Author Patterson preaches the gospel of reading
BOYNTON BEACH — There’s no arguing that in the mind of a middle-school student, the name LeBron James generates more interest than James Patterson.
But on Wednesday afternoon, while visiting Congress Middle School to deliver free books and encourage students to read, the best-selling author knew how to capture the children’s attention.
“Is this your only job?” a student asked during a question-and-answer session in the auditorium. Yes, Patterson responded. “But I’ll tell you about writers, and people don’t think about this. This will give you a different perspective. I make more money than LeBron James,” he said. “Take that.”
The crowd roared. Palm Beach County School District Superintendent Robert Avossa raised his hand and the two high-fived each other. Then Patterson con- tinued with his point.
“Here ’s a n o t h e r t h i n g about LeBron James. You watch him. He reads. You’ll see him reading like before the games. He’s a big reader and he makes sure his kids read.”
A few minutes later, the children stood in line while Patterson handed out copies of his book “Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life” to the sixth graders, and copies of another of his books, “Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment,” to the seventh graders.
All sixth- and seventhgraders distric t wide will receive copies. That’s 25,963 students. Patterson’s visit to the Boynton Beach school isn’t unusual for him — he speaks at schools and events often and hopes his talks with the students and the books he gives will help raise awareness about the importance of reading. In this particular talk, he spoke about preventing the “summer slide,” when students stop reading after school lets out. If a student continues to not read during the summer, he or she can fall about two years behind by the sixth grade, he told the group. He called on parents, grandparents, neighbors and teachers to encourage children to read.
“It’s symbolic in a sense that this isn’t going to solve the problem. It’s going to draw attention to the problem,” he said of his school visit.
Before addressing the students in the auditorium, Patterson visited a class that has gifted students paired up with students who have intellectual disabilities. They buddy-read together. He told the group to read books they find interesting, and said that would be like “broccoli that tastes like ice cream.” Patterson also said no matter what their circumstances are, they can succeed if they try. He told the students his father grew up in Newburgh, N.Y., which he compared to Pahokee and said is a poor town, but he was able to make it into college.
Mikena Pierre Louis, 12, said hearing Patterson speak sh owed h e r t h a t h e h a d obstacles to overcome, too.
“I know I can work harder so I can achieve my dream,” she said.
Patterson, who lives in Palm Beach about 10 months of the year, has donated hundreds of thousands of books countrywide, including to local schools. He holds the Guinness World Record for the most No. 1 New York Times bestsellers, and writes thriller novels, and books for children, middle-grade, and young adults. He’s currently working on a book about Aaron Hernandez , the former NFL and University of Florida standout who authorities say this month committed suicide while serving time in prison for murder.
But Patterson has paid particular attention to Palm Beach County. That’s where his son Jack, now 19 and a Brown University student, grew up. He created a documentary that aired in 2015 on PBS, called “Murder of a Small Town,” to draw attention to the poverty-stricken Glades community.
His attention is warranted: In Palm Beach County, 52 percent of third-graders are reading at grade level, Avossa said. The children who aren’t typically live in poverty, and English is their second language, he said. The district goal is to reach 75 percent in the next four years, which would match the highest performing district in the state, St. Johns County.
“Ultimately, it’s important eventually that people who have a little money in this county, that they recognize that education is an area where they can help and where that help is welcome. I think Palm Beach County can be a model for Florida,” Patterson said.
Patterson is pondering taking his message to President Trump. He plans to attend Saturday ’s annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington and has a white hat a friend gave to him that he might wear. It reads: Make America Read Again.
“It’s not a political thing. I don’t care whether you’re Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative,” he said. “This makes sense, and the things we agree on we need to move forward and do it. And the stuff we don’t agree on, that’s more complicated. But I don’t think too many people are going to argue the fact that we need to improve education.”