Boys And Girls Club Members Get An Adventure In Reading

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – It has been an adventure in reading for a Boys and Girls Club.

As kids were in-game time at the Haven Acres Boys and Girls Club Gym,
ten and eleven-year-olds were in the computer room, learning about the plot and other details from this year’s novel for “Tupelo Reads.”

“We have a great book this year called “This Tender Land” and the story is really compelling for the kids,” said Lisa Reed, chairperson of ‘Tupelo Reads.’

The novel, by William Krueger, is about four orphans who run away, embarking on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression. Although the book is fiction, there are details in the novel that are used to teach that era.

The entire community is encouraged to read the novel, as part of the annual “Tupelo Reads’ initiative. Chairperson Lisa Reed says it’s always fun to get the Boys and Girls Club involved.

“There’s so much action in it, I think they really enjoyed it, they also learned what fiction, nonfiction is, what an illusion is, the references to The Odyssey the book has all the way through,” Reed said.

Tupelo Reads targets ten and eleven-year-olds, one of the goals is to help the youngsters develop a lifelong passion for reading.

“We hope it opens up their minds to reading more books and learn about Mississippi life in the early decades, and we hope they learn about new things, come here and tell us,” said Junior Staff member Jahtonia Wilson.

Summer camps at the Boys and Girls Clubs are organized to let the kids have fun while exercising their minds and Tupelo Reads helps do just that.

The book’s author, William Kreuger, will visit the All America City in October for ‘Tupelo Reads’ activities.