Books picked for 8th year of Suburban Mosaic reading program

Organizers of the Suburban Mosaic Book of the Year program consider literature to be a special kind of weapon — one that heals instead of destroys.

“Books let us see and experience other cultures, almost from the inside out,” said Tina Martin of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. “This program is needed out there; it’s a necessity.”

Now in its eighth year, the Suburban Mosaic program invites people of all ages in the Northwest suburbs to read and discuss up to five books that deal with issues of cultural understanding and tolerance.

This year’s books include selections suitable for preschool readers all the way through adults. The titles are “Say Hello!” by Rachel Isadora (preschool); “The Sandwich Swap” by Kelly DiPucchio and Queen Rania of Jordan (grades K-4); “Extra Credit” by Andrew Clements (grades 3-5); “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park (middle school); and “Girl In Translation” by Jean Kwok (teens and adults).

The program is run by a consortium of more than 30 libraries, school districts and civic groups from Des Plaines to Barrington. Libraries will make the books available and build discussion groups around them in the coming months. Schools have put the books on student reading lists and encouraged teachers to use them in the classroom.

“We tend to have very good attendance at these discussions,” Martin said. “That’s an encouraging sign.

The Suburban Mosaic program was modeled in part on Chicago’s successful “One Book, One Chicago” reading event.

Mount Prospect resident John Brennan, the leader of Suburban Mosaic, wanted to create something similar in the suburbs, but with an added twist: the books would deal specifically with cultural issues.

“The suburbs have changed so much in recent years, and they’re still changing,” Brennan said. “With people of so many different cultural backgrounds moving here, I thought the region could use a program like this.”

In past years, the reading lists have included such works as “The Help,” by Kathryn Stockett, “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini and “Persepolis,” a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi.

This year’s books cover a wide range of issues. “Girl in Translation,” the teen/adult title, tells the story of an 11-year-old girl’s efforts to lift her and her mother out of poverty after they move to Brooklyn from Hong Kong. “A Long Walk to Water,” the middle-school title, is set in war-ravaged Sudan, and features narratives that follow characters in 1985 and 2008.

“The Sandwich Swap,” the title for grades K-4, is the result of an unusual collaboration between Michigan author Kelly DiPucchio and Queen Rania of Jordan, an advocate for education and children’s welfare around the world.

The book centers around a dispute between two best friends, Lily and Salma, over their favorite lunch foods — peanut butter for Lily and hummus for Salma.

DiPucchio, in an interview conducted via email, said she was “honored and overwhelmed” when her editor asked her to write the book with Queen Rania. The two collaborated by emailing material to each other.

“Personally, I have learned so much from being part of this experience,” DiPucchio said. “I have learned that people are more alike than they are different and that peace isn’t something that happens overnight. I hope that readers will learn that a little tolerance can go a long way.”

For more information on the Suburban Mosaic book program and this year’s titles, go to suburbanmosaic.org.