Saratoga Reads has announced its choice of a junior discussion book and a list of some 45 other titles for young readers, selected to complement the program's book of choice for this year—The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. The list of "companion books" has been designed to appeal to a wide of range of age groups and to encourage families to read together.

The Housekeeper and the Professor, a novel selected by popular vote as the Saratoga Reads top book for this year, tells the story of a once-brilliant mathematics professor and baseball fanatic, who has been robbed of all but 80 minutes of short-term memory by a traumatic car accident. He passes his time in a ramshackle cottage with notes to aid his memory pinned all over his clothing. He is cared for by a housekeeper and her young son, with whom he forges a deep relationship, though he forgets them every day. The book explores the trio's unlikely friendship.

As a complementary junior discussion book, Sararoga Reads has selected The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, a mysterious tale that combines text with some 284 pages of original drawings. Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, young Hugo lives a secret life in the walls of a busy Paris train station in the 1930s. When he encounters an eccentric, bookish girl and an old man who runs a toy booth in the station, his life becomes all the more adventurous.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret will serve as the basis for two special evening discussions at the Saratoga Springs Public Library, Feb. 3 and Feb. 10.

"While Hugo Cabret is set in France and The Housekeeper and the Professor is set in Japan, both focus on an unlikely friendship that develops among three people, young and old," said Golden. "The trio in each novel divulge secrets and forge a friendship under limited time. In the process, they learn about gears and engineering in the former and math and baseball in the latter, but about the bonds of friendship in both."

In addition, Saratoga Reads has created a varied list of junior companion books, from picture books for beginning readers to works for young teens, with themes relating to The Professor and the Housekeeper. The themes explored range from mathematics, baseball, and intergenerational relationships to puzzle solving and Japanese culture. For a full list of the titles and related information, go to the junor companion books page.

Said Tabitha Orthwien, chair of the Saratoga Reads board, "With our list of books for young readers and our forthcoming suggestions for family discussion topics, we hope to pave the way for parents to engage children in community reading."

Saratoga Reads is a Skidmore College-Saratoga collaboration. Major sponsors of Saratoga Reads include Barnes & Noble (Wilton), Borders (Saratoga Springs), Hewitt's Garden Center, Saratoga.com, Skidmore College, The Saratogian, Adirondack Trust Company, Community Care Pediatrics–Saratoga, Saratoga Springs Rotary Club, Sperry's Restaurant, Wise Development Group, Impressions of Saratoga, and Smile Sanctuary.