Books to Bridge The Region

Books to Bridge The Region is an annual reading initiative each October that will encourage residents of all ages throughout parts of Northwest Indiana to read selected titles and share their reading experiences with one another. Other participating counties in the area include Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, and Starke.

Calendar of events

Books to Bridge Online Community

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Check back starting in September, 2010, for scheduled JCPL Books to Bridge events

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Books to Bridge the Region 2009

During the month of October, the Jasper County Public Library participated in “Books to Bridge the Region,” a reading initiative that will encourage residents of all ages throughout parts of Northwest Indiana to read selected titles and share their reading experiences with one another. Other participating counties in the area include Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, and Starke.

“Family Matters” was the theme for this year’s reading initiative. Throughout the month, adults were invited to read The Ride of Our Lives by Mike Leonard, children and teens were invited to read The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis and the chosen title for preschoolers and young children is A Day With Wilber Robinson by William Joyce.

The books chosen for this program focused on the common theme of the importance of family, and each library held special programs related to the selected titles. Special events and programs included book discussions at each branch of JCPL, as well as author visits and other related programs.

For more information about “Books to Bridge the Region,” contact the Rensselaer Library at 866-5881, the Wheatfield Library at 956-3774, or the DeMotte Library at 987-2221.

2008 Books to Bridge

JCPL was excited to be a part of the 2008 theme of Journeys and Quests. The theme and selections for three reading levels were selected by a committee comprised of educators, librarians and booksellers. Books were selected for their subject matter, writing quality, and reading pleasure.

As part of the program, childrens author Darcy Pattison visited Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer and spoke on her book The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman. All of our libraries got involved with a program to promote reading by taking our own Oliver around to schools and places in Jasper County. You can look at the web diary we created of his travels.

2008 titles
Adult - Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson
Young Adult - The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Easy Reader - The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman by Darcy Pattison; illustrated by Joe Cepeda

Other Community Reading Events

Jasper County Reads

Bringing our diverse communities and generations together through reading is the goal of this program which has been adopted by many cities and towns nation-wide.

Library staff work to choose a book with a theme that will appeal to a broad range of readers and for several months we will offer programs and events to promote that title and encourage discussion of it and the themes within.

In 2008, we explored the landscape of the mind with Mark Haddon's popular and award-winning novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a strange and compelling mystery, written from the point of view of an autistic teenage boy.

In 2007, the story of Antarctic explorer Earnest Shackleton was chosen and participants learned about the grueling journey and amazing WWI-era rescue described in Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition.

For more information about days and times for reading programs at each branch, call the library - DeMotte at 987-2221, Rensselaer at 866-5881, and Wheatfield at 956-3774.

Bookgroups and reading-related programs at the Jasper County Public Libraries.

For a complete list of upcoming programs and events at all branches, check out our online registration page.

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