Tag Archives: Summer Reading Program

#BookFaceFriday “Defiant” by Brandon Sanderson

Adventure awaits for this #BookFaceFriday!

With another school year ending, that can only mean one thing: Summer Reading Program is upon us! This week’s #BookFace is “Defiant” by Brandon Sanderson (Random House Children’s Books, 2023), the fourth book in his Skyward series.

 It’s available for checkout as an eBook from Nebraska Overdrive Libraries; it can be found in the “Adventure Begins at your Library” collection. This action-packed epic Sci-fi series is an excellent YA pick for both boys and girls and fits perfectly in this year’s Summer Reading Program theme.

“Sanderson delivers a cinematic adventure that explores the defining aspects of the individual versus the society…[and] fans of [his] will not be disappointed.”

— School Library Journal

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. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,174 audiobooks, 36,611 ebooks, and 5,210 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 “No Summit Out of Sight” by Jordan Romero

Off we go, into the wild blue #BookFaceFriday!

Get ready to climb every mountain with this week’s #BookfaceFriday,”No Summit Out of Sight: the True Story of the Youngest Person to Climb the Seven Summits” by Jordan Romero (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014)!

This title is available as a book club kit, and fits right into the theme of the the 2024 Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP): “Adventure Begins at Your Library.” You can find even more tales of adventure and survival by choosing that genre in the drop-down menu on our Book Club Kit page – just right for those young readers looking for a vicarious thrill!

Our Youth Services Librarian, Sally Snyder, has been traveling all across Nebraska in recent weeks presenting Summer Reading Program (SRP) workshops for librarians. Didn’t make it to a workshop? Check out Sally’s NCompass Live: Summer Reading Program 2024: Adventure Begins at Your Library and learn about nature- and adventure-themed books perfect for your library’s SRP.

“The emotional pitch of the story remains high as Romero contends with extreme weather, frustration, exhaustion, and homesickness to reach, with almost palpable exhilaration, each peak.”

—Publishers Weekly

Book Club Kits Rules for Use

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

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. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,174 audiobooks, 36,611 ebooks, and 5,210 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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2023 NLS Summer Reading Author Talk: Jenny Torres Sanchez

Join us on Zoom for an exciting author talk with Jenny Torres Sanchez, author of We Are Not from Here!

Jenny Torres Sanchez writes children’s and young adult fiction that has been a finalist for the Pura Belpre Award and included on the American Library Association’s annual list of Best Fiction for Young Adults. Her book We Are Not from Here vividly captures the treacherous journey of three teenagers who cross from Guatemala through Mexico to the United States in search of a better life.

This event is specially designed for YA, but all are welcome.

For more information:
Annette Hall
402-471-4033
annette.hall@nebraska.gov

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2023 NLS Summer Reading Author Talk: Kwame Alexander

Join us on Zoom for an exciting author talk! Kwame Alexander is a New York Times best-selling author for children of all ages, as well as a poet, educator, and recipient of the Newbery Medal.

This event is specially designed for YA and middle grades, but all are welcome.

Mark your calendar for the last upcoming event in the NLS Summer Reading program:

For more information:
Annette Hall
402-471-4033
annette.hall@nebraska.gov

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2023 NLS Summer Reading Author Talk: Annette Bay Pimentel and Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins

Join us on Zoom for an exciting author talk with Annette Bay Pimentel, author of All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything!

Author Annette Bay Pimentel will read from her picture book and be joined by the heroine of her story, Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins.

This event is specially designed for K-5th grade, but all are welcome.

Mark your calendars for the following events happening this summer as part of the NLS Summer Reading program:

For more information:
Annette Hall
402-471-4033
annette.hall@nebraska.gov

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2023 NLS Summer Reading Author Talk: Celia C. Perez

Join us on Zoom for an exciting author talk with Celia C. Perez, author of The First Rule of Punk!

This event is specially designed for middle grades, but all are welcome.

Mark your calendars for the following events happening this summer as part of the NLS Summer Reading program:

For more information:
Annette Hall
402-471-4033
annette.hall@nebraska.gov

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2023 NLS Summer Reading Story Time and Music

Join us on Zoom for an exciting story time and music with Matt Mazur of Turtle Dance Music! Come prepared to have lots of fun with stories, songs, and silly dances.

This event is geared toward K-3rd grade, but all are still welcome.

Mark your calendars for the following events happening this summer as part of the NLS Summer Reading program:

For more information:
Annette Hall
402-471-4033
annette.hall@nebraska.gov

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2023 NLS Summer Reading Author Talk: Shelby Van Pelt

Join us on Zoom for an exciting author talk with New York Times best-selling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt!

This event in the National Library Service Summer Reading Program is specially designed for adults, but all are welcome.

Mark your calendars for the following events happening this summer as part of the NLS Summer Reading program:

For more information:
Annette Hall
402-471-4033
annette.hall@nebraska.gov

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2023 NLS Summer Reading Kickoff Program

You’re invited to attend the very first National Library Service Summer Reading Program!

It begins on Monday, June 26 with a kickoff event featuring Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, who will welcome everyone and read a picture book for the younger participants. All ages are welcome!

The kickoff event will be followed by these weekly author talks and story times and music:

For more information:
Annette Hall
402-471-4033
annette.hall@nebraska.gov

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Nebraska Libraries Report 1,381,624 Minutes of Reading for Summer 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 15, 2022

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Denise Harders
402-462-1975
denise.cpls@gmail.com
Central Plains Library System

Nebraska Libraries Report 1,381,624 Minutes of Reading for Summer, 2022

Summer reading programs are helping students become better readers

Hastings, Nebraska – Since mid-May, more than 100 Nebraska libraries have been carrying out summer reading programs that have allowed patrons of all ages to log their reading progress.

As of August 3, 2022, readers have logged:
1,381,624 minutes read
12,153 books completed
131,179 pages read

The Nebraska Library Commission and the Nebraska Regional Library Systems have worked to engage more than 100 libraries in summer reading programs through an innovative reading app called Reader Zone. These programs consist of participants of all ages with the majority being kindergarten through 6th grade.

Success in 2022 follows similar reading success for Nebraska readers in 2020 and 2021.  Each of those years also saw more than one million minutes of reading logged by Nebraskans in summer reading programs.

“We are excited to have another successful summer reading season in Nebraska libraries and we thank all our hard-working librarians and our wonderful patrons for their dedication to literacy and reading,” said Denise Harders, Director of the Central Plains Library System. “Our libraries will continue to offer Nebraskans quality programs that can build positive reading habits for readers of all ages”.

Nebraska libraries offer ongoing reading programs like “1000 Books Before Kindergarten” for young children and many compelling programs for teens and adults. These programs are free to Nebraskans in every corner of the state.

“Seeing Nebraska readers reach a third summer in a row of more than 1 million minutes demonstrates that there are many dedicated public librarians and engaged families throughout the state. Students will return to school in the fall with their hard-earned reading skills sharpened and ready to learn,” Jake Ball, creator of Reader Zone.

Reader Zone is a web-based reading program and app that helps organizations build and deploy meaningful reading programs. Reader Zone offers a mobile app that makes participation in reading programs simple and rewarding for readers of all ages.

The Nebraska Regional Library Systems consist of four non-profit corporations governed by boards representative of libraries and citizens in the region. Systems provide access to improved library services by facilitating cooperation among all types of libraries and media centers within the counties included in each System area. 

As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, bringing together people and information. The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission website, http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.

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