By Janis Fontaine
By now you’re well into this year’s Read Together Palm Beach County book, The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood, right? If not, don’t worry! There’s still time.
The 11th annual Read Together campaign kicked off Sept. 12 when the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County announced this year’s book, a cross-generational story about a friendship that blossoms between an 11-year-old Boy Scout and a 104-year-old Lithuanian immigrant.
To entice new readers to pick up a book, the story must be compelling. Check. To help readers understand the story, it helps to have book clubs and other forums of discussion. Check.
Local libraries from Boca Raton to Royal Palm Beach will offer book discussions. The Read Together Discussion Guide, a road map for discussions with an events list at the end, is free to readers starting their own groups.
On Nov. 11, professional actors will perform a staged reading at Palm Beach Dramaworks at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. Registration and a donation are suggested.
The Read Together finale takes place at 6 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Harriet Himmel Theater in Rosemary Square, 700 S. Rosemary Ave., West Palm Beach, where you can meet the author, Monica Wood, and celebrate her work.
Copies of the book are available at the Literacy Coalition, 3651 Quantum Blvd., Boynton Beach, and at most libraries for a $10 donation.
Also of note: On Nov. 7, the Literacy Coalition will sponsor Read for the Record, which brings hundreds of volunteers to classrooms, libraries and community centers to read aloud 2019’s book, Thank You, Omu!
In 2018, the coalition recruited 415 volunteers who read to 15,696 children around the county, and leaders hope to exceed that number this year.
Reach the Literacy Coalition at 279-9103 or communications@literacypbc.org. Or visit www.literacypbc.org.
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