The 2008 Reading Across Rhode Island selection was recently announced and it will certainly be greeted with the excitement that the previous selections have received. Water For Elephants, by Sara Gruen, joins the list of books that have brought together hundreds of Rhode Islanders from all walks of life and professions. For the past five years, books such as Sue Kidd Monk’s The Secret Life of Bees; The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, and The Memory of Running, by Ron McLarty, have brought book lovers together at community book discussion groups and author appearances throughout the state.

We are pleased to announce that Sara Gruen will be the keynote speaker at the May Breakfast at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet on May 10.

Reading Across Rhode Island is one of the signature programs offered by the Rhode Island Center for the Book, at the Providence Public Library. The center promotes and “celebrates the art and heritage of reading, writing, making and sharing books” by offering a wide range of book events to the Rhode Island public. In addition to Reading Across Rhode Island, the center sponsors Letters About Literature, a national reading and writing competition for students in grades 4 through 12. The students write letters to their favorite authors, describing their reasons for enjoying a particular book and the impact that work had in their life.

Hundreds of Rhode Island children have participated in this competition, with 1,700 submissions last year alone. This year, Rhode Island had stars: Elena Suglia, of North Kingstown, was one of two national winners, and Andrew Miner, of East Greenwich, captured an honorable mention.

Louise Moulton, staff director of the Rhode Island Center for the Book, says “the strong showing of our entries at the national level is indicative of the focused effort Rhode Island teachers place on reading and writing.” The submissions deadline for the 2008 Letters About Literature contest is Dec. 14.

By collaborating with academic institutions, and organizations such as the John Russell Bartlett Society, the center’s Spring Arts of the Book programs have focused on the design and beauty of bookmaking. The center recently joined with the Friends of the Library at Brown University, URI Special Collections, the New England Chapter of the American Printing History Association, The Bartlett Society, the Providence Athenaeum and the Providence Art Club in sponsoring the Eragny Press Lecture and Exhibit.

Next spring, Anne Bromer, author of Miniature Books: 4000 Years of Tiny Treasures, will lecture on miniature books throughout history. Bromer’s work in the world of miniature books has been nationally recognized, and her presentation will be illuminating and stimulating.

More information about the Center for the Book, as well as the arts programs, Reading Across Rhode Island and Letters About Literature, can be found at www.ribook.org. A feature of the site is Rhode Island Booklinks, a collection of links to sites about reading, writing, storytelling and making books. It includes nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and for profit book dealers. It’s a resource for the book lover who is interested in reading, discovering and sharing the rich literary heritage that we have in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Book Events is a new resource recently added to the Web site. This social calendar is for all Rhode Islanders so they can access and locate coming book events.

“In our original conception of the Rhode Island Center for the Book, we envisioned the center connecting all things ‘book’ in Rhode Island,” Moulton said. “As the Web site has developed, and with the addition of this new calendar, we are closer to that goal. We encourage Rhode Island readers and writers to visit the site to check on events and activities around the state and to add their own book events to the listings.”

Through a variety of programs and events, The Rhode Center for the Book works to promote a love for books among people of all ages. We encourage those who love books to visit our Web site and join in one of the many activities that the center sponsors.

John N. Bucci is a librarian at the William H. Hall Library, Cranston.

Library notes

The Cranston Public Library, 140 Sockanosset Cross Rd., will hold a holiday party for teens on Friday, Dec. 7, from 5 to 6 p.m.

Bill Harley, a Grammy-winning artist, will perform Thursday, Dec. 13, at 6:30 p.m. The concert, sponsored by the Friends of the Cranston Public Library, is appropriate for children and families. For more information, call (401) 943-9080, ext. 5.

Elizabeth Ricci will exhibit her mixed media art in the rear gallery through Dec. 31.

The East Greenwich Art Club will have an exhibit at the library through Dec. 31. The opening reception will be Sunday, Dec. 9, from 2 to 4 p.m.

There will be a story hour for young children on Thursday, Dec. 13, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Greene Public Library, 179 Hopkins Hollow Rd., Coventry. For more information, call (401) 397-3873.

Teens in grades 6 to 12 are invited to drop by the Auburn Library, 396 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, on Thursday, Dec. 13, anytime between 3 and 5 p.m. to make magnified marble magnets. For more information, call (401) 781-6116.

The William Hall Library, 1825 Broad St., Cranston, will hold a Family Nutrition Night on Tuesday, Dec. 11, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Families will play the board game All You Can Eat to learn facts about nutrition. For more information, call (401) 781-2450.

The Reading in the Hall book discussion group will discuss The Temple, by Steve Berry, on Thursday, Dec. 20, at 6 p.m. To register, call the above number.

Items for this column may be e-mailed to wbnews@projo.com, faxed to (401) 277-7227, or mailed to The Providence Journal, West Bay Bureau, 75 Fountain St., 3rd floor, Providence, R.I. 02902. You can reach us at (401) 277-7090.