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Pride Month: Part 2

It's time for Part 2 of the Pride month LGBTQIA inspired reading list. Check out any of these books (one for every day in June) and take a look at Part 1 for the rest of the list.

Don't forget about East Dundee's Pride on the Fox on June 15 and FRVPLD's celebrations, Rainbow Storytime for youth and Rainbow Mosaic program for adults and teens the same day.

June 16: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson- In this semi-autobiographical novel, Jeanette begins the story as an evangelical, believing she is one of God’s elect. As a teenager, Jeanette falls for a girl and this love leads her to leave the church and throws her family into upheaval.
June 17: Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller- Re-telling The Iliad’s story of Achilles and Patroclus, Song of Achilles charts their youth and relationship from their first meeting through the Trojan War that will change everything.
June 18: When Katie Met Cassidy by Camille Perri- Katie is dumped by her fiancé and, while nursing a broken heart, meets Cassidy. At first, the women are unsure of each other, but eventually their connection can’t be ignored. Katie questions her sexuality and her traditional views on gender, and starts to learn more about who she is.
June 19: Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht- In 1962, Vera Kelly is working at a radio station when she’s headhunted by a CIA recruiter to become a spy. She ends up on a mission in Argentina where things inevitably go wrong.
June 20: Codename Villanelle and No Tomorrow (Killing Eve novels) by Luke Jennings- Villanelle is one of the world’s leading assassins, and Eve is a former government agent tasked with tracking her down. What starts as a simple cat and mouse chase becomes more as the women become infatuated with each other.

June 21: The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst- Through the eyes of David Sparsholt and, later, his son Johnny, this book explores key moments in Britain’s changing views on morality and homosexuality from the 1940s to the present.
June 22: This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel- Claude is not like his older brothers. He likes long hair and dresses and wants to carry a purse. He tells his parents he wants to be a girl when he grows up, and at first they believe he will grow out of it. But eventually, keeping this quiet takes a toll on the family.
June 23: Lie With Me by Philippe Besson- Philippe reminisces about a secret affair that he has never forgotten. During his last year of high school, he and Thomas ignored each other in the halls but conducted a passionate, life-changing affair outside of school.
June 24: Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn- Margot works at a resort in Montego Bay and does all she can to earn money for her younger sister Thandi in order to pay for Thandi to go to school and build a better life than the one offered on their small island. When a new luxury hotel gets ready to open, Margot sees an opportunity not only to make more money for Thandi, but a chance to openly declare her feelings for another woman.
June 25: Stuck in the Middle With You: a memoir of parenting in three genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan- Boylan’s memoir about transitioning from a man to a woman and from a father to a mother also features interviews with other fathers and mothers about the world of parenting.

June 26: Fun Home: a family tragicomic by Alison Bechdel- Bechdel’s memoir in graphic novel format focuses on her family and includes her coming out and eventual realization that her father was gay.
June 27: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde- The young and beautiful Dorian Gray has his portrait painted by a friend, through whom he meets Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry’s influence on Dorian leads to his corruption and years of debauchery. Through all of this, Dorian never ages, with all the signs of his age and horrible behavior showing up in his portrait.
June 28: The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy- The narrative spans decades and locations throughout India, weaving together disparate characters’ stories through some of the darkest times in modern Indian history.
June 29: Stonewall Uprising- This documentary film tells the story of the police raids on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, and the fight back which became the birth of the gay rights movement.
June 30: Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris- One of Sedaris’s more recent collections of biographical short stories, these use his trademark twisted humor to re-visit strange and formative moments in his life and recognize the absurd in everyday life.

sbunte's blog

Ruth Wendt Gallery features stellar collection from Northwest Suburban Astronomers

The Ruth Wendt Gallery is pleased to welcome a stellar collections of images lent by the Northwest Suburban Astronomers. The collection will be on display through July 28 to coincide with the library's Summer Reading Challenge theme, "A Universe of Stories."

Based in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, the Northwest Suburban Astronomers is a group of about 150 individuals and families from all walks of life and all age groups who share an interest in amateur astronomy.

The club meets the Friday closest to the full Moon each month with a brief business meeting and an interesting program by members or guest speakers. Recent programs have included presentations on deep-sky observing and imaging, NASA missions, and theoretical astronomy. They also gather for star parties, camp outs, and their biggest event of the year, Astronomy Day, which attracts more than 1,000 enthusiasts.

The images here were provided by club members John Schwartz, Don Payne, and Len Kazmer.

Contact Information

For information about membership and events, visit the NSA Club website at www.nsaclub.org or send an email to info@nsaclub.org.

kfinneran's blog

#D300Reads Book Lists for Summer Reading

This summer, D300 students entering grades 6-12 can read books from one or more award lists or read an article a week. We have the books featured on these award lists on display at the Dundee Library and Randall Oaks.

Display of award books for #D300Reads

And you can check out the award lists below to find a title or two (or more!) to read for #D300Reads this summer.

The Best of the Best book lists:

Danielle's blog

Meet Carlos Hernandez (Author of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe)

The Dundee Library Youth Department will have a special guest author this summer! Carlos Hernandez is a Science Fiction/ Fantasy writer for both children and adults. His latest book is a popular and widely acclaimed children’s chapter book, Sal and Gabi Break the Universe!

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe is a part of the “Rick Riordan Presents” series. Books in this category are recommended especially for fans of books written by Rick Riordan, such as the Percy Jackson series. The books tend to be middle grade adventure stories with elements of mythology and underrepresented cultures. For this particular story, Carlos Hernandez uses Cuban mythology and science-fiction adventure to tell an exciting tale of two friends dabbling with the risky physics of alternate universes.

If you’d like to read Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, we have many copies of the book available at both libraries, as well as the audiobook-cd, PLAYAWAY and in e-book format on Hoopla and Overdrive. You can find these on display in the Dundee Library Youth Department near the F.R.E.D. popular books section.

Sign up here to join us at the Dundee Library on Tuesday, June 25th at 6 p.m. for an exciting evening with Carlos Hernandez. It will be a great opportunity for the whole family to meet a professional author and learn more about his new book!

In the meantime, you can ponder the following question:
HOW DID A RAW CHICKEN GET INTO YASMANY'S LOCKER?

jjesernik's blog

Pride Month: Part 1

June is LGBTQIA Pride month, timed to commemorate the Stonewall riots in June, 1969 that served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement. Celebrations, pride parades, memorials, and much more will take place throughout the country in June, including right here in East Dundee with Pride on the Fox on June 15.

FRVPLD is celebrating Pride on the Fox with Rainbow Storytime for youth and a Rainbow Mosaic program for adults and teens.

Along with programs and events, Pride month is a great time for reading LGBTQIA related books. Whether this is a regular part of your reading habits or is a way diversifying them, take inspiration from this list with a recommendation for every day of June (Part 2 coming soon). The list includes novels, memoirs, history books. Some are specifically about LGBTQIA themes while others prominently feature characters who identify this way, whether or not it plays a part in the central plot.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of great LGBTQIA titles, so if you’d like more recommendations, see the Information Desk at either library.

June 1: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon- Joe Kavalier, a young Jewish refugee from Nazi-invaded Prague, and his cousin Sammy Clay, a native Brooklynite, create comic books as their way of fighting back against oppressive forces in the world and expressing their innermost feelings in a contemporary take on the American Dream.
June 2: The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai- Dual narratives connect the tragedies faced by two characters. In 1980s Chicago, Yale Tishman’s artistic career flourishes as the AIDS epidemic devastates everyone in his life. The story also follows Fiona, the sister of one of Tishman’s friends, to contemporary Paris as she attempts to track down her estranged daughter and still grapples with the way the AIDS epidemic changed her life.
June 3: The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson- Nelson’s memoir centers on her relationship with artist Harry Dodge. The autobiographical contents are then used to delve into theorists' views on sexuality, gender, marriage, and child-rearing.
June 4: David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 years of LGBT music by Darryl W. Bullock- Even before musicians like David Bowie and Elton John helped bring it to the mainstream, LGBT musicians throughout the last century changed the musical landscape and pioneered the evolution of music.
June 5: Early Stories and Novels by James Baldwin- This book includes Giovanni’s Room, which finds a young man in 1950s Paris coming to grips with the fact that his desires do not match with the conventional morality of the time.

June 6: The Gay Revolution: the story of the struggle by Lillian Faderman- A history of the gay rights movement spanning the 1950s through the 2010s, this book brings together interviews with politicians, military figures, and members of the entire LGBT community detailing the struggles they still face in this unfinished movement.
June 7: Logical Family by Armistead Maupin- Maupin, author of the Tales of the City series, writes a memory of his escape from the Old South to San Francisco, and how this journey led him to a life as a gay rights pioneer.
June 8: Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston- A rivalry between America’s First son and the Prince of Wales heats up, and in order to prevent US/British relations from souring, a fake friendship is orchestrated by their handlers. Soon enough, the pair find themselves truly falling for each other and worried about the political fallout a relationship would create.
June 9: Boy Erased by Garrard Conley- As the son of a Baptist pastor in small town Arkansas, Conley struggled with his sexuality. When outed to his family, he faces the choices of attending a conversion therapy program (to “cure” him of homosexuality) or be forever estranged from his family and friends as well as his lifelong faith.
June 10: The Lauras by Sara Taylor- Alex and Ma leave Alex’s father to go on a cross-country trip to visit people and places from Ma’s life before she was a mother. Alex’s own coming of age story unfolds as they re-live these parts of Ma’s past.

June 11: The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka- PI Roxane Weary investigates the disappearance 15 years earlier of a teenager whose parents were murdered the same night she vanished. The girl’s boyfriend was convicted and sits on death row, but has maintained his innocence even as his coming execution looms.
June 12: Leading Men by Christopher Castellani- Weaving fact and fiction, Tennessee Williams and his longtime lover Frank Merlo attend a party thrown by Truman Capote in Portofino, Italy. There, they meet Anja Blomgren, and the evening changes each of their lives.
June 13: Willa & Hesper by Amy Feltman- Willa and Hesper embark on a whirlwind romance that falls apart. Each woman deals with heartbreak by looking to the past, Hesper fleeing to a family’s ancestral lands in Tblisi, Georgia, and Willa to the WWII war sites of Germany.
June 14: Orlando by Virginia Woolf- Spanning three centuries, Orlando experiences life as a young nobleman in Elizabethan and Jacobean England, then as an ambassador in 18^th/19^th Century Constantinople, and finally as a wife and mother in 1928.
June 15: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides- Intersex protagonist Cal learns more about the ways a mutated gene have effected 3 generations of his family and the changes it created in his life. Part coming of age and part family saga, the novel explores gender identity and the American Dream for immigrants into this country.

sbunte's blog

Connect with FRVPLD on Goodreads

FRVPLD now has a group on Goodreads! Come join library staff and fellow patrons to share your love of books! If you’re not familiar with Goodreads, it is a free website where you can keep track of your reading, connect with other readers and reading groups, get reading recommendations, look at book reviews and ratings, and more. If you would like to learn more about this website, I will be teaching a Goodreads class on Tuesday, June 18th from 7 to 8:30 pm at the Dundee Library. Please register if you would like to attend.

If you already have a Goodreads account and would like to join our group, follow the steps below:

1. Log in to your Goodreads account, then click on “Community” on the menu bar at the top of the screen.

2. A drop-down menu should appear. From this menu, click on “Groups”

3. You’ll see a list of all different kinds of groups, as well as a search bar.Type our group name, “Fox River Valley Libraries,” in the search bar. Then click on the "Search" button.

4. Our group should come up, then click on “Fox River Valley Libraries”

5. You should now see a profile page for the group with information about what the group is, discussion boards, and more. Below the Fox logo is a “Join Group” button; click this button to join the group.

Fox River Valley Libraries group page on Goodreads

Once you join the group, you can participate in any open discussions that the group has or create your own discussions, look at the group’s bookshelves, invite other people to join, see what other group members are reading, and more. Staff will be posting about things going on at the library as well, such as our book clubs and the Summer Reading challenge. Our hope is that staff and patrons can connect with each other, give each other reading recommendations, and have meaningful discussions. Everyone is welcome, so please come join us!

Sean's blog

New Automobile Repair Database

Last month, we added a new automobile repair database to replace AllData. The new database is called Auto Repair Source (formerly known as AutoMate) and, unlike AllData, it can be used remotely from home! Powered by MOTOR Information Systems, Auto Repair Source provides the most accurate, authoritative and up-to-date service and repair information for thousands of domestic and imported vehicles. All content comes from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and includes step-by-step repair information, diagrams, maintenance schedules, parts and labor estimates, service bulletins and recalls. Auto Repair Source is completely free to use with a valid FRVPLD card. The steps below will show you how to access Auto Repair Source and provide an overview of the content and features available.

How to Access

From the library’s homepage, click on “Research.”
You’ll get a list of resources in alphabetical order. Scroll down a little bit to the end of the “As” and click on “Auto Repair Source.”
You’ll be taken to another screen with a list of a few different resources listed. Scroll down and click on “Auto Repair Source.”
You’ll be taken to the Auto Repair Source home page.

Dundee Library Research Page

Using Auto Repair Source

Towards the top of the screen, there are some drop down boxes where you can choose the year, make and model of your vehicle. Once you choose your vehicle, a list of options will come up on the far left side of the screen. This list is in alphabetical order by the type of part or by the vehicle system. Simply click on a category to get more specific information. Within these categories, you’ll see step-by-step instructions, printable diagrams, and more. There is also a search bar above the list of categories that you can use to search for a specific part, error code, and more.

Auto Repair Source homepage

Auto Repair Source is a powerful, authoritative automobile repair database. It can be used remotely at home, as well as in the library. The Auto Repair Source website is mobile friendly, so it works well on a variety of devices. Have questions, want more information, or want help using Auto Repair Resource? Please stop by the Information Desk, call 847-428-3661 and ask for the Information Desk, or send an email at LibraryHelp@frvpld.info and we’d be happy to help you!

Sean's blog

PLAY at the library!

The practice of PLAY is very important to young children in building their early learning and literacy skills! Play can help children better understand the context behind situations and stories, leading to better reading comprehension and symbolic understanding. Play can also help children in navigating new social relationships and communication skills.

At the Fox River Valley Public Libraries, we have many opportunities to play! Many of our programs, particularly for our youngest patrons, encourage free play. The Dundee Library Youth Services Department and Randall Oaks Library both have youth play areas for children to explore, engage and imagine.

Writing a great essay begins with choosing the topic. This is perhaps the most important part of essay writing and essay writing. Find something rich, engaging and meaningful to write at https://typemyessays.com/essay-writing-help. First, the topic should reflect your career aspirations, whose findings will be beneficial to society as well as to the academic community in general.

Here are some examples of what you might play with at the Dundee Library!

Coloring pages, crafts and rotating activities near the reference desk

Board Games and puzzles

Toy dinosaurs and animals

A dollhouse, furnished with new wood chairs, beds and more

AWE computers

A train set

A LEGO table for building, engineering and imaginative play

A new Velcro wall with many opportunities for curious little ones including various shapes and tubes to engineer different tunnels to toss down different balls, rubber ducks and more!

The Randall Oaks Library also has coloring pages, board games, and AWE computers to enjoy, along with other play areas, including:

An interactive board and scavenger hunts to explore the library

Rotating games and toys, including a LEGO table, dollhouse, train rug, big games, carpenter bench and sand/water table filled with various play items.

We look forward to seeing how you play at the Dundee and Randall Oaks Libraries!

jjesernik's blog

Jackie Robinson Day

Baseball season is upon us and today is a truly memorable day in baseball history. April 15^th is Jackie Robinson Day; the 72^nd anniversary of his very first baseball game and the first time an African American played Major League Baseball.

His uniform number, 42, was retired long ago, but every year on April 15^th, every Major League Baseball player wears the number 42 in honor of this baseball legend. To commemorate the occasion, enjoy a baseball game or check out library materials based on the life of Jackie Robinson. Here are a few that I recommend!

42 is Not Just a Number: the Odyssey of Jackie Robinson, American Hero by Doreen Rappaport: A youth biography about Jackie Robinson that is nominated for this year’s Caudill Award.

42: the Jackie Robinson Story: A film based on the life of Jackie Robinson

The United States v. Jackie Robinson by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen: A youth non-fiction book about Jackie Robinson’s fights against prejudice during his military career

jjesernik's blog

Book Recommendations

This snowy day in April is making me want to warm up with a new favorite book! Thankfully, I have TONS of book recommendations from our youth patrons. Here are some of the books you’ve recommended at the tween scene emoji book recommendation activity in the past few months!

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Jojo Siwa’s Guide to the Sweet Life: #peaceouthaterz by Jojo Siwa

The Courageous Princess by Rod Espinosa

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look

Counting Thyme by Melanie Conklin

Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

Endling: The Last by Katherine Applegate

Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Fish In A tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

The Babysisters Club: The Truth About Stacey by Raina Telgemeier/Ann Martin

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen

W.I.T.C.H. (Series)

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

Elephant and Piggie (Series) by Mo Willems

Frog and Toad (Series) by Arnold Lobel

Pinkalicious (series) by Victoria Kann

How To Train Your Dragon (Series) by Cressida Cowell

Dog Man (Series) by Dav Pilkey

Dork Diaries (Series) by Rachel Renee Russell

Rainbow Magic Fairies (series) by Daisy Meadows

Bad Kitty (series) by Nick Bruel

Magic Kitten (series) by Sue Bentley

Maryellen Classic (American Girl series) by Valerie Tripp

Magic Tree House (series) by Mary Pope Osborne

Junie B. Jones (series) by Barbara Park

The most recommended book (actually, a series of books) in the past few months was Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling! Coincidentally, but maybe not so surprisingly, Harry Potter was also our winner for our March Madness Favorite Book Character vote this year. (As a muggle fan of this magical world, I am extra thrilled by this!)

jjesernik's blog

Get involved! Library Trustee Position Open

There will be a vacancy on the Fox River Valley Public Library District’s Board of Trustees effective May 21 due to a lack of candidates to fill all open positions on the April 2 consolidated election ballot.

The vacancy will be filled by way of nomination of a candidate by the board President, subject to the approval of the full board at their June 18 meeting. The appointee will serve for two years until the next consolidated election.

Trustees serve without monetary compensation and must meet statutory eligibility requirements. For information about the requirements, duties and responsibilities of a library trustee contact Library Director, Roxane Bennett, at (224) 699-5829. To apply, please submit letter of interest and resume via email to: rbennett@frvpld.info by Monday, May 20 at 5 p.m.

The district serves 70,000 residents of Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, Gilberts, and parts of Algonquin.

kfinneran's blog

Teen Programs During Spring Break

Looking for something to do during Spring Break? We have some fun activities planned for grades 6-12 to make sure you aren't bored during your vacation, starting with Mosaic Art this Saturday! Click on the program title to register online, or call us at 847-428-3661.

Mosaic Art
Saturday, March 23, 1 to 4 p.m. @ Dundee Library
All you need are some old magazine or book pages and glue to create a piece of mosaic artwork.

Collage of K-Pop groups: Exo, BTS, Seventeen, SHINee, Black Pink, Twice

K-Pop Fans
Tuesday, March 26, 4 to 6 p.m. @ Dundee Library
Do you stan J-Hope, Jimin, Suga, V, RM, Jin, or Jungkook? Meet and hang out with other BTS and k-pop fans as you watch your favorite music videos, discuss your idols, and answer trivia questions to win prizes.

Board games: Guess Who?, Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, Apples to Apples, and more

Table Top Gaming
Wednesday, March 27, 4 to 8 p.m. @ Dundee Library
Get your game on! Bring your own, or use ours. The Library was recently gifted a bunch of new games by the Friends of the Library! Bring your battle decks: Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, or Pokemon. Or meet up for a D&D campaign.

Collage of pixel art characters, including Sailor Moon, Baby Groot, Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson, and Maggie Simpson

Pixel Art
Thursday, March 28, 4 to 6 p.m. @ Dundee Library
Use perler beads to turn pixel art into keychains, charms, magnets, or mini figures.

Seed Starter
Saturday, March 30, 2 to 4 p.m. @ Dundee Library
Whether you want to plant a large garden, or just a patio container garden, growing your own plants from seeds is a great way to begin. Learn the basics of how to start seeds indoors, when it it safe to move them outdoors and then pots some seeds up to take home!

Danielle's blog

Table-Top Games

Are you a Monopoly expert? Love guessing games? Or do you want to show off your drawing or linguistic skills? We’ve got games for all of these and more! From classic games like Yahtzee and Uno to contemporary games like Exploding Kittens and Sushi Go!, we’ve got something for everyone.

If you haven’t seen them or been one of the lucky patrons playing them yet, dozens of table-top games have recently been added to the collections at Dundee and Randall Oaks and we’re excited to offer this in-house entertainment to our patrons. Bring a group of friends to either library to play for a single night, or go ahead and start a weekly/monthly/whatever game night meeting. Drop in Dundee’s Corner 68 anytime there isn’t a class and grab a game, or take a look at the collection anytime near Randall Oaks’ information desk.

We have Game Nights for teens and adults coming up on April 11 and May 9 in Corner 68 that will feature the table-top games, video games, and snacks. And International Table-Top Game Day is coming up in the not-so-distant future on April 27, so what better time to check these out?

sbunte's blog

New Features in Library Catalog

We’ve recently added some new features in our library catalog: new releases and coming soon! These new features can be found right on the main page of the catalog. In the center of the page just below the search bar are four carousels that show newly released books at both Dundee and Randall Oaks. The four carousels are: New Adult Fiction Books, New Adult Nonfiction Books, New Children’s Fiction, Picture Books, and Easy Readers, and New Teen Books. Each carousel has the 50 newest books we’ve added from late 2018 or 2019 thus far. Clicking on a title will take to you to the record for that specific item and from there you can read more about the book, check its availability, and place the book on hold.

New releases carousels on FRVPLD catalog

On the left side of the catalog’s main page, just below “Catalog Home,” are two “Coming Soon” tabs: one for Dundee and one for Randall Oaks. In each tab, there are several categories: Adult Books, Teen Books, Children’s Books, Adult audio/video materials, and Children’s audio/video materials. Clicking on a category will bring you to a list of items that the library has ordered that have not yet been released but are coming soon. You can place a hold on any item on the list by clicking on “Place Hold” to the right of the title.

Coming soon tabs on FRVPLD catalog

These streamlined collections/lists of items will make it easier for patrons and staff to view and place holds on the newest and soon-to-be-released items. Our hope is that this will help make the catalog more browsable and user friendly. If you have any questions or comments about these features or the library catalog in general, please don’t hesitate to call us at 847-428-3661, email us at libraryhelp@frvpld.info, or stop by either the Dundee Library or the Randall Oaks library.

Sean's blog

Read Across America/ Dr. Seuss' Birthday

This Saturday, March 2^nd, is Dr. Seuss’s birthday and Read Across America, inviting every child in every community to celebrate reading. Created by the National Education Association, Read Across America is simply a holiday for the love of reading. You can find more information here.

How do you celebrate Read Across America?

SIMPLE! Read your favorite book! Share your favorite book with a friend! Find a new favorite book! Celebrate your love of reading in whatever way serves you and your family best.

Why is Read Across America celebrated on Dr. Seuss’ birthday?

When this program was created, Dr. Seuss was chosen as a perfect example of a beloved Children’s book author. His books are still praised and loved decades later and maintain their excellency in helping kids learn how to read. His perseverance in his writing career, his hidden morals within fun and colorful stories, and his innovative writing styles targeting new readers have made him a key figure in Children’s literature. However, with a slew of scrutiny surrounding Dr. Seuss’s political background and controversial imagery, the organization has taken a step back from a main focus on Dr. Seuss and re-focused on inspiring diverse literature in this annual celebration. Book lovers may choose to celebrate this holiday as a Seuss-ical day or celebrate in a way that honors the books you love most.

Read Across America and Dr. Seuss at the Library:

Visit us at the library this weekend to discover the books you love. For Dr. Seuss's birthday, we currently have a craft of a truffula tree from The Lorax, a Seuss book focused on environmentalism. There is also a display of Geisel Award Medal and Honor books, titles that have been chosen to be the best American books for beginning readers, alongside a collection of Seuss classics.

jjesernik's blog

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