One Book For Nebraska Kids
or One Book For Nebraska Teens
Wouldn't it be great if kids all over Nebraska were talking about books? The Nebraska Library Commission & the
Regional Library Systems have a program where kids can all read and discuss the same book.
The Nebraska Library Commission and the Regional Library Systems have book bags for many, but not all, of the selected titles.
To borrow the book bags, contact the Commission Reference Services, 402-471-4016, 800-307-2665,
e-mail, or the Regional Library System
offices. For more information contact Sally Snyder,
Coordinator of Children and Young Adult Library Services, 402-471-4003, 800-307-2665. Guidelines can be found here.
These are thought-provoking books to read anytime and librarians may borrow the book sets whenever they are available and
fit into their library or school's schedule. The
Library Commission has many other book bags available - check them out here.
Hear about this program from the NCompass Live archived recording of the
"One Book For Nebraska Kids & One Book For Nebraska Teens, with 'Stick Dog'
author Tom Watson! -
Recorded Online Session".
Beginning in 2013 we select both a One Book for Nebraska Kids and a One Book for
Nebraska Teens every year. Prior to 2013 we alternated choosing titles. The "Kids" book is aimed at
grades 4-6 or so and the "Teens" title is often aimed at high school age readers.
Jump to: 2019 2018 2017 2016 2014 2013 2012 2011-12
2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08
Kids: A Long Pitch Home by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
Teens: The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds
Here are some PDF files to help you set up a book discussion:
Kids: Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by
Tommy Greenwald
Charlie Joe Jackson is in middle school and hates to read. He prides
himself on never having read a book. Ever. While he tells of his
experiences in class and with his friends, he also gives the reader 25
hints and explains how his approach has worked for him. But there are
some humorous situations and circumstances that begin to get in the way
of his continuing his record.
Teens: Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac
Named for a legendary Apache heroine, Lozen, 17, is skilled in killing
the giant, genetically engineered monsters that roam the countryside.
Now that the Cloud has caused most machinery to quit, the world is a
different place. Her mother, brother and sister are being held by the
four heads of Haven, the former prison now being used to keep the
monsters out and the slaves in. If Lozen can continue to survive, she
plans to eventually free her family.
Here are some PDF files to help you setup a book discussion:
Kids: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by
Brandon Sanderson
Alcatraz Smedry kicks off his thirteenth birthday by burning down his
foster mother’s kitchen… and it’s all downhill from there. The arrival
of a small bag of sand and a strange old man claiming to be his
grandfather pulls Alcatraz into the adventure of a lifetime, full of
magic, mayhem, and…a cult of Evil Librarians? While he’s not a “nice
person” by nature, Alcatraz also doesn’t like to be shot at, so he goes
along to help Grandpa Smedry and his band of Freelanders save the world
from the librarians. Along the way, he discovers that the world as he
knows it is a lie perpetrated by the librarians and that his tendency to
be clumsy and break things (or set them on fire) is actually a
superpower. What else will Alcatraz discover about the world and
himself? With offbeat humor, high adventure, and endearing
characterization, this book should appeal to all lovers of the
fantastical.
Teens: The Legend of Bass Reeves by Gary Paulsen
Bass Reeves is the greatest western lawman you’ve never heard of. While
many people idolize Butch Cassidy, Wyatt Earp, and Billy the Kid, very
little has been said about the former escaped slave who became the most
successful U.S. marshals of his time. Born a slave on the western
prairie, where he lived with his mother and helped wrangle wild cattle,
Bass becomes a fugitive and escapes into Indian Territory after a
dispute with his master. Bass lives with a tribe of Creeks for over 2
decades, until slavery is abolished, and is then recruited to help
capture dangerous outlaws. Gary Paulsen does a masterful job filling in
the unknown details of Bass’s life on the run and his later years as one
of the first African American federal marshals in this fictionalized
biography.
Here are some PDF files to help you setup a book discussion:
Kids: Stick Dog by Tom Watson
A humorous tale of a group of dogs who plot to steal the hot dogs and hamburgers from a family enjoying their picnic in the park.
Stick Dog is the leader and is very tolerant of the less useable ideas from his friends Karen, Poo-Poo, Mutt and Stripes.
Eventually, after many side trips and discussions, they have a better day than they ever imagined. Lots of white space and the stick
art style of drawing will appeal to readers looking for a quick yarn. This book will be enjoyed by readers in grades 3-6.
Teens: The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry
Do you like abduction, escape, and paranoia? Then you’re sure to enjoy
this speedy, suspenseful mystery. Imagine waking up and hearing “Take
her out back and finish her off.” Then the realization you don’t know
who you are. You can fight, drive, troubleshoot your situation, but your
back story is a mystery. Would you help a girl that seems totally
bewildered, out of sorts, and over her head in trouble? Ty did, running
from the guys with guns, stealing cars, and trying to stop a biological
warfare virus from destroying her family.
Here are some PDF files to help you setup a book discussion:
One Book For Nebraska Kids and Teens 2015
The program was on hiatus.
Kids: Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
Teens: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Here are some PDF files to help you setup a book discussion:
Kids: Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith
David, nicknamed Scrub, is sent from Florida, where he had all kinds of plans with his best
friend, to Washington to stay with his grandmother for the summer. She has
a bed and breakfast and he is certain a long boring summer is ahead. He
soon learns his grandmother's reputation as a "crazy lady" is well founded
-- her visitors are from other planets. Soon Scrub is helping new arrivals
to touch up their disguises and trying to keep the prying sheriff, who knows
something is off with the place, out of his grandmother's hair. Clever
touches, such as the descriptions of the many - very different - aliens add to the fun.
Certain to appeal to reluctant readers, this looks like the beginning of a wonderful series.
Teens: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Set in an alternate version of World War I, German Central Powers (Clankers) use mechanized war machines opposed by
British Entente Powers (Darwinists) who fabricate living creatures genetically. Heroes are teens Aleksander (15),
son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and Deryn (15), a Scottish girl who joins the British Air Service hoping to
serve aboard one of the floating fabricated animals. This award-winning, first-in-series novel epitomizes the
steampunk genre in young adult fiction.
Here are some PDF files to help you setup a book discussion:
Blank Confession
by
Pete Hautman
Blank Confession by Pete Hautman, is for high school
age teens. Shayne Blank (16) has walked into the police station to
confess to a murder. The detective, George Rawls, is intrigued by his
manner: calm and matter of fact. We hear Shayne's story from two points of
view: the detective, and one of his classmates, Mikey.
Here are some PDF files to help you setup a book discussion:
Activities
Author Information
http://www.petehautman.com/bio.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Hautman
http://petehautman.blogspot.com/
Discussion Questions
Book Club Kit
Book Review Submission Form
Puzzles:
Clueless Crossword
Answers
Crossword
Answers
Tile Puzzle
Answers
Word Search
Answers
Websites:
The Last Newspaper Boy in America by
Sue Corbett
This year's book is for grades 4-6 or so. Wil David, has just turned 12 and
takes over his brother's newspaper route just in time to find out the newspaper
will no longer be provided to his town, Steele. He is determined to fight it. On
another front, he decides to investigate a new game at the fair, which promises
a $1,000 prize, and he wonders what the catch is. Wil uses the library a lot and
is a good researcher. His determination won him the nickname "Wil of Steele."
Readers will be curious about the outcome of both issues.
Here are some PDF files to help you setup a book discussion:
Activities
Author Information
Discussion Questions
Book Review Submission Form
Book Club Kit
Puzzles:
Clueless Crossword,
Answers
Crossword,
Answers
Tile Puzzle,
Answers
Word Search,
Answers
Posters:
Poster, legal size
Poster, letter size
Websites:
Websites for the Book
Unwind, by
Neal Shusterman
This year's book is aimed at high school age Nebraska teens.
Unwind, by
Neal Shusterman, tells of a future America
where parents can choose to have their children between the ages of 13 - 18,
"unwound" (their body parts are harvested and given to others). Connor,
16, is shocked when he discovers his parents have decided to have him unwound.
He runs away and strives to survive, encountering others like himself.
Neal Shusterman (author of our One Book for Nebraska Teens 2010-2011, Unwind)
Visited Nebraska!
Website:
http://www.storyman.com
Video by Neal Shusterman on
Unwind:
http://www.storyman.com/books/unwind.html?animate=1 (and scroll down)
Fan page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Neal-Shusterman/75447650405
BLOG:http://nstoryman.wordpress.com
Book Club Kit
Here are some
PDF files to help you setup a book discussion:
Puzzles:
Activities
Author Information
Discussion Questions
Clueless Crossword,
Answers
Crossword,
Answers
Word Search,
Answers
Tile Puzzle,
Answer
Customizable poster, legal size
Customizable poster, letter size
Websites:
Websites for Unwind
The Green Glass Sea by
Ellen Klages
This year's book was aimed at upper elementary age Nebraska children, grades
4-6. It is about Dewey Kerrigan, 11,
who travels to New Mexico in 1943 and meets up with her father, who lives on a
secret base and is working on a top
secret project with a number of other scientists, including J. Robert
Oppenheimer.
Ellen Klages toured Nebraska in October 2009: Kimball, Scottsbluff,
Alliance, North Platte, Gothenburg, Grand Island, Hastings, Seward, Norfolk,
Prague, Clarkson, Wayne, West Point, Scribner, Louisville, Lincoln, Elmwood,
Plattsmouth, and Omaha.
Here are some PDF files to help you setup a book discussion:
Activities
Author Information
Clueless Crossword Puzzle
/
Answers
Definitive Puzzler /
Answer
Discussion Questions
Recommended Web Pages
World Search Puzzle,
/
Answers
The Book Thief
by
Markus Zusak
Narrated by Death,
The Book Thief tells of Liesel (age 10 at the beginning of the book),
who travels to Molching, Germany to live with foster parents; and the effects World War II has on the home
front in Germany, and on the people the Nazis are rounding up. To cope, Liesel begins to steal books, even before she has learned to read.
Here are some PDF files to help you setup a book discussion:
Crossword,
Answer
Cryptogram,
Answer
Discussion Questions,
Tile Puzzle,
Answer
Word Search
Answer
Rescue Josh McGuire by
Ben Mikaelsen
This year's book is aimed at fourth to sixth graders. It is about a boy who
risks a lot to try to rescue a bear cub.
Here are some
PDF files to help you setup a book discussion:
Flyer,
Details
Puzzles:
Word Search,
Word Search Answers
Clueless Crossword,
Clueless Crossword Answers
Acrostic Puzzle,
Acrostic Puzzle Answers
Acrostic Crossword Puzzle,
Acrostic Crossword Puzzle Answers
Sponsored by the Nebraska Library Commission & the
Regional Library Systems