Once Upon a Town by Bob Greene is Nebraska’s reading choice
for the
2014 One Book One Nebraska statewide
reading program. In this nonfiction story, bestselling author and
award-winning journalist Bob Greene goes out in search of "the best
America there ever was," and finds it in a small Nebraska town few
people pass through today-a town where Greene discovers the echoes
of a love story between a country and its sons. During World War II,
American soldiers from every city and walk of life rolled through
North Platte, NE, on troop trains en route to their ultimate
destinations in Europe and the Pacific. This small town, wanting to
offer the servicemen warmth and support, transformed its modest
railroad depot into the North Platte Canteen. Every day of the year,
every day of the war, the Canteen-staffed and funded entirely by
local volunteers-was open from five a.m. until the last troop train
of the day pulled away after midnight. Once Upon a Town tells the
story of how this plains community of only 12,000 people provided
welcoming words, friendship, and baskets of food and treats to more
than six million GIs by the time the war ended.
The One Book One Nebraska reading program, sponsored by the Nebraska
Center for the Book, is entering its tenth year. It encourages
Nebraskans across the state to read and discuss one book, chosen
from books written by Nebraska authors or that have a Nebraska theme
or setting. A committee of the Nebraska Center for the Book selected
this book from a list of 71 titles nominated by 141 Nebraskans from
across the state. The Nebraska Center for the Book board announced
the choice for the 2014 One Book One Nebraska at the Celebration of
Nebraska Books on October 26 in Lincoln.
Libraries across Nebraska will join other literary and cultural
organizations in planning book discussions, activities, and events
that will encourage Nebraskans to read and discuss this book.
Support materials to assist with local reading/discussion activities
will be available after January 1, 2014 at
http://onebook.nebraska.gov.
Updates and activity listings will be posted on the One Book One
Nebraska Facebook group at
http://www.facebook.com/onebookonenebraska.
One Book One Nebraska is sponsored by Nebraska Center for the Book,
Humanities Nebraska, Nebraska Library Association, and Nebraska
Library Commission. The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at
and supported by the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together
the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers,
printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the
book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest
in books, reading, and the written word.
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. For more information,
contact
Mary Jo Ryan, 402-471-3434 or 800-307-2665,
www.centerforthebook.nebraska.gov or
http://www.facebook.com/NebraskaCenterfortheBook
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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.