‘My Brigadista Year’ by Katherine Paterson

In 1960, in a speech at the United Nations, Fidel Castro announced a campaign to officially end illiteracy in Cuba. My Brigadista Year by Katherine Paterson is the story of a 13-year-old girl who volunteers to be a teacher in the Cuban countryside.

The protagonist, Lora, is idealistic and proud to be a brigadista. She is 13 years old and up to this point, has led a sheltered life. Told in first-person, broader events are presented through a lens consistent with Lora’s character and her direct experience.

(In an afterword, author Katherine Paterson offers additional historical information about censorship and repression under the Castro regime, but she also points out that, for decades, Cubans have received universal free education and health care.)

What I liked about this book was the idea that young people can make a difference. In this case, Lora was among 250,000 Cubans who taught fellow country-members to read and to write. (Paterson shares that more than 700,000 Cubans learned to read and write during the literacy campaign, which officially opened Jan. 28, 1961, and concluded Dec. 22 of that same year.)

The idea that I’d hope young readers took away after picking up this book, would be the idea that they, like Lora, can make a positive difference and that the world can change because of them. My Brigadista Year recently arrived in my school library as a Junior Library Guild selection.

‘Free Comic Book Day’ on Saturday, May 5

Free Comic Book Day is coming up, on Saturday, May 5! It’s a “a single day when participating comic book specialty shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops” (Free Comic Book Day FAQs).

Graphic novels are popular items in our library collection at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. Some titles are constantly in circulation; it seems as though no sooner than a customer has returned them, but they are flying out the door in the hands of another reader!

With Free Comic Book Day, our families have a chance to add comics to their collections at home. I know there are several titles among the give-away offerings, which I would love to add to library shelves. The event website even has a store locator to find a shop close to your home.

New books for library via Scholastic ‘warehouse sale’

Our campus continues to be enriched by Scholastic Book Fairs proceeds; here’s Lissa Provost checking titles at a Scholastic “warehouse sale.” (A downloaded app let her search the library catalog for Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts, verifying that a book for-sale was not already in the collection.) To everyone who has bought a book through this year’s or previous book fairs ... YOUR purchases made possible more than $2,000 in new books for the school.

‘ArtWalk’ at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts

Here’s important news for supporters of Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts: its ArtWalk fundraiser takes place next Saturday, April 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students will walk laps to raise money for the school, but friends and family are welcome to join them in-support. Pledge envelopes that were sent home with students are due back at school by Friday, April 20 -- and parents, if you can, please consider signing up to volunteer during the event. It’s a great way to work toward the 20 volunteer-hours that each family is asked to contribute.

‘Better Nate Than Ever’ by Tim Federle

Reading this book, I could thoroughly relate to the protagonist, Nate. I’ve never auditioned for a Broadway performance, but I’ve been on job interviews where a lot was at stake — including the chance to entirely change my career from that of journalist to librarian.

Coming from that background, I could appreciate the suspense as Nate went through the process — anxiously waiting for a call-back and wrestling with the anxiety of what would happen next.

I also sympathized with Nate for what New York seemed to represent, a place where boys didn’t have to live up to a narrow standard of masculinity, where they could talk about the things that Nate cared about, and could even dance together, without being targeted by bullying.

(Bullies frequently target Nate for his perceived sexual orientation, but he describes himself as having an “undecided major” at the College of Sexuality. As Nate puts it, “Macaroni and cheese is still my favorite food — how would I know who I want to hook up with?”)

Nate, himself, is exuberant and irrepressible, truly a delightful narrator.

This book speaks to a wide range of backgrounds and relateable circumstances that readers can bring to the experience of reading it. And I was intrigued to see that it is first volume in a series. I look forward to continuing with Nate’s adventures in the series’ subsequent books.

Friends’ Spring Book Fair for Santa Rosa libraries

Brought a bagful of books home on Friday afternoon, from Friends of the Santa Rosa Libraries’ Spring 2018 Book Faire at Veterans Memorial Hall. If you missed visiting today, you’ve got an entire weekend to enjoy great deals on books. Proceeds benefit the Santa Rosa libraries in the Sonoma County Library system. Definitely a win-win!

Book-fair hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, and Veterans Memorial Hall is at 1351 Maple Avenue in Santa Rosa. Be sure to note, cash or checks only will be accepted at the book sale. Sunday will be a half-price day and Monday is “Bag Day;” you can fill up a bag with books and pay only $5.

Libros electrónicos y audiolibros en español

Gracias a ODILO, la biblioteca del condado de Sonoma ahora tiene libros electrónicos y audiolibros en español. (Thanks to ODILO, Sonoma County Library now has eBooks and audiobooks in Spanish.)