Join us for a community read of In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez.  Community members will read the book out loud from cover to cover at City Hall Plaza during four Saturday Farmer's Markets. Interested in being one of the readers?  You can participate by reading a short passage from the book. Contact Melesha.owen@hayward-ca.gov or call 510-293-5239 for more information or to sign up.

 Join us for an Internet-assisted live discussion with the author facilitated by Hayward City Council member Francisco Zermeño. Bring your questions about the Big Read selections and enjoy a unique opportunity to talk with this internationally influential author.

Join us in the Library's garden plaza for an afternoon of entertainment and inspiration from local poets of all ages, presenting original poetry based on themes from In the Time of the Butterflies. Sign up to present your poetry at this special event- bring up to four original poems to participate in the competitively judged event where everyone will be celebrated as a winner. The top three participants will be awarded a cash prize of $75, $50, and $25, respectively.
Get ready for the Library's second annual Multigenerational Poetry Slam, which will be presented in association with this year's Big Read of Julia Alvarez's novel In the Time of the Butterflies! Whether you're an experienced slam poet, or interested in getting some help to generate poems addressing themes in the Big Read selection, join us for a free workshop aimed at giving you the tools to present your original poems to a live audience. An experienced mentor from San Francisco-based Youth Speaks will lead each multigenerational workshop. Space is limited and registration is required. Register for one workshop only.

To obtain a copy of the book and to register, contact Sally Thomas at sally.thomas@hayward-ca.gov or 510-881-7700.

Funding provided by the Federal Institute of Museum & Library Services through the Library Services & Technology Act.

If you enjoy reading In the Time of the Butterflies, don't miss the opportunity to meet two prominent Bay Area-based Latino writers at this special Big Read event. Stephen D. Gutierrez is a professor of creative writing at California State University East Bay. His recent collection of short stories, Live from Fresno y Los, won a 2010 American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation.

Daniel Alarcón, a native of Peru who lives in Oakland, is the author of Lost City Radio, the March 2011 selection of the Mostly Literary Fiction Book Group. The recipient of numerous literary awards for his debut novel and short story collection, War by Candlelight, Alarcón was named by the New Yorker magazine as one of "20 Under 40" writers who will be key to their generation. He is also the editor of the Secret Miracle: The Novelist's Handbook, which features a wide-ranging, insightful roundtable discussion among some of the world's best contemporary writers. Alarcón's first Spanish graphic novel, Ciudad de payasos [City of Clowns], produced in collaboration with artist Sheila Alvarado, is now available in the U.S.

The NEA provided a grant which we used to buy copies of the book to give to students, thus removing economic barriers and providing more stimulus for them to participate. Teachers: to get copies of the book for your classroom, contact Melesha.Owen@hayward-ca.gov, 510-293-5239.

You've read the book, now join us for a movie showing. See the story of the Mirabal sisters on the big screen.

Have you ever read a book that transformed your life? Books have the power to stimulate, educate, and open minds. That's why we are proud to be a part of The Big Read in April 2011. The Big Read is an initiative of National Endowment for the Arts designed to encourage people across America to spend more time reading. Why The Big Read? Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts, found that literary reading in America is declining rapidly, especially among the young. Less than half of all American adults now spend any time reading any literature at all. Why does The Big Read matter? We all know reading is a good thing, but the report also showed that literary readers are far more engaged and active in their communities. For example, literary readers are nearly three times more likely than non-readers to attend a performing arts event, one-and-a-half times more likely to attend a sporting event, and over two-and-a-half times more likely to do volunteer or charity work. What is The Big Read? It's about one community reading and talking about one great work of literature together. Our featured Big Read 2011 book is Julia Alvarez's classic work, In the Time of the Butterflies. We're proud to report that several hundred local students will be studying the book in their classrooms for The Big Read. The NEA provided a grant which we used to buy copies of the book to give to these students, thus removing economic barriers and providing more stimulus for them to participate. You can participate, too, by attending one of the Big Read events.