The Great Paterson in Cambridge; The Wee Perkins in Wellesley

Fellow Presbyterian Minister's wife Katherine Paterson will be reading from her new ALA Booklist starred-review novel, Bread and Roses, Too, tonight at 7 o'clock at Porter Square Books in Cambridge. I can't make it because my writers' group is having our annual fall kickoff/goal-setting dinner, which I love, but I'm conflicted because (a) Paterson's new book is a between-cultures novel about an immigrant family from Italy, and (b) she's my hero.

Sigh. Anyway, there's more to anticipate when it comes to bookstores, because tomorrow I'm driving around New England with Judy O'Malley and Donna Spurlock of Charlesbridge to introduce myself and Rickshaw Girl to a few indie owners. And finally, if any of you are in the vicinity of Wellesley, Massachusetts on Sunday, September 17th, I'll be speaking at the town's fabulous library at two o'clock. Here's the description of the program provided by the library, and if you do come, please introduce yourself as a Fire Escape visitor:
Life Between Cultures
Sunday, September 17, 2006
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Wakelin Room 1

Mitali Bose Perkins was born in Kolkata, India, and immigrated to the United States with her parents and two older sisters. The Bose family lived in Cameroun, Ghana, Mexico, and New York City before settling in the San Francisco Bay Area. Using a personal, humorous slide show, Mitali shares candidly her experience of growing up between two cultures, explores some of the tensions immigrant kids face, and introduces some of the richness of her Bengali heritage. This family program is suitable for upper elementary and middle schoolers. Kids are encouraged to ask questions, and discussion throughout the presentation sparks lively responses from participants. Free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Friends of the Wellesley Free Libraries and World of Wellesley.