An All-School Reads program has begun in Tallwood to promote critical thinking.  This year’s book is How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon, which will be read and discussed with the lunch book club in the library. The ASR program gives students the opportunity to engage in an author’s work through a traditional literary perspective. The entire school reads, engages with, and discusses the same book provided by the LMC.

The All School Reads program is an around the world event with many schools participating. The books can vary from scientific, economic, historical, nonfiction, to fiction. From now until May, Tallwood will be encouraging students to read How It Went Down.

“We chose this book because it is a Virginia Reader’s Choice book for 2016-2017, a 2016 Coretta Scott King Honor book, and its themes and subject matter deal with contemporary issues that the students witness in the world around them,”  Mrs. Rachel Lizan, Tallwood’s library media specialist states.

The LMC has physical copies of the book as well as audio ebooks available to the students to check out.

“We really want to get great books into your (the student’s) hands” Said Mrs. Lizan

Here’s a quick synopsis from Kekla Magoon’s website: “In Kekla Magoon’s How It Went Down, when sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson dies from two gunshot wounds, his community is thrown into an uproar. Tariq was black. The shooter, Jack Franklin, is white.

“In the aftermath of Tariq’s death, everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events line up. By the day, new twists and turns further obscure the truth.

“Tariq’s friends, family, and community struggle to make sense of the tragedy, and of the hole left behind when a life is cut short. In their own words, they grapple for a way to say with certainty: This is how it went down.”