Arlington Reads 'Wonder' Together: Community Reads

ARLINGTON, MA — In preparation for the 14th anniversary of Arlington Reads Together, the library is ramping up for a month-long conversation about empathy, differences and standing up for one another. The annual program started as an opportunity for the community to explore a book and a theme presented in it, and the book up for discussion this year is “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio.

"The novel explores friendship, belonging standing up for each other and seeing beyond what's at the surface. I hope that it brings a sense of empathy - that the story behind the person. "One of the things that struck me in the book was that everyone brings some struggle or challenge and some are more visible than others," said Maura Deedy, assistant director of libraries and the Arlington Reads together coordinator.

Deedy added she thought a lesson that stood out to her was that extending kindness to one another was essential.

What is Arlington Reads Together?

Each year the library with the support of Arlington 2020 and the Human Rights Commission host the program, which is essentially a month-long book club for the entire town, complete with talks, movies, discussions and art-related deep dives into the themes of the book.

Diversity Task Group created by a town bylaw in 1993, to help the community be known for its warm welcome and respect to all, instigated the program in conjunction with the library in 2002.

"It has always had a diversity focus," said Brooks Harrelson of the Diversity Task Group.

There's a committee that offers ideas for books, they narrow it down to five or six, the folks on the committee read all of them and come back to decide together.

This year "Wonder," spoke to them.

It's about the exploration of a boy who has a severely disfigured face because of this very rare disease, told from a variety of view points and explores reactions to him, said Harrelson. "I think there's something for everyone in the community to touch. There's always a little bit of a reaction when people come across something that is unfamiliar. And it tells this wonderful story of the humanity of not only him but of the transitions of people who get to know him. It's an exploration of the notion of difference and how people respond to it," he said.

And that, fits with the Diversity Group's mission to create cultural competence.

"We work on community building and on actions that help people understand their own implicit biases and how to understand their reactions when they're interacting with difference. There are visible and invisible differences with them. And this is clearly a physical difference," he said.

It's also fun, said Deedy, who echoed Harrelson.

"It combines what we do at the library, providing information and story telling and highlights the things that we have in common and ways to celebrate and honor where there's differences and what we can learn from each other within those differences."

It also is a way to encourage and facilitate engagement in current events at the state and national level and explore how those issues affect Arlington.

And it's popular.

Last year more than 600 people attended programs throughout the month, said Deedy.

She estimated that last year's books "Becoming Nicole" about a young woman who was transgender and an activist, was checked out more than 100 times that month and the traffic on the library's related blog posts was up too. And librarians saw plenty of people engaging with the special display that highlighted transgender writers, books, tv shows, documentaries and facts on gender identity,she said. And then there was the feedback the library received.

One that stood out to Deedy, was the mother of a teen who identified as transgender. The mother told the librarians that having the program helped her daughter feel supported in her community.

"This is why do we do this. It's an opportunity for people in our community to be seen," said Deedy. "Yhe beauty of the library and story telling is that it's a window into someone else's life who is unlike you."

The library is hosting a series of events (see below) including a kickoff presentation from a teacher from the New England area who was diagnosed with the same syndrome as the main character in the book.

Funding for the events comes from trust funds, Friends of Robbins Library, and the Fox Library and other donations, according to the library.

Between the themes in the book and the process of going in deep to explore what they mean en mass, Deedy said she's also excited about the accessibility of the book for both children and adults.

"It lends itself to some great inter-generational programming," she said. "Children can come with their parents or caregivers and have an opportunity to experience the event together and continue the conversation together in the car or around the table or on a walk. "

Copies of “Wonder” will also be available at the library, including a couple large print options, playaway mp3 verion, e-book, book on CD forms. And yes, “Wonder” was also turned into a major motion picture, last fall.

RELATED EVENTS:

• Saturday, March 10, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.: KICKOFF EVENT: Bringing ‘Wonder’ to Life with Sam Drazin, Robbins Library Community Room. RSVP via eventbrite at https://arlingtonreadstogether2018samdrazin.eventbrite.com
• Tuesday, March 6, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm: Teen Early Release Movie: “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” Robbins Library Community Room
• March 7, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.,“Wonder” Book Discussion, Wednesday, Fox Branch Library Community Room
• Thursday, March 8, 3:30-4:30 p.m.,“Wonder” Book Discussion for Kids and Grownups, Robbins Library Community Room
• March 9, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.: KINDNESS ROCKS at Fox, Friday, Fox Library Community Room
• Wednesday, March 14, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.,PLUGGED iN TO LiFE iTSELF, Robbins Library Community Room
• Thursday, March 15, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.: 6th Grade Book Club, Robbins Library Conference Room
• Friday, March 16, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.,“Wonder” Brown-Bag-Lunch Discussion, Robbins Library Conference Room
• Friday, March 16, 7:00-9:00 p.m.: Shine Your Light! An Open Mic Night for Arlington, (after-hours event), Fox Branch Library Community Room
• Monday, March 19, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.:“Wonder” Book Discussion, Robbins Library Community Room
• Tuesday, March 20, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm: Teen KINDNESS ROCKS, Robbins Teen Area
• Tuesday, March 27: Teen Zine Workshop w/ Desiree Alaniz , [check robbinslibrary.org for time], Robbins Teen Area

The community reads together program is a collaboration between the library and Vision 2020′s Diversity Task Group. Members of the Library Trustees, Friends groups and library staff.

Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch