Gordon in the News: last updated 03/31/2010
For Immediate Release
March 30, 2010
Media Contact:
Jo Kadlecek
Office of College Communications
[email protected]
Wenham, MA—Everything Anita Silvey learned she discovered in a children’s book.
At least that’s what she claims in her best-selling book Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book. As a result, the Hamilton-Wenham Public Library has partnered with Gordon for the fourth annual Community Read and will welcome Silvey to campus on April 8. She will be speaking about her book and the influence of reading in shaping a child’s imagination. The public is invited to meet Silvey at a reception at the Ken Olsen Science Center (KOSC) Loggia, 6-7 pm. Her lecture will follow at 7:30 in the KOSC MacDonald Auditorium.
“Anita Silvey is a leading expert in children’s literature and an excellent speaker,” said Jan Dempsey, the Hamilton-Wenham Public Library director. “I am thrilled that she is coming to Wenham.”
Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book includes testimonies from notable persons describing the meaning of a children’s book they loved and the influence it had on their lives. Ninety-nine people—such as Jay Leno—reminisce about a book they enjoyed as a child by describing the meaning the book had on their childhood and adult life. From The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins and Goodnight Moon, to Little House on the Prairie, Harriet the Spy and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, each book mentioned reflects an important and meaningful connection.
This is the fourth year the Hamilton-Wenham Library has partnered with Gordon College for the Community Read program, which encourages all community members to read the same book and then gather together and meet the author. Through the help of a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, the Hamilton-Wenham Public Library reinforces its mission of “meeting the cultural, educational, informational and recreational interests of the community.”
“Silvey’s book has inspired our community to bring the gift of reading good literature to our town’s young citizens,” Dempsey said. “I love watching patrons’ faces light up when I ask them about their most meaningful children’s book. They’re passing on to their children the gift we all shared: Books help us understand and make sense of our place in the world.”
Many local individuals have also shared about their favorite children’s books. The stories and photographs can be found on the library’s website at www.hwlibrary.org.
For more information on the Community Read, contact Jan Dempsey 978.468.5577.