The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati continues reading and discussing books for On the Same Page, the project that asks the entire community to read and discuss the same book.

This year's books are Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips and, for young readers, Hush by Jacqueline Woodson.

River spans 250 years, opening with an anguished African farmer with failed crops being forced to sell his children into slavery. It progresses to the present, employing several voices to tell of a family's struggle to establish roots in a new land.

Hush is the story of Toswiah Green and her life when her family enters the witness protection program. The pressures of growing up in a strange place, along with a forced new identity, form the basis of a tale about an adolescent coming to terms with life.

Phillips will be here 7 p.m. May 4 to discuss and sign River. You'll find him at the University of Cincinnati's Tangeman University Center, Great Hall. It's a freebie.

He'll also turn up on Channel 48 at 8 p.m. May 5 to discuss the book and take questions (call-ins welcome) in a live broadcast.

On the Same Page is a cooperative effort of Channel 48, the Enquirer and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.

Ready to talk about River? Here's where you can go this week:

• 7 p.m. Thursday, Green Township branch, 6525 Bridgetown Road (369-6095), with discussion leader Susanne Wells, reference librarian.

• 6:30 p.m. Monday, Greenhills branch, 7 Endicott St. (369-4441), with discussion leader Holbrook Sample, branch manager.

• 7 p.m. Monday, Bond Hill branch, 1703 Dale Road (369-4445), with discussion leader Lisa Ribar, branch manager.

• 7 p.m. Monday, Delhi Township branch, 5095 Foley Road (369-6019), with discussion leader Susan Hamrick, branch manager.

To discuss Hush:

• 4 p.m. Wednesday, Delhi Township branch, 5095 Foley Road (369-6019), with discussion leader Julie McCoy, reference librarian.

• 4 p.m. Monday, Avondale branch, 3566 Reading Road (369-4440), with discussion leader Tara Kressler, branch manager.