Kent District Library is proud to present KDL Reads, a community reading event centered on the book Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. This powerful memoir chronicles Woodson's coming of age amid the backdrop of the turbulent 1960's. Woodson finds her voice and tells her story through beautifully rendered poems steeped in memory and rich with family ties. Because reading is as much about discovering our commonalities as learning about our differences, we hope that KDL Reads inspires community members of all ages to: * Read this book * Explore their own cultural heritage and family experiences * Engage with others about those experiences, and * Create something personally meaningful Of special note to our library community in Michigan are the following events. We hope you can join us! KDL Reads: Kick-Off Event Featuring Vox Vidorra Join us as we kick-off KDL Reads with a free concert featuring Vox Vidorra, live poetry by Dimonique Boyd, Deonte Osayande and Justin Rogers, door prizes and refreshments. This special celebration for all ages launches our community reading event centered on the book Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Monday, April 11, 2016 6:30pm to 8:30pm Wealthy Theatre (1130 Wealthy St. SE, Grand Rapids) KDL Reads: Windows and Mirrors: Diversity in Children's Literature Award-winning children's book author and illustrator, Floyd Cooper, discusses the role of racial diversity in children's picture books. Parents, caregivers and educators will discover how children's books reflect a child's own culture and life experience, while also opening windows to a bigger, more diverse world. There will be a book sale and signing following his presentation. Tuesday, April 26, 2016 6:30pm to 8:00pm Wyoming Branch (3350 Michael Ave. SW, Wyoming) KDL Reads: An Evening with Jacqueline Woodson KDL is honored to welcome award winning author Jacqueline Woodson to help us wrap-up KDL Reads, our community reading program centered on her book Brown Girl Dreaming. Please join us at Comstock Park High School (150 Six Mile Rd. NE, Comstock Park) to hear this wonderful speaker read from her powerful coming-of-age memoir and hear her discuss how she found her voice to tell her story through beautifully rendered poems steeped in memory and rich with family ties. Jacqueline Woodson's presentation is free, open to all ages and will be followed by a book sale and signing. Thursday, May 26, 2016 6:30pm to 8:00pm Comstock Park High School (150 Six Mile Rd. NE, Comstock Park) KDL thanks our generous sponsors Consumers Energy and the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, in addition to our individual Kent District Library donors who made this community endeavor possible. Thank you! -Heidi Heidi Nagel Manager of Communications & Programming Kent District Library 814 West River Center Dr NE Comstock Park, MI 49321 616-647-4146, 616-490-9399 (cell) hnagel@kdl.org