Baltimore believes it has found the perfect book for summer reading.
City leaders have chosen the hopeful tale of a New York City family's struggle to stay afloat during difficult times as the third annual "Baltimore's Book," and are urging Baltimoreans to discuss the novel.
Miracle's Boys, by Jacqueline Woodson, was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 2000 and received the next year's Corretta Scott King Award, presented by the American Library Association and established to honor African-American authors and illustrators of outstanding children's and young adults' literature.
The story chronicles the lives of three newly orphaned bro- thers and their fight to stay together in the wake of the diabetes-related death of their mother, Milagro, Spanish for "miracle."
"We felt that it would have a lot of meaning for Baltimore," said Judy Cooper, coordinator of public programs for the Enoch Pratt Free Library. "The theme is, `I believe in miracles,' and we're hoping to tie that into Baltimore's `Believe' campaign." Mayor Martin O'Malley had a hand in selecting the book, along with Enoch Pratt staff members. O'Malley announced the selection with Carla Hayden, executive director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and author Woodson at a news conference yesterday morning.
Woodson said she didn't have awards in mind from the start. "When I write, I don't think about messages for my readers," she said. "What I learned for myself ... is that no matter what the circumstances, people survive." She hopes people will read her book simply because "it's a book, and people should read," she said.
Woodson is scheduled to speak at the Baltimore Book Festival in September. "I love the city of Baltimore," Woodson said. "I'm excited to be back there and meet new readers."
"This is an amazing book about kids growing up in an urban center," said Deborah Taylor, coordinator of school and student services at Enoch Pratt. "It really shows the resilience of kids." She said the fact that the story is told by 12-year-old character Lafayette Bailey is also significant, given the uncertainties American youth face in today's society. "It's great to have a book with a youth perspective," she said.
Miracle's Boys follows last year's selection, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, the autobiography of the renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital surgeon. In 2002, Frederick Douglass' autobiography, recounting the slave-turned-abolitionist orator's struggles, earned the inagural "Baltimore's Book" distinction.
