Germantown Novel Views Book Discussion- In-person

"The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride

Join us to discuss the "The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride.

The Novel Views Book Discussion meets in Group Study Room 5, located on the lower level of the library, in the Children's Room 

Join the Germantown Novel Views Book Discussion to talk about "The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride. This book will be read in recognition of Black History Month.

"In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe's theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe. As these characters' stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town's white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community--heaven and earth--that sustain us."-- MCPL Catalogue.

Print copies may be available at the Germantown Library after January 7, 2026.

Available on Overdrive/Libby as an eBook and as an eAudioBook.   

Questions about this program? Contact the Germantown Library 240-777-0110

Looking for more fun things to do at MCPL? 

Available on Overdrive/Libby as an eBook and as an eAudioBook.  . Don't have a card right now?  No worries!  Find out how to Get a Library Card.

Library Program Attendance (both virtual and in the branch) is limited to participants within the suggested age range of the program. Children attending an MCPL program under the age of 8 must be accompanied by an adult. Adults attending a program intended for children must have an accompanying child.

If you plan to attend with a group of ten or more, please contact the branch at least one week before the program to discuss how your group might be accommodated.

Accommodation Requests

People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing should request English-language captioning or sign-language interpretation at least five days before the library-sponsored program they plan to attend. Contact the Assistant Facilities and Accessibility Program Manager at 240-777-0002 with all other accommodation requests.

cm 1.1 01/03/2023

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