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About:
Brazilian educator Paulo Freire writes, “Reading is not exhausted merely by decoding the written word or written language, but rather anticipated by and extending into knowledge of the world. Reading the world precedes reading the word, and the subsequent reading of the word cannot dispense with continually reading the world. Language and reality are dynamically intertwined” (The Importance of the Act of Reading).
Join the University of Arizona Centers for East Asian Studies, Latin American Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies for our Reading the World book group. Inspired by Freire’s words, we aim to create a space dedicated to educators discussing authentic and engaging global literature for elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. We welcome in-service and pre-service teachers, educational aides, administrators, and librarians.
We meet each month from 4:30-6:00 pm at Revolutionary Grounds Books & Coffee (4675 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ). We welcome your participation whether you've read the whole book or a single page. Monthly attendance is encouraged but not required. These events are free and open to the public.
This Month:
Our October title is the young adult novel, The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri.
This is the tale of an exciting journey along the Silk Road with a young Monk and his newfound guardian, Samir, a larger than life character and the so-called “Seller of Dreams”. The man is a scammer; his biggest skill being the ability to talk his way into getting what he wants. While that talking did save Monkey’s life, it has left a lot of people furious with Samir— furious enough to hire assassins. Monkey decides to try and save Samir from the attempts on his life—as a way to pay off his debt! If he can save Samir six times, he’ll be a free man...but will they all survive that long?
Fans of Salman Rushdie's Haroun and The Sea of Stories and The Little Prince will fall in love with the bond between Monkey and Samir—in this swashbuckling all-ages page-turner from national bestseller Daniel Nayeri and featuring full-color illustrations from Daniel Miyares.
Find the book at your local library or preferred bookseller.
Future Book Group Dates:
Nov. 8
Dec. 13
Jan. 10
Feb. 7
March 6
April 10
May 8
For questions, please contact Katrina Dillon at kedillon@arizona.edu
This programming is sponsored by the Centers for East Asian Studies, Latin American Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona through grant funding from the Title VI National Resource Centers program.