One Book • One School • One Community • 2018 |
1963. A bitterly cold day. Arthur T. Owens picks up a brick and hurls it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge—he is ready to send Arthur to juvie for the foreseeable future. Until the Junk Man steps in.
Kilmer Middle School has chosen The Seventh Most Important Thing written by Shelley Pearsall as our One Book • One School • One Community • 2018 selection. This novel is based locally, in Washington, DC, and while it is a fiction book, it is inspired by the life of James Hampton, an American folk artist whose work is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. All students are asked to read this book in addition to meeting summer reading requirements for their English class. We hope this story of hope and redemption resonates with our entire Kilmer community and inspires us all to make a difference.
Our goal through the One Book initiative is to build Kilmer as a reading community through a shared text that we hope students, families, faculty, and staff will all read. We invite you to share the book as a family read-aloud, listen to the audiobook on a drive, or pass the book around the whole family. Our hope is to facilitate discussion electronically, in person, and at dinner tables throughout the Kilmer community all summer and into the school year.
Our goal through the One Book initiative is to build Kilmer as a reading community through a shared text that we hope students, families, faculty, and staff will all read. We invite you to share the book as a family read-aloud, listen to the audiobook on a drive, or pass the book around the whole family. Our hope is to facilitate discussion electronically, in person, and at dinner tables throughout the Kilmer community all summer and into the school year.
Praise
★ “Pearsall has struck just the right tone by imbuing her well-rounded, interesting characters with authentic voices and pacing the action perfectly. Excellent.” —School Library Journal, starred review
★ “A moving exploration of how there is often so much more than meets the eye.” —Booklist, starred review
★ “Written in a homespun style that reflects the simple components of the artwork, the story guides readers along with Arthur to an understanding of the most important things in life. Luminescent, just like the artwork it celebrates.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ “Pearsall shows us that hope isn’t somewhere “out there”—it’s quite literally in our own two hands.” —Jen Bryant, author of A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin
★ “Pearsall has struck just the right tone by imbuing her well-rounded, interesting characters with authentic voices and pacing the action perfectly. Excellent.” —School Library Journal, starred review
★ “A moving exploration of how there is often so much more than meets the eye.” —Booklist, starred review
★ “Written in a homespun style that reflects the simple components of the artwork, the story guides readers along with Arthur to an understanding of the most important things in life. Luminescent, just like the artwork it celebrates.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ “Pearsall shows us that hope isn’t somewhere “out there”—it’s quite literally in our own two hands.” —Jen Bryant, author of A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin
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BOOK TRAILER
You can find the book at your local public library.
You may also purchase the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, as well as independent book sellers. The Seventh Most Important Thing is available for Kindle, nook, other eReaders, and in audiobook format. 
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PARTICIPATE
Respond to questions about our One Book 2018 on Flipgrid! Flipgrid code: 7thmostkms
Follow @kilmerlibrary on Instagram. Take pictures of the Seven Most Important Things (or make your own list) Use the hashtag #1bookkms.
Follow @kilmerlibrary on Twitter. Share your thoughts on the book -- use the hashtag #1bookkms
Follow Kilmer Library on Facebook for related posts and links on our one book!
WATCH an interview with Shelley Pearsall:
Learn more about folk artist James Hampton
You can see his work on display in DC at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Channel YOUR inner creator: Google Maker Camp |
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WHY A COMMON BOOK?
To build community and to start conversations! “The impact of a common reading experience on student learning may bemagnified by multiple conversations students have about the common reading experience, through formal faculty- or staff-led discussions and spontaneous student-student conversations that may ‘spill over’ to informal settings” (Astin). “This common source of conversation promotes student interaction with other members of the [school] community (e.g., peers, faculty), serving to ‘connect’ students with the institution and strengthen their sense of community membership” (Tinto). Past Kilmer One Book selections: 2017 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
WHY SUMMER READING?
“Now there's a growing recognition that reading skills need to be nurtured well into adolescence, when students struggle with comprehension more than anything else" (McGrath). "Parents can encourage reading by keeping print books in the home, reading themselves, and setting aside time daily for their children to read." (Children Teens and Reading, a Common Sense Media Research Brief, 2014) "A new study shows that kids read for fun less and less as they get older, with 45% of 17-year-olds saying they read by choice only once or twice a year." (Time Magazine, May 12, 2014) |
WORKS CITED
Astin, A. W. What matters in college: Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993. Print.
Common Sense Media. "Children Teens and Reading: a Common Sense Media Research Brief." 2014. Common Sense Media. Web. 13 May 2014.
Iyengar, Sunil, and Don Ball, eds. "To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence." National Endowment for the Arts. National Endowment for the Arts, Nov 2007. Web. 18 May 2012.
McGrath, Anne. "A new read on teen literacy." U.S. News & World Report 28 Feb. 2005: 68. Educators Reference Complete. Web. 4 June 2012.
Tinto, V. Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993. Print.
Astin, A. W. What matters in college: Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993. Print.
Common Sense Media. "Children Teens and Reading: a Common Sense Media Research Brief." 2014. Common Sense Media. Web. 13 May 2014.
Iyengar, Sunil, and Don Ball, eds. "To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence." National Endowment for the Arts. National Endowment for the Arts, Nov 2007. Web. 18 May 2012.
McGrath, Anne. "A new read on teen literacy." U.S. News & World Report 28 Feb. 2005: 68. Educators Reference Complete. Web. 4 June 2012.
Tinto, V. Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1993. Print.