the book, the group will examine several pieces from the exhibit “how the light gets in,” with Carol Hockett, Coordinator of School and Family Programs at the museum. The exhibit looks at the experience of humans being displaced from their homes, just as the main characters in some of the recently-read Tween Book Club selection were, including “The Night Diary.” The group will meet in the lobby of the museum.
Participants are responsible for their own transportation. Interested tweens can pick up a complimentary copy of “The Night Diary” and sign up for the group at the Youth Services reference desk. It is important that people sign up only if they are sure they can attend. At the STEAM Book Club for children ages 8 to 12, meeting Wednesday, October 23 from 3:45 to 4:45 pm in the Library’s Thaler/Howell Programming Room, discussion will focus on “Lucky Broken Girl,” by Ruth Behar, longtime translator for Community Read author Richard Blanco. At this session of the monthly STEAM-focused (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) book club, participants will discuss the story of a fifth-grader in 1960s New York, who is a Cuban-Jewish immigrant and must rely on books, art, family, and friends when an accident leaves her in a body cast. Registration is required. Sign up and receive a complimentary copy of the book at the Youth Services reference desk. Refreshments will be served.
At the Young Adult Book Club meeting on Wednesday, October 16 from 4:30 to 5:30 pm in the Library’s Thaler/Howell Programming Room, teens will share their impressions of the Community Read selection “The Prince of Los Cocuyos,” by Richard Blanco. In this exploration of his coming of age as a child of Cuban immigrants and his struggles with his burgeoning artistic and sexual identities, Blanco eloquently navigates two imaginary worlds: the Cuba of the 1950s that his family longed for and his own idealized version of America. Book club participants are encouraged to bring suggestions for future books to be added to the rotation for this monthly club. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Copies of the book are available in the Avenue of the Friends.
For the full list of programs and events, as well as Community Partners, go to https://tinyurl.com/TCPLCommunityRead. The TCPL 2019 Community Read is made possible by the generous support of The Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library.
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