TWO TOWNS, ONE BOOK FOR CHILDREN SELECTION ANNOUNCED

Billie of Fish House Lane, by noted author Meredith Sue Willis, of South Orange, is the featured selection of this year's Two Towns: One Book for Children series sponsored by the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race in partnership with the South Orange and Maplewood Public Libraries.

Children entering fourth and fifth grades are encouraged to read Billie of Fish House Lane and join in one of two upcoming book club events: Thursday, July 12, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., in the Maplewood Public Library, Main Branch; or Tuesday, July 17, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., in the South Orange Public Library. The events will feature a discussion with the author as well as refreshments and a craft project.

"This is the first time that we have offered an opportunity for our local students to participate in our Two Towns: One Book series its inception in 2002," said Robin Burns Saunders, executive director of the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race. "We believe that Billie of Fish House Lane is the perfect title to engage our young students in a thoughtful, age-appropriate discussion about race in our society today."

Billie of Fish House Lane features Billie Lee, a smart, sassy, eleven year old girl, who lives with her family on Fish House Lane, a swampy neighborhood under an elevated highway in New Jersey. When Billie, the daughter of an African American father and white mother, visits the fancy suburban home of her white cousin, her world is turned upside down.

"Thoughtful books are not always entertaining, and entertaining books are not always thoughtful, but this book merges both into a joyful look at family, friendship, and race," said Barbara Carroll Roberts, author of The Critics Children's Literature. "If she is half-white and half-black, Billy wonders, what does her white side feel like? Does it feel different from her black side? What an interesting way to frame this issue-placing the essence of racial conflict inside a single character allows Willis to explore these questions in a nuanced, non-pedantic way. Children of all races will find both humor and understanding in Billy's open, enthusiastic approach to life."

Billie of Fish House Lane was selected by this year's Two Towns: One Book Committee, which includes Karen Hartshorn Hilton, Nancy Janow, and Melissa Kopecky of the South Orange Public Library as well as Joanne Beckerich, Karen Freeman-Pettis, and Jane Kennedy of the Maplewood Public Library.