The Chautauqua Region Community Foundation recently awarded a grant to the Robert H. Jackson Center for the purchase of 100 copies of The Devil's Arithmetic, a book for young readers that is the focus of the 2011 Young Author Program at the Jackson Center.
On April 6, 2011, award-winning author Jane Yolen will give a talk on her novel at the Reg Lenna Civic Center followed by an afternoon presentation at the Jackson Center. The program is geared toward, but not limited to, children in sixth through eighth grades. The copies of the book that were purchased with the foundation's grant will be distributed to middle schools in Chautauqua County.
The Devil's Arithmetic is written about a Jewish girl, Hannah, who dreads going to her family's Passover Seder. She is tired of hearing her relatives talk about the past, but when she opens the door to symbolically welcome the prophet Elijah, she is transported in time to a Polish village in the year 1942. She is captured and put in a concentration camp where she becomes caught up in the tragedy of the time. A girl named Rivka befriends her, teaching her how to fight the dehumanization of the camp and hold on to her identity.
The Devil's Arithmetic is part of an annual Jackson Center tradition of hosting educational author programs for middle school students. Previous years have featured esteemed authors Jerry Spinelli (Milkweed), Lois Lowry (Number the Stars), Gail Jarrow (Robert H. Jackson: New Deal Lawyer, Supreme Court Justice, Nuremberg Prosecutor), Christopher Paul Curtis (The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963), and Karen Levine (Hana's Suitcase).
In conjunction with Jane Yolen's visit to Jamestown, there is also a contest opportunity for sixth- through eighth-graders. The Law, Youth and Citizenship Program of the New York State Bar Association will provide a classroom set of paperback books of The Devil's Arithmetic for the first 10 schools that send an e-mail to lyc@nysba.org stating a commitment to having their class/classes participate in the 2011 state essay contest. Teachers of the winning students will receive a civics education bookshelf of 10 books. Schools that are interested in participating should include a contact person with school name & address in your email. Upon receipt of that e-mail, the school will be sent an examination copy of the book, a letter of commitment and planning materials. Class sets of books and final contest materials will be available in September. Contest theme, standards and entry form will be posted on the association's website at www.lycny.org.
