OBOT is back! After a one year hiatus, the Fairfield Public Library and its community partners — Pequot Library, Fairfield University and the Fairfield University Bookstore — are pleased to announce two selections for One Book One Town (OBOT) for 2019. The selections are Harbor Me, and to include our youngest readers, the picture book The Day You Begin, both by award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson. This is the eleventh time Fairfield has celebrated a town wide read.
Harbor Me is the story of six kids that meet for a weekly chat with no adults around in the ARTT Room, short for “A Room to Talk”. Their personal stories also mirror larger issues taking place in society. From the beginning of the selection process, Harbor Me spoke to the committee as a perfect choice for the return of One Book One Town as a book that can be embraced and shared by the entire community. It is timely story, heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful, told exquisitely and lyrically by Woodson.
The Day You Begin is a charming picture book written by Woodson and illustrated by Rafael López about feeling different. It is also about realizing that when you are willing to share what makes you different, life opens up to you. This book was inspired by a poem in Woodson’s bestselling memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming.
The signature event of One Book One Town is always the much anticipated Meet the Author event. Jacqueline Woodson will visit on Monday, March 18 at 7:00 pm at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University. We are thrilled to bring Woodson to Fairfield. She has written more than two dozen award-winning books for young adults, middle graders and children. She received the 2014 National Book Award for Brown Girl Dreaming, which also won the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor Award, the NAACP Image Award, and the Sibert Honor Award. She is also the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Another Brooklyn, which was a 2016 National Book Award Finalist and Woodson’s first adult novel in twenty years. In 2015, Woodson was named Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. Most recently, she was named the 2018 Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress.
In addition to the special Meet the Author event, there will be book discussions and programs for all ages. There is a Writing Contest inspired by the book on the topic of “feeling harbored” or “helping to harbor another person”. The contest is open to three age groups – middle grade (grades 6-8), high school and adult. For details on One Book One Town events and the Writing Contest, visit the Library’s website at www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org or pick up a One Book One Town brochure when you are in the Library.
First Selectman Mike Tetreau said, “OBOT is the perfect example of Fairfield’s community spirit. I want to thank our Fairfield Public Library for collaborating with Pequot Library and Fairfield University in selecting this book and coming up with great programs and activities that promote literacy and reading. I also want to recognize the Friends of the Fairfield Public Library, the Junior Women’s Club of Fairfield and individual supporters for their generous backing of the popular, town-wide OBOT.”
All programs at the Fairfield Public Library are free. To register, or for more information, visit us online at: www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org or call 203-256-3160. Follow the Fairfield Public Library on Twitter @fairfieldpublib and Facebook @fairfieldlibrary.
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The photo, taken at the downtown Fairfield University Bookstore, shows Head Librarian Dr. Helene Murtha, Fairfield Public Library's fantastic staff, and OBOT Committee Chairs Mary Coe and Claudia Silk along with Fairfield Chamber of Commerce President Bev Balaz.
Photo Credit: Kendra Wingate