"a profound sense of history"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Sep 12, 2008 @ 11:08 PM

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FRANKLIN —

It happens, sometimes, in the White House - or a ranch house in Franklin - that great minds come together and do something amazing.

In the name of promoting literacy, 108 renowned authors and illustrators joined forces and created the anthology: "Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out."

The star cast of contributors include a National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, four Pulitzer Prize winners, three National Book Award recipients (and eight finalists), two MacArthur "Genius Fellows," 13 Newbery Medal winners (and 15 finalists), eight Caldecott Medal recipients (and 20 honors) and 12 Coretta Scott King Award winners (and 22 honors).

The idea for the historical book arose nearly a decade ago in the Franklin home of Mary Brigid Barrett, the founder, president and executive director of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

The book's website is found here

National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance website

I love the quote attributed to Barbara Tuchman that is found on the NCBLA home page:

"Without books, history is silent, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill... They are the engines of change, windows on the world, and ... 'Lighthouses erected in the sea of time.' They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print."

What was the last book you read?

Have you read Dark Tide, Stephen Puleo's book on the Molasses Flood? The library has a number of copies available as part of the program this year "On the Same Page".

Dark Tide - Book Review

I had published my short form book review of Dark Tide previously.

My long form of Dark Tide was published Tuesday as part of the month long Love Affair with Books on the Joyful Jubilant Learning blog.

You have my permission, indeed encouragement to click on over, read it and participate in the conversation.

Dark Tide is the focal point for On the Same Page at the Franklin Library this year.

On the same page - Thursday 7:00 PM

On the same page, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Thursday, February 21 at 7PM

Immigration Then. Historian and author James Johnston and historian Robert D'Attilio present a view of what America was like during the first great wave of immigration in the early part of the twentieth century. Mr. D'Attilio's specialty centers on the Sacco and Vanzetti case.

On the same page - discussion

On the same page - discussion, originally uploaded by shersteve.

David Park and Khadija Hassine were deep in discussion during the Tuesday evening get together as part of the Library program "On the Same Page" facilitated by Margaret Ellis.

The immigrant experience in America was one of the themes in the book, Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 by Stephen Puleo.

What did the recent immigrants have to say about their time here?

• "here in Franklin, it is like a big family, everyone knows somebody"
• "my new 'mother' is downstairs"
• "life is too busy here, all work, work, work"

How did they pick Franklin?

Most acknowledged that the reputation of the school system was the key reason. The location of the commuter rail and the safety of the area were two other prime reasons.

What were difficulties they found here?

• "too many forms, they ask the same questions so many times"
• "making friends, they found neighbors very helpful but those who could be friends had not enough time"

What were differences they found here?

• "so easy to drive here, back in my country it requires much more skill"
• "lives are so independent here, in my country life is more centered on the family"
• "time is so important here, everyone is so busy. I can hear: I have not seen him in two months. Back home, that is not possible."

The Franklin area immigrants represented a diverse collection of countries, from our northern neighbor Canada to Bulgaria, India, Morocco, Poland, and Vietnam.

On the same page

"On the same page" is a program being run by the Library funded by a grant. This is the program you may have heard about that selected Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 by Stephen Puleo as the book to read.

I did read the book and found it quite interesting. I did a short form book review here.

I was curious about what the library was going to do to help foster the discussions around the book to get Franklin "On the same page". I went digging into the town website this morning and was disappointed to find how much I have already missed this month!

The Library schedule for February can be found here.

What is left in February are the following:

Tuesday, February 19 at 7PM
Oral Histories. Franklin residents from other lands gather to tell their stories of immigration to the United States in the Meeting Room of the Franklin Library.

Wednesday, February 20 at 1:30PM
Children's book discussion centers on the life and times of youngsters living in the early part of the twentieth century in stories drawn from the Dear America series. Book discussion is held in the Meeting Room of the Franklin Library.

Thursday, February 21 at 7PM
Immigration Then. Historian and author James Johnston and historian Robert D'Attilio present a view of what America was like during the first great wave of immigration in the early part of the twentieth century. Mr. D'Attilio's specialty centers on the Sacco and Vanzetti case.

Thursday, February 28 at 7PM
Immigration lawyer and Franklin resident Chris Lavery will discuss laws affecting immigration today.