Summer Reading at Sonoma County Library

School is out, and Summer Reading begins tomorrow at Sonoma County Library. Kathy DeWeese with SCL brought brochures and fliers to me in the library at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts; I distributed them to homeroom teachers to send home with their students.

‘Piecing Me Together’ by Renée Watson

Jade has been awarded a place in a program that pairs young Black girls with older mentors.

The program includes a college scholarship if Jade successfully completes the program; this opportunity is the overwhelming factor that convinces Jade to join — because what Jade really wants, what she desperately seeks, is the type of opportunity that allows her to help other people.

“Why am I only seen as someone who needs and not someone who can give?” This question, posed by Jade, is at the heart of Piecing Me Together.

Renée Watson’s book is among recent winners and honorees of the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards. It was named an Honor Book for the John Newbery Medal, and it was also a recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award.

There’s been an undercurrent involving art among the award winners I’ve been reading. In Piecing Me Together, the artistic medium is collage. As a person who enjoys exploring artistic media, I appreciated this dimension to the story.

Bicycle-themed collage art

Here’s a collage from greeting-card images and from informational brochures gathered during an Earth Day celebration in Santa Rosa’s Courthouse Square. The background is a route map for Santa Rosa City Bus.

‘You’re Welcome, Universe’ by Whitney Gardner

I read this book through the lens of considering myself part of a street-art community, through the admittedly non-permanent medium of yarn-bombing. I appreciated the detail and nuance that went into the protagonist, Julia, assembling supplies, preparing stencils, and applying her art.

One area where I struggled to connect with the main character’s viewpoint was that when another artist modified her piece, she considered it in terms of being “shown up,” of the other artist declaring “war” on her. Another character, YP, even asks Julia, “Why does it have to be war?”

You’re Welcome, Universe was a 2018 recipient of the Schneider Family Book Award, which honors an author or illustrator “for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience.” I’ve long followed this award, as a person on the autism spectrum. The emphasis on art made this book, in particular, one that I especially wanted to read.

Library-themed trip to San Francisco

Took a library-themed day trip to San Francisco this week, to celebrate my birthday. Rode aboard Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit to the San Rafael Transit Center, then caught Golden Gate Transit’s “Route 31” free shuttle to the Golden Gate Ferry.

Once in SF, we walked to the closest branch of the San Francisco Public Library, which offers a free library card to any California resident.

Our trip wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to Readers Bookstore Fort Mason, operated by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library; with book-laden packs we then made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge Visitors Center, where we caught Golden Gate Transit’s “Route 101X” back to downtown Santa Rosa.

(Image: Books from Readers Bookstore, with my San Francisco Library Card.)