Community Read 2007
a part of The Big Read
Libraries in the Midcoast Maine area join forces each January to present the Midcoast Community Read, an area-wide collaborative book group. Patten Free Library, Curtis Memorial Library, Topsham Public Library and Wiscasset Public Library encourage their patrons to read the same selected title over the winter and then come together in March for discussions, presentations and related activities to the book. See About Community Read for more on the program.
The Events Listings are now complete. Check for an event in your area.
The Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck - Adult/General Title
Join us in reading John Steinbeck’s masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath. Told with warmth, humor, and pathos, this great novel of the Depression era follows three generations of the Joad family as they journey together from Dust Bowl Oklahoma to California in search of work. Steinbeck’s characters are unforgettable, as is this novel’s message about the power of family and community in hard times. Today, as many people around the world are forced by natural disasters and wars to migrate from their homes and seek new lives elsewhere, reading and discussing The Grapes of Wrath seems especially appropriate. The fundamental need for a home and to preserve one’s humanity repeats itself over and over. Reading the experiences of the Joad family will touch us all.
synopsis link: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Steinbeck/grapes.html
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse - Young Adult Title
Newbery Medal winner Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse is the companion book for 5th graders to adults. Out of the Dust paints a picture of the Dust Bowl era through the eyes of Billie Jo, the fourteen-year-old daughter of an Oklahoma farmer. While her father is desperately trying to grow wheat in the ruined soil, Billie Jo does her best to help her family get by and to escape her father’s anger and depression as their family starts to unravel. This novel told in verse is a quick but powerful glance into the American West during the 1930s.
synopsis link: http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/outofthedust.html
Leah's Pony
by Elizabeth Friedrich - Children's Title
A touching historical fiction in picture-book format, Leah’s Pony by Elizabeth Friedrich, is the children’s companion book. Leah’s Pony also paints a realistic picture of the hard life on a family farm during the Depression. When the corn crop is prosperous Papa buys Leah a pony, but when the drought hits and farm equipment and assets have to be sold at auction, Leah takes it upon herself to help her family. With vivid illustrations by Michael Garland, this novel of sacrificial love will touch all of the reader’s emotions
synopsis link : http://www.goblinmarket.com/
Suggested Links
Grapes of Wrath
Steinbeck Biography and Steinbeck Facts
Movie link (1940, directed by John Ford)
see also Reading group guide
History Place - Dorothea Lange photos of Migrant Farm Families
Out of the Dust
Synopses, discussion questions and more:
American Library Assn. BookLinks
Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
Karen Hesse biography
Leah's Pony
Synopses:
from Goblin Market Magazine
from boydsmillpress.com
Elizabeth Friedrich biography
Michael Garland (illustrator) biography
Lesson & comprehension questions
The Big Read
The Big Read is a project of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services
about The Big Read
connect to The Big Read site
page last updated November 19, 2007
