A debut novel about a widow’s unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at an aquarium and the truth she uncovers about her son’s disappearance is the 2024 Read Together Palm Beach County book.
Remarkably Bright Creatures, a bestseller by Shelby Van Pelt, was announced recently by the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County as the selected book during the nonprofit’s annual Mayor’s Literacy Initiative Luncheon.
The coalition’s Read Together campaign encourages adults throughout Palm Beach County to read the same book at the same time. The goal is to get people engaged in discussing the themes of the book and to help entice those who can read but seldom do to get in the habit of reading again.
The Literacy Coalition and libraries throughout the county are planning book discussions and events as part of the campaign, which kicked off Sept. 19 and is sponsored by Literacy Coalition board members and reading advocates Laurie Gildan and Sharon Hill. The adult reading campaign concludes Nov. 18 when the author will speak in person at the Read Together Finale at the Duncan Theater at Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth.
Remarkably Bright Creatures is available in hardcover, audio and at libraries and bookstores. The book can also be purchased through the coalition for a $20 donation. The Read Together PBC campaign is not a fundraiser but helps support the coalition’s mission to improve quality of life by promoting and achieving literacy. Learn more at www.literacypbc.org/event/read-together-2024.
The Literacy Coalition is also coordinating the annual Read for the Record on Oct. 24 for children in Palm Beach County. This highlights the importance of building early literacy and language skills for every child so that all children have the opportunity to enter kindergarten prepared to succeed.
This year’s Read for the Record book, Piper Chen Sings, is about a young girl who loves to sing but is stuck with self-doubt and nervousness when asked to perform a solo in front of an audience. Piper’s grandma helps her to understand that what Piper is feeling means there’s something exciting ahead and that recognizing and welcoming that anxious feeling would help it pass.
With support from PNC Foundation in support of their Grow Up Great initiative, the coalition is working with municipal leaders, businesses and individual volunteers to make it possible for thousands of adults to read the chosen book to children across the county on a single day.
