The community evening event for this year’s Readmont selection, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, has been changed from April 21 to May 19. The event, hosted by PHS librarian Kathryn Levenson and English department chairperson Beth Black, will include a discussion of the novel and panel discussion of women’s rights and refugees featuring Fouzia Azizi, director of Refugee services for Jewish family and community services East Bay and Humaira Khan of Toronto, Canada, an expert on women’s rights in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Readmont will be a Zoom event from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. (Zoom link HERE.)
The book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, was published in 2007 and chronicles the story of two generations of women, Mariam and Laila, living in Kabul. The story not only portrays the bonds of family and friendship and the endurance of women during Taliban control, but also gives the reader a look into the backdrop of the recent history of Afghanistan.
We chose this book for its beautiful story of love in an unforgiving time and as a way for our community to discuss the recent events in Afghanistan and the increase of Afghan refugees to the Bay area.
The book is appropriate for 14+ to adults. To encourage younger readers to learn about the topic, we are also promoting, I am Malala and *Malala my story for standing up for Girls Rights for 6-10 years olds.
Books are available for check out at each of the Piedmont school libraries, including the high school, middle school and three elementary schools. Again this year, our books are funded through a generous grant from the Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee (PADC). A Great Good Place for Books in Montclair is offering a 20% discount on this title.
We hope this common reading experience will forge positive connections among students, staff, parents and community members as well as encourage reading as a medium of collaboration. English department chairperson, Beth Black and Kathryn Levenson will facilitate student discussions on April 19, 20, and 21 during lunch in room 30A.
Topic: Readmont 2022
Time: May 19, 2022 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Please join the community in our 2022 Readmont book events.
Questions?
– Kathryn Levenson, Teacher Librarian for Piedmont High School | klevenson@piedmont.k12.ca.us | 510-594-2781
– Beth Black, PHS English Department chairperson | bblack@piedmont.k12.ca.us