Towns promote reading with Hemingway classic

For the past two weeks my first grader has gone to sleep with visions of the great and terrible Oz, Emerald City, Dorothy, Toto and the Scarecrow as we are reading "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," the classic children's novel by L. Frank Baum first published in 1900.

We are hoping that our nightly bedtime reading will help Mary put just a bit of her scattered focus on the appreciation of books.

We're doing what we can to help steer her away from Rayman Raving Rabbids on the Wii, Sponge Bob's new "Who Bob What Pants" episode and Captain Rockhopper on the Web's Club Penguin.

The National Endowment for the Arts knows that American adults have similarly scattered attentions in this century. Reading for pleasure has declined through the years as adults have other media attracting them farther away from the low-tech reading of literary classics.

The Big Read

With that in mind the towns of North Aurora, Oswego and Aurora have received an NEA grant to provide communitywide programming from The Big Read encouraging area adults to read and discuss one classic literary work.

This year Aurora and its neighbors have chosen to read and celebrate Oak Park native Ernest Hemingway's third novel "A Farewell to Arms" published in 1929 that takes place in Italy during World War I.

Hemingway writes about a young American ambulance driver who falls in love with his English nurse, drawing upon his own experiences during the war.

"'A Farewell to Arms' is relevant to this day and age with its focus on relationships and how war affects people. That's why the book was chosen," said Messenger Director G. Kevin Davis.

The libraries are presenting programs that highlight the historic and social aspects of the World War I era and the life and writing of Hemingway. The towns will engage readers of all ages with film screenings of the 1932 movie starring Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes, a bus trip to the Hemingway museum and birthplace in Oak Park, a history of nursing during wartime and a chance to see and touch World War I artifacts.

And, of course, the libraries will offer book discussion groups throughout the monthlong Fox Valley Reads annual event. The Big Read Launch Party opens the community reading event with an exhibit "Picturing Hemingway" at 5:30 p.m. tonight, Friday, Oct. 17 at the Aurora Public Library West Branch 233 S. Constitution Dr. Hemingway photos will be on display at the library until Nov. 16.

Readers are invited to enjoy refreshments and the sounds of ragtime as pianist Richard Sladek performs.

Messenger Library is offering a family event at 2 p.m. Sunday called "Dress Like a WWI Soldier. The First Division Museum at Cantigny will offer children a hands-on opportunity to see, touch and learn about World War I artifacts.

"The Cantigny museum is bringing a couple of trunks full of World War I artifacts for people to try on," according to Julie A. Roberts, Messenger's Head of Adult Services.

Robert said that families are also encouraged to bring items to send to our current soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We are donating items to Operation Support Our Troops, Illinois and we have quite a few items already," Roberts said. "We have a couple of bags of beef jerky and a friend of mine has donated a ton of sample packages of conditioner."

Roberts said that the Support Our Troops group is looking for crackers, socks, granola bars, cold drink mixes and foot powder for the next shipment. She said that the organization has updated lists of the soldiers' need on its Web site www.osotil.org.

Associate librarian of adult services Janan Foster is leading several book discussion groups. She is heading the group at 7 p.m. on Nov. 12 and also is leading group discussions at the Christian Living Retirement Center and Asbury Gardens in October and November.

"We are providing 12 books for each retirement center and raffling off one book at each book group," Foster said.

Interested readers can stop by Messenger Public Library at 6:30 p.m. Thurs. Oct. 23 to see the 1932 film version of Hemingway's novel starring Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes.

"It's funny, as I started to read 'Farewell to Arms,' the love interest was described as tall and willowy and who played her in the movie but Helen Hayes who was barely five feet tall," Foster commented.

Foster also encouraged interested readers to check out the display of books she has collected from throughout the library of stories from WWI and of people prominent at that time in history.

"Once I started looking for items about the era I was surprised at what we had," she said.

For a complete schedule of events check foxvalleyreads.org.