EAST CONTRA COSTA COUNTY– Author Presentations by Reyna Grande at Three Schools

BRENTWOOD, OAKLEY, ANTIOCH– Author Reyna Grande will make three presentations to schools in East Contra Costa County on Thursday, November 16, 2017.  Ms. Grande will discuss the Young Reader edition of her book, the East County Reads selection The Distance Between Us, which describes the author’s experiences as a young child growing up in poverty in Mexico, her entry into California as an undocumented immigrant, and her life after coming to the U.S. Ms. Grande will be appearing at Edna Hill Middle School in Brentwood at 8:30 a.m., at Freedom High School in Oakley and 10:30 a.m. and at Antioch Middle School at 1:30 p.m. East County Reads: An Immigrant’s Journey is presented by the Antioch, Brentwood, and Oakley Libraries in an effort to share a common story, and provide an opportunity for everyone in the community to read and discuss the book The Distance Between Us.  Several programs around the theme of immigration, sharing stories and creating a dialogue are being held during October and November, 2017. For more information, go to http://ccclib.org/programs, and check the calendar listings for the Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley and Prewett libraries. You can also contact Liz Fuller, Senior Community Library Manager, Antioch and Brentwood Libraries, 925-427-8543, lfuller@ccclib.org Event location: Edna Hill Middle School, 140 Birch St., Brentwood CA  94513 Freedom High School, 1050 Neroly Rd., Oakley CA  94561 Antioch Middle School, 1500 D St., Antioch CA  94509 This program is supported by California Humanities’ Library Innovation Lab Grant Program. To find out more about Library Innovation Lab, visit our webpage here. “Library Innovation Lab: Exploring New Ways of Engaging California’s Immigrant Communities”– The Library Innovation Lab pilot project will provide training, support, and resources to a cohort of programming librarians, enabling them to design and implement new public humanities projects that will reach and engage underserved immigrant groups in their communities during the program period. Through an open call application, ten libraries were selected to receive $5,000 each to participate in our first round of the Library Innovation Lab grant program. This grants program will help build capacity within California libraries to develop creative and innovative programs that will respond to the needs and circumstances of today’s immigrants and immigrant communities and foster more inclusive communities within our state.