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Nasher plans book talk for kids next week

Just in time for Durham County school's spring break: The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University will hold a book discussion for kids this week.

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Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University
Just in time for Durham County schools' spring break: The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University will hold a book discussion for kids next week.

From 11 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, participants will discuss the book "Harlem Summer," a jazz-era coming-of-age story, by Walter Dean Myers. The book follows Mark Purvis, a teenager in Harlem in 1925. The School Library Journal says the book is best for kids in grades six to nine.

Here's a description of the book from Nasher: "While Mark would rather play jazz music with his friends, he feels the pressure to get a summer job. Run-ins with Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Alfred Knopf have Mark elated to meet the great figures of his time. However, his financial reality connects him to gangster Dutch Schultz and complicates Mark’s summer, all as he experiences the frenzy of a jazz musician’s life."

Myers, a Harlem native, has written more than 80 children's books, received two Newbery Honors and is a five-time recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award.

Participants also can explore the museum's exhibit "Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist," a collection of works by Motley, who is known as a master colorist and radical interpreter of urban culture. The program will be held in the Motley exhibition. 

The talk is intended for kids and their families. Copies of "Harlem Summer" are for sale in the Nasher Museum Store. The program is free. No pre-registration is required.

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