THE SPARTANBURG  HERALD JOURNAL

Quiante Jeffries recalls watching "A Christmas Carol" a few years ago in her fifth-grade class.

"I always thought it'd be really cool to put on that play, and here I am," Jeffries, 13, said with a smile, wearing lime green fingernail polish to match her bright shirt. "I love to act."

Jeffries' love for reading is giving her the chance to act. The eighth-grader at Carver Junior High is in the school's first chapter of the Need to Read Book Club, a local organization begun two years ago by Spartanburg teenager Emily Conrad.

On Tuesday, the Carver students' passion for reading will be put into action. They will perform a Reader's Theatre version of "A Christmas Carol" during the city's 13th annual Dickens of a Christmas celebration downtown.

The boys will trade their ball caps and jeans for black top hats and Victorian-era trousers. Girls will forsake their fashionable 21-century attire for old-fashioned ruffled blouses and broomstick skirts that touch their ankles.

Their costumes are courtesy of the Spartanburg Little Theatre, and the play is being directed by Valerie Barnet, wife of Spartanburg Mayor Bill Barnet.

"I'm looking forward to being on a stage and making people laugh and enjoy what they see," said Jaron Foster, 13, who said doing the play is one aspect he enjoys about being in the book club.

"I joined for the learning experience, doing plays and going on field trips," said Foster, who will play Scrooge's clerk, Bob Cratchit. "It also

helps us get interested in books other than the books we have to read in class."

The Need To Read Book Club is "all about kids making a difference through reading," said Conrad, a freshman at Spartanburg Day School. Her club also raises money to purchase books that are donated to children in need.

"I believe all kids need to learn how to read, and that reading can make a difference in the community," said Conrad, who added that Holly Springs-Motlow Elementary in Spartanburg District 1 recently started a chapter of the club.

Carver's chapter began meeting in September. Twenty students currently are involved, and there's a waiting list, Conrad said. These teens are all a part of the Boys and Girls Club of the Upstate. So the seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-graders take an hour from their after-school program each month to discuss a recent book they've read.

"I wouldn't read outside of language arts class, but now I read more often -- science fiction and biographies," 14-year-old Brandon McCullough said. "They teach us a lot of new things about books we didn't know, and I've learned how to get along with a lot of people."

McCullough and his club members will take the stage outside of Books 'n' Stuff on East Main Street from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Dickens festivities. Their stage setup will include a fireplace, Christmas tree and spotlights, all created by Books 'n' Stuff owners Dennis and Beth Regula.

"I'm really excited," said Beth Regula, who has operated Books 'n' Stuff for the past six years. "We've never had a live performance like this, so I think it's something all of us can benefit from."

Seventh-grader Embry Griffin will portray one of the ghosts that takes Scrooge on a journey, and the 12-year-old admits she'll be a bit scared during the show.

But, then again, she thought, "If I can dance in front of people, then I can act in front of people."

Ashlei N. Stevens can be reached at 562-7425 or ashlei.stevens@shj.com.