Susie Anderson
Staff Writer
Every time a young reader makes a new friend — whether in the pages of a book, during games on Bestor Plaza or over Brick Walk ice cream — they learn to laugh, share in new experiences and learn how a little friendly competition can make them better people.
In a week themed “Kwame Alexander and Friends: The Power of One,” CLSC Young Readers will explore the power of friendship in Angie Thomas’ Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy, and Early Readers will witness a creative showdown in J vs. K by Jerry Craft and Michael I Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts and Inaugural Writer-in-Residence Kwame Alexander. The discussion will be held at 1:20 p.m. today on the porch of the Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall.
While Thomas will no longer be presenting Blackout for the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle in Week Seven due to scheduling conflicts, her middle grade novel Nic Blake and the Remarkables celebrates the power of friendship and magic for Week Seven’s CLSC Young Readers.
“Angie Thomas is a good friend of Kwame’s, and Nic Blake and the Remarkables is about friendship on many different levels, so that was an obvious pick,” said Stephine Hunt, managing director of literary arts.
From the internationally bestselling author of The Hate U Give, Concrete Rose and On the Come Up comes a tale blending fantasy with real-world issues. When 12-year-old Nic Blake discovers that she descends from a magical lineage called the Remarkables, she must use her powers of manipulating magic to clear her father’s name with the help of her best friend JP. Incorporating elements of African American history and folklore, the story surrounds Nic’s quest to not only save her father but also explore the true nature of her powers and her place in both the Unremarkable and Remarkable worlds.
The book was also a selection for Chautauqua County’s Battle of the Books, well-beloved by fifth-graders across the county. The discussion this afternoon will be led by Alumni Hall assistant Cam Forster and Anne Pekrul, who took part in Battle of the Books with her fifth grade class.
“She signed up for this with Nic Blake and the Remarkables in mind, and I’m so excited that she is going to be here and talk about that book,” Hunt said.
Forster will lead the discussion on the Early Readers selection J vs. K, written by Alexander and Craft, who also illustrated the book.
J vs. K presents a rivalry between two fifth-graders, J and K, as they both vie for first place in the creative storytelling contest at Dean Ashley Public School. While J illustrates wordless stories, K loves to write boundless tales. The two face off in a story filled with double-crossing moves, creative expression and healthy competition in hopes of emerging as
a champion.
“It is both a chapter book and graphic novel mixed together that is all about Kwame and Jerry’s friendship and rivalry,” Hunt said.
Highlighting the tension between visual and literary storytelling, Hunt imagines that Forster will discuss the interactions of the two mediums “coming from the creative ways that his own brain works as an actor and a playwright.”
For both Young and Early Readers, the week promises adventure through friendly competition and storytelling. Immediately following the discussion, Play CHQ will host events on the lawn at Alumni Hall for young readers to foster new friendships.
