Together—Book Talk for Kids and Parents is the New York Council for the Humanities’ exciting new reading and discussion program for families. Parents and their 9-to-11 year old children come together at their local library to discuss important humanities themes through shared reading. This program is available to all New York state public libraries and has been successfully implemented at a wide range of sites throughout the state.

The six 90-minute Together sessions are co-facilitated by a librarian (often the children’s librarian) and a local humanities scholar. Each session promotes lively intergeneration discussion focused on themes of American identity related to picture books and novels. The Council provides copies of the books and a stipend to cover all costs of the Together program.

Applications to host a Together series for Spring 2009 are due November 3, 2008 and are available at www.nyhumanities.org/discussion_groups/. The website guides you through the application process with forms, common questions, and follow-up documents. Please note that funds may not be available to fulfill all requests.