All five Erie County libraries (Bellevue, Huron, Milan-Berlin, Sandusky, and Vermilion) will be offering our second annual community-wide reading project: The Big Reads:  Erie County Reads To Kill a Mockingbird.  The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.  The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest.
For more information about The Big Read go to www.neabigread.org.

Erie County Reads is a community-wide reading project to develop a community built around the shared experience of people reading and talking about the same book.  Bringing people together to discuss ideas in books can play an important role in breaking down barriers between people, cultures, and economic and educational backgrounds.  The Big Read:  Erie County Reads will be held from March 14 through April 22, 2009.  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, published in 1960, quickly climbed the bestseller list and remained there for 88 weeks.  This timeless classic will be read and discussed throughout Erie County at libraries, schools, and local reading groups. 

During the months of March and April, each library in Erie County will be sponsoring a variety of programs and book discussions for children, teens, and adults.  Click on the library’s name for information about their program. 

Also, don’t forget to visit our Reader’s Blog.   We invite you to take part in this unique opportunity to share your love of reading with others in your community!

The Kickoff

The Big Read: Erie County Reads Kick-Off will be held in Sandusky Mall (near Borders) on Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. Receive a FREE copy of To Kill a Mockingbird when you join us for our Kick-Off event! Mona Rutger of Back to the Wild will be on hand with local wildlife to awe and inspire. Find out what your Erie County libraries have in store for you and your family during this special county-wide reading project!

SPECIAL EVENTS
Theatre Workshop	Film Showing	Mock Trial
Keynote Speaker	Theatrical Production

ABOUT THE BOOK
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which was published in 1960 and quickly climbed the bestseller list, where it remained for 88 weeks, will be read and discussed throughout Erie County at libraries, schools, and local reading groups.

The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. This book was selected because it is the rare American novel that can be discovered with excitement in adolescence and reread into adulthood without fear of disappointment. Few novels evoke the daily world of childhood in a way that seems convincing whether you are sixteen or sixty. It also was chosen because the novel has two broad themes: tolerance and justice.

There are two plots. The first revolves around Arthur “Boo” Radley, who lives in a shuttered house down the street from the Finches and is rumored to be some kind of monster. Scout, Jem, and their next-door neighbor Dill engage in pranks, trying to make Boo show himself. Boo reciprocates their interest with small gifts, until he ultimately steps off his porch and into their lives when they need him most.

The second plot concerns Scout and Jem’s father, the attorney Atticus Finch. The local judge appoints him to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white woman. Tying the stories together is a simple but profound piece of advice Atticus gives Scout: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” By the end of the novel, Scout has done exactly that.