Susie Anderson
Staff Writer
Come one, come all to the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall with CLSC Young Readers to dive into mystery with boat-snooping heroes and cheer on a determined bird as he flaps and flails his way toward graduation.
The CLSC Young Readers Program will meet at 12:15 p.m. today on the Alumni Hall porch. The Week Two Young Readers’ selection is Wrecker by Carl Hiaasen and the Early Readers’ selection is “Will the Pigeon Graduate?” by Mo Willems.
In a week themed “Comedy Now: A Week Curated by Lewis Black,” both the Young and Early Readers’ selections are full of hilarity and hijinks.
Hiaasen is a fan favorite of the CLSC Young Readers Program, said Stephine Hunt, managing director of Chautauqua Literary Arts. His most recent middle-grade novel Wrecker follows Valdez Jones VIII on a wild journey throughout Key West, Florida, as he encounters grave robbers, smugglers and pooping iguanas.
Valdez Jones VIII calls himself “Wrecker” in honor of his great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather who salvaged shipwrecks for a living. One day, Wrecker stumbles upon a speedboat that has run aground. The men in the boat offer Wrecker money in exchange for his silence. As Wrecker continues to see the men around Key West, from the marina to the cemetery, they eventually ask him for more than his silence — they want his help.
“It’s a fun story about discovering family, discovering shipwrecked treasures and Floridian mishaps and experiences — as so many of Hiaasen’s books are — for both children and adults,” Hunt said.
While following a journey filled with twists and turns, Hunt said that the story offers Young Readers an opportunity to learn about Floridian history, too.
“It grows our understanding of life in Key West, even though it’s clearly fiction and clearly hilarious,” Hunt said.
While the book was initially considered for this year’s Battle of the Books — an annual reading competition for Chatuauqua County fifth-graders, held this year in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall in May — Hunt said that its high-stakes adventure and humor made it a perfect selection for audiences ages 12 and up in a week themed for comedy.
For the Early Readers of Chautauqua, the newest release from Mo Willems, Will the Pigeon Graduate?, follows the wacky ups-and-downs of school as the Pigeon faces obstacles that stand in between him and his diploma.
“It’s a great uplifting story for thinking about the importance of education and our young people’s lives, our kids’ lives,” Hunt said, “and for just simply making an adventure out of school.”
This week’s Young Readers discussion of Wrecker will be led by Erin Gray and Joanna Fox. Gray is a current middle school teacher and Fox, a former teacher, is the new director of the CLSC Octagon. The discussion is open to all audiences — from teachers to grandparents to young readers to aspiring pirates.
Following the discussion, Play CHQ will host reading-related activities on the lawn of Alumni Hall for young Chautauquans.
