Centreville's new Superintendent's Book Club a success

CENTREVILLE – March Is Reading Month ended on a high note for fifth- and sixth-grade members of the inaugural Superintendent’s Book Club in Centreville.

Spearheaded by Centreville Public Schools Superintendent Chad Brady, the book club involved an elementary group that read the 2012 release, “Liar and Spy,” by Rebecca Stead. Meanwhile, the junior high/high school group read the non-fiction, New York Times Best Seller, “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates.”

Brady, who said he exercised a fair amount of research in choosing both books, started meeting with both groups in January. Brady and group members met on average every other week for about an hour, agreeing to read to a specific point before reconvening and sharing their thoughts.

Brady brought snacks and even sprang for pizza once. He said he enjoyed hearing how students interpreted the stories and enjoyed hearing them read aloud.

Brady said about a dozen students were in each group.

Fifth-grade student Tina Reed said she enjoyed the book so much that she found it difficult to stop reading at the designated page.

“One chapter ended on a cliffhanger, and I really wanted to keep going because I couldn’t wait until the next (meeting) to find out what was going to happen,” she said. “But I didn’t go ahead … though it was hard not to.”

Fifth-grader Reagan Johnson said even though “Liar and Spy” was a fiction story, the storyline and situations were believable, which made her enjoy the book as much as she did.

As the elementary group neared the end of “Liar and Spy,” Brady acted on a whim and reached out to Stead. He explained to her that the elementary students were completing “Liar and Spy” and he took a chance she might be available to meet with them via Zoom.

“She was very gracious, very honored and very happy to do it,” Brady said. “It was really exciting to get that confirmation. I knew the kids would be thrilled and they were.”

The meeting took place over a 30-minute period March 20. Stead checked in from her New York City residence. She started the session by sharing how she became interested in writing and, specifically, writing books geared to a pre-teen audience.

\“Almost at the end of high school was when I began to think I wished I could write books, but it wasn’t a dream that I took very seriously; I sort of discarded it as an impractical idea,” she said, noting she instead wound up becoming a public defender in the city’s Bronx borough. “As time went on, however, I had this growing realization that what I really wanted to do was write stories.”

“First Light,” her debut, took five years to write and was released in 2007. “Liar and Spy” was the follow up. She said, “it just came from a place of real honesty.”

Brady had each student prepare a question for the 56-year-old Stead, who thoughtfully answered each query. In response to Johnson’s question, Stead said she was unable to choose her favorite book that she authored. Though she conceded “When You Reach Me,” a Newbery Medal winner, was the most fun to write because much of its content was inspired by her childhood.

Stead then shared details of “Goodbye Stranger,” a 2015 release that she called “the most middle school book I’ve written.” Stead explained one of the three storylines centers on a trio of girls who have been longtime friends but by seventh grade their interests start to change. The story focuses on the challenge of dealing with change and growth while trying to maintain a valuable bond.

Stead then added she was inspired to write by the numerous books she read as a youngster.

“When I was your age, when I read, it was through books that I came to understand myself,” she said. “Sometimes when I’m reading, I feel like I am my most authentic self and just by being inside my own brain, alone with a book, I feel like I’m understanding parts of myself. If I stopped reading now, I don’t think I would keep writing.”

Regarding characters in her stories, Stead said developing personalities happens as she continues the writing process. Also, she said revising and editing is a process that typically takes as much time – if not more – than writing an entire book.

Stead ended the discussion with a teaser, sharing a few details about the book she is currently writing. Its working title is “The Experiment.”

Every participant received a $10 gift card from Gilbert and Ivy independent bookstore in downtown Vicksburg.

Afterward, Brady said no question he will organize another Superintendent’s Book Club next year.

“It was outstanding,” Brady said. “On a personal level, it was a great way for me to have kind of a classroom experience that I very much miss as a superintendent. It was just a great experience all the way around.”

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Centreville's new Superintendent's Book Club a success