Tag Archives: Halloween

#BookFaceFriday “A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer” by Maxie Dara

This #BookFaceFriday is a graveyard smash!

This week’s #BookFaceFriday is fully embracing spooky season! Join in with “A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer” by Maxie Dara (Berkley, 2024). This off-beat and humorous murder mystery is the first part in the author’s SCYTHE Mystery Series. It’s available as a an eBook and Audiobook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, and can be found in the specially curated collection “Monster Mash,” which is filled with Halloween, monster, or horror themed titles.

“Fun and lighthearted despite the presence of death, the characters are relatable and funny, and the paranormal aspects are balanced with the ordinariness of Kathy’s messy life. The ending fleshes out this creative premise and sets the book up for the next in a heartwarming series.”

Booklist

Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Healer & Witch” by Nancy Werlin

We’ll cast a spell on you with this #BookFaceFriday!

We’ve been at the Nebraska Library Association Conference this week connecting with Nebraska’s librarians and Library staff! Sally Snyder, NLC’s Children and Youth Services Coordinator, also had a table there full of her giveaway books, all available for libraries to take home with them. One of those books is this week’s #BookFace, “Healer & Witch” by Nancy Werlin (Candlewick Press, 2022). Perfect for middle grade readers, this  coming-of-age YA novel is a fantasy and historical fiction story all rolled into one. All in all the perfect October read!

Werlin’s first foray into middle grade is a thrilling and suspenseful experience; there are twisting reveals and adventure aplenty, though the story isn’t afraid to stop for lovely moments of
quiet contemplation and recollection along the way. A budding, respectful romance and hints of deeper powers will have readers hoping for a sequel. It’s well worth joining kind and clever Sylvie on her harrowing journey of discovery.”

Booklist (starred review)

This title comes from our large collection of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems.

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Every Which Way But Dead” by Kim Harrison

It’s a witchy woman kinda #BookFaceFriday!

Woo hoo witchy woman! We are totally here for this Halloween #BookFace! “Every Which Way But Dead” by Kim Harrison (Harper Collins, 2009) is a part of the Witches: Fantasy, History, & the Everyday” special collection on Nebraska OverDrive Libraries. This curated collection of eBooks and Audiobooks was created to help our readers find the perfect spooky read for the Halloween season. Some exciting news, Nebraska OverDrive Libraries reached new heights last year! Circulation for October 1, 2020-September 30, 2021 reached 1,007,102! The previous fiscal year’s total was 910,897, which means Nebraskans checked out 96,205 more items from Nebraska OverDrive Libraries in just a year!

“The world of the Hollows is fast-moving, funny, harrowing and scary, and―the greatest compliment to a fantasy―absolutely real.” — Diana Gabaldon

Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive. Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 186 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,554 audiobooks, 32,935 eBooks, and 3,940 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich” by Adam Rex

This #BookFaceFriday might ruin your dinner!

You think you’ve got problems? They don’t hold a dripping black candle to those of the monsters in this week’s #BookFace, “Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich (And Other Stories You’re Sure to Like, Because They’re All About Monsters, and Some of Them Are Also About Food. You Like Food, Don’t You? Well, All Right Then.” by Adam Rex (Harcourt, 2006). With fiendishly-clever rhymes and Rex’s signature drawing style, this picture book will surely delight ghouls and goblins of all ages.

“With irreverent entries such as ‘Count Dracula Doesn’t Know He’s Been Walking Around All Night With Spinach in His Teeth,’ this mash of monster poems will send kids howling (with laughter).”—Family Fun

This title comes from our large collection of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems.

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Once a Witch” by Carolyn MacCullough

Let #BookFaceFriday cast a spell on you!

Happy Halloween from NLC! Take advantage of all the spooky reads available on Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, like “Once a Witch” by Carolyn MacCullough (HMH Books, 2010). It’s available in eBook format, and if this title doesn’t sound like the perfect Halloween read check out our A Book a Day Keeps the Monsters Away (YA Horror) collection for more choices. 173 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 17,165 audiobooks and 28,972 eBooks. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time.

“[MacCullough] has created an enormously sympathetic character in Tamsin, whose itchy relationship with her family will resonate with teens struggling to define themselves. Characters, setting, conflict—all develop nicely to create a light urban fantasy that goes down easy and will have readers asking for its sequel.”—Kirkus Reviews

If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Took: A Ghost Story” by Mary Downing Hahn

We’re very taken with this week’s #BookFaceFriday!

It’s the perfect time of year for a spooky story like Mary Downing Hahn’s Took: A Ghost Story. Grab a blanket, a warm cup of cider, and a tale of terror… if you dare…

“This creepy tale skillfully weaves in—and honors—the oral tradition of folklore, legends, and ghost stories.”

Horn Book Magazine

It’s available to all Nebraska OverDrive Libraries in eBook format. 173 libraries across the state share this collection of 17,165 audiobooks and 28,972 eBooks. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time.

If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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Throwback Thursday: Halloween Party

Happy Halloween from Nebraska Memories!

This week’s #ThrowbackThursday features a 9 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ black and white photograph of a Halloween party for the Nebraska Children’s Home Society in 1951. The Omaha North High School Red Cross provided this Halloween party with games and treats for the children.

This picture is provided and owned by the Nebraska Children’s Home Society. The Nebraska Children’s Home Society was chartered September 1, 1893. NCHS Founders had a vision for a better future and believed that every child deserved a family.

Interested in Nebraska history? Check out this collection and more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information

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Throwback Thursday: 1951 Halloween Party

1951 Halloween party, Nebraska Children's Home Society

NLC is getting all geared up for Halloween with this week’s #ThrowbackThursday! Photograph of children and teenagers at a Halloween party for the Nebraska Children’s Home Society in 1951.

Photo provided by the Nebraska Children’s Home Society collection located in Nebraska Memories.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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