Hidden behind the prickly metaphor of a cactus in the Arizona desert lies the story of a girl who was born with no arms, learning to navigate the world and its judgments with resilience, courage and humor.
At 12:15 p.m. today on the porch of the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall, young readers and children’s literature enthusiasts are welcome to gather for a discussion based around this week’s CLSC Young Reader selection — which was featured in Chautauqua’s Battle of the Books competition this past May — Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, written by Dusti Bowling.
In this funny tale of friendship and growth, young readers can learn more about disabilities very rarely depicted — such as physical disabilities and Tourettes syndrome — in the lives of younger children by following Aven Green’s middle school adventures. As her family moves to Arizona to run a theme park, Aven faces judgment from some in her new school, but still makes friends who, as a group, tackle similar struggles (and even mysteries). Through it all, Aven finds her own voice and discovers she is nowhere near insignificant.
The book also ties in to the Chautauqua Lecture Series of the week, “Our Greatest Challenges (That We Can Actually Do Something About), said Manager of Literary Arts Stephine Hunt.
“It’s a book centered on disability. … (Aven is) differently-abled because she has no arms, so she likens herself to a cactus,” Hunt said. “It’s a really charming and fun book.”
Chautauquan Christina Noel and Amber Sipior, a teacher at Bemus Point Elementary School and frequent Battle of the Books coach, will be facilitating today’s discussion, highlighting key themes and topics so that everyone can participate in the conversation even if they haven’t read it yet.
This week’s early reader book, Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music, by Margarita Engle, is a picture book inspired on the true story of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke Cuba’s taboo against female drummers and became a world-famous musician, even playing her Bongó drums for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Through poetry and illustrations, the book follows the story of a girl who dreams of becoming a drummer, but her town believes the instrument should only be played by boys. With her passion, the dreaming drummer girl proves that girls can play the drums just as well as boys, and opens new doors for other women who share her dreams.
“It’s a beautiful mix of how we can break down some of these taboos that in our world have often been gender-restricted,” said Hunt, “and how we make a world where music and life can be celebrated in different ways.”
Both books explore courage in the face of difference, said Hunt — difference that can often be dismissed as “lesser,” and the courage it takes to face that.
“The books look at girls who experience a kind of breaking down of those norms that they’re encountering that are casting them as different,” said Hunt. “They each find, in their own ways, the courage to break down those barriers for themselves and celebrate who they are.”
After the book discussion, a Play CHQ event will be hosted on the Alumni Hall lawn if weather permits, where kids of any age are invited to engage in activities and games regarding the books and mingle.
