Join Darien Library for our fourth annual One Book, One Community reading experience. The book selected for the town-wide read is 97 Orchard by Jane Ziegelman. The book selected for young readers is The Inquisitor’s Apprentice by Chris Moriarty. Each book is set around the turn of the twentieth century in New York City and centers on the immigrant experience in a unique place and time in history.

About the Book: 97 Orchard

In 97 Orchard, Jane Ziegelman explores the culinary life that was the heart and soul of New York's Lower East Side around the turn of the twentieth century—a city within a city, where Germans, Irish, Italians, and Eastern European Jews attempted to forge a new life. Through the experiences of five families, all of them residents of 97 Orchard Street, she takes readers on a vivid and unforgettable tour, from impossibly cramped tenement apartments down dimly lit stairwells where children played and neighbors socialized, beyond the front stoops where immigrant housewives found respite and company, and out into the hubbub of the dirty, teeming streets.

About the Author: Jane Ziegelman

Jane Ziegelman is the director of the Tenement Museum’s culinary center and the founder and director of Kids Cook!, a multi-ethnic cooking program for children. Her writing on food has appeared in numerous publications, and she is the coauthor of Foie Gras: A Passion. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Meet Jane Ziegelman on Thursday, April 5th as she visits Darien Library for two special programs!

About the Youth Book Selection: The Inquisitor's Apprentice

In early twentieth century New York, Sacha Kessler’s ability to see witches earns him an apprenticeship to the police department’s star Inquisitor, Maximillian Wolf, to help stop magical crime. With fellow apprentice Lily Astral, Sacha investigates who is trying to kill Thomas Edison, whose mechanical witch detector could unleash the worst witch-hunt in American history.

Visit us now to check out your copy of 97 Orchard or The Inquisitor's Apprentice. Then, join us in March and April as we host a slew of discussions, workshops, lectures, film screenings, and events that support the books’ themes. There will be programs for adults, teens, and children. Help build a better community!