Category Archives: Youth Programming

Summer Reading Program Presents: National Parks

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Adventure is the theme for this year’s Summer Reading Program. This week we’re featuring books about our National Parks. In fact, did you know that you can visit our national parks without even leaving your home? Many of our National Parks offer virtual tours. For more information, go to the National Parks website.

Perhaps you’d rather read about our national parks. Our collection contains everything from history to mystery, with romance in between. Check out the titles in our collection. Remember, adventure begins at your library!

Adult Nonfiction

BIG BURN: TEDDY ROOSEVELT AND THE FIRE THAT SAVED AMERICA by Timothy Egan (DB 69976)
HOUR OF LAND: A PERSONAL TOPOGRAPHY OF AMERICA’S NATIONAL PARKS by Terry Tempest Williams (DB 86575)
LASSOING THE SUN: A YEAR IN AMERICA’S NATIONAL PARKS by Mark Woods (DBC 12749)
LEAVE IT AS IT IS: A JOURNEY THROUGH THEODORE ROOSEVELT’S AMERICAN WILDERNESS by David Gessner (DB 101435)
LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS: MY ACADIA-TO-ZION JOURNEY THROUGH EVERY NATIONAL PARK by Conor Knighton (DB 99776)
NATURAL RIVALS: JOHN MUIR, GIFFORD PINCHOT, AND THE CREATION OF AMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS by John Clayton (DB 102008)
PROPHETS AND MOGULS, RANGERS AND ROGUES, BISON AND BEARS: 100 YEARS OF NATIONAL PARK SERVICE by Heather Hansen (DBC 03184)
RIGHTFUL HERITAGE: FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT AND THE LAND OF AMERICA by Douglas Brinkley (DB 85166, LB 08664)
TEN BEST OF EVERYTHING: NATIONAL PARKS; EIGHT HUNDRED TOP PICKS FROM PARKS COAST TO COAST (DB 73663)
THAT WILD COUNTRY: AN EPIC JOURNEY THROUGH THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF AMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS by Mark Kenyon (DB 103496)

Adult Fiction

SERIES

ANNA PIGEON MYSTERY SERIES by Nevada Barr
Track of the Cat (DB 65648, BR 21546, LB 10965)
DINOSAUR LAKE SERIES by Kathryn Meyer Griffith
Dinosaur Lake (DB 81416)
JACK PRESTER MYSTERY SERIES by Sandy Dengler
Model Murder (LB 10601)
RANGER MCINTYRE SERIES by James C. Work
UNMENTIONABLE MURDERS (DBC 13135)
VINTAGE NATIONAL PARKS by Karen Barnett
Road to Paradise (DB 98319)

STAND ALONE NOVELS

CHASING BEARS: A CANOE COUNTRY ADVENTURE by Earl Fleck (DB 51873, BR 13475)
FAMOUS FOR A LIVING by Melissa Ferguson (LB 14666)
FOOL’S PROGRESS: AN HONEST NOVEL by Edward Abbey (DB 29206)
KINGDOMTIDE by Rye Curtis (DB 98412)
LAST RANGER by Peter Heller (DB 118782)
NEST IN ASHES by Christine Goff (DBC 12981)
PUBLIC TRUST by J. M. Mitchell (DBC 03185)
TAKE ME WITH YOU by Catherine Ryan Hyde (DBC 16525)

Juvenile Nonfiction

NATIONAL MONUMENTS, NATIONAL PARKS, NATURAL WONDERS by Cynthia L. Brown (DB 69027)

Juvenile Fiction

SERIES

KATT VS. DOGG SERIES by James Patterson
Katt vs. Dogg (DB106129) Grades 3-6
MYSTERIES IN OUR NATIONAL PARKS SERIES by Gloria Skurzynski
Wolf Stalker (DB 50778) Grades 4-7
NATIONAL PARK MYSTERY SERIES by Mary Morgan
Stolen Treasures at Pictured Rocks (DBC 11122) Grades 3-6

STAND ALONE NOVELS

OUR GREAT BIG BACKYARD by Laura Welch Bush (DB 102072, BR 21094) Grades Kindergarten – 3

America’s Field Trip Contest

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The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled and the Library of Congress are excited to be participating in America’s Field Trip, part of the official celebration of the nation’s semi quincentennial – the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

America’s Field Trip is a nationwide contest inviting students in grades 3 through 12 to submit artwork, videos, or essays responding to the question “What does America mean to you?” First-place winners will have the opportunity to participate in special tours at historical, educational, and cultural sites across the country such as Yellowstone National Park, the Statue of Liberty, and the Library of Congress.

The deadline to enter is May 17, 2024. Find more information and submission guidelines at https://america250.org/FieldTrip

2024 Texas Topaz Youth Nonfiction Reading List

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Texas Library Association has created a list that highlights outstanding nonfiction published during the past three years that stimulate reading for pleasure and personal learning. This list is the Texas Topaz Youth Reading List. Here are the items from the 2024 list that are in the TBP collection.

For More Information: https://txla.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-Texas-Topaz-List_Youth-Annotated_final.pdf

GRADES K-2

BEAK BOOK by Robin Page (DB 115526)
CAVES by Nell Cross Beckerman (DB 111301)
CHAMPION CHOMPERS, SUPER STINKERS AND OTHER POEMS BY EXTRAORDINARY ANIMALS by Linda Ashman (IN PROCESS)
 HOW DO YOU SPELL UNFAIR?: MACNOLIA COX AND THE NATIONAL SPELLING BEE by Carole Boston Weatherford (DB 115677 IN PROCESS)
POLAR BEAR by Candace Fleming (DB 112429)

GRADES 3-5

ADVENTURES OF DR. SLOTH: REBECCA CLIFFE AND HER QUEST TO PROTECT SLOTHS by Suzi Eszterhas (DB 110554)
HOLDING HER OWN: THE EXCEPTIONAL LIFE OF JACKIE ORMES by Traci N. Todd (DB 112392)
JUST JERRY: HOW DRAWING SHAPED MY LIFE by Jerry Pinkney (DB 115908)

GRADES 6-8

AGENT MOST WANTED: THE NEVER-BEFORE STORY OF THE MOST DANGEROUS SPY OF WORLD WAR II by Sonia Purnell (DB 110047)
BUZZKILL: A WILD WANDER THROUGH THE WEIRD AND THREATENED WORLD OF BUGS by Brenna Maloney (DB 111662)
HOPE WINS: A COLLECTION OF INSPIRING STORIES FOR YOUNG READERS (DB 108650, LB 14334)
INAUGURAL BALLERS: THE TRUE STORY OF THE FIRST US WOMEN’S OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TEAM by Andrew Maraniss (DB 110512, LB 14383)
LONG TIME COMING: A LYRICAL BIOGRAPHY OF RACE IN AMERICA FROM ONA JUDGE TO BARACK OBAMA by Ray Anthony Shepard (DB 115751)
MONA LISA VANISHES: A LEGENDARY PAINTER, A SHOCKING HEIST, AND THE BIRTH OF A GLOBAL CELEBRITY by Nick Day (DB 116805)
MONKEY TRIAL: JOHN SCOPES AND THE BATTLE OVER TEACHING EVOLUTION by Anita Sanchez (DB 114312)

GRADES 9-12

ACCOUNTABLE: THE TRUE STORY OF A RACIAL SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT AND THE TEENAGERS WHOSE LIVES IT CHANGED by Dashka Slater (DB 116594)
AMERICAN MURDERER: THE PARASITE THAT HAUNTED THE SOUTH by Gail Jarrow (DB 110750, BR 24570)
FACE FOR PICASSO: COMING OF AGE WITH CROUZON SYNDROME by Ariel Henley (DB 106407, BR 24036)
FROM A WHISPER TO A RALLYING CRY: THE KILLING OF VINCENT CHIN AND THE TRIAL THAT GALVANIZED THE ASIAN AMERICAN MOVEMENT by Paula Yoo (DB 103862)
MONEY OUT LOUD: ALL THE FINANCIAL STUFF NO ONE TAUGHT US by Berna Anat (DB 117606 IN PROCESS)
WORK WITH WHAT YOU GOT: A MEMOIR by Zion Clark (IN PROCESS)

Get Ready for the Solar Eclipses!

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Not one but two solar eclipses are headed to Texas in 2023 and 2024!

The first, happening October 14, will be an annular eclipse. In an annular eclipse, the moon doesn’t cover the entire sun but will instead appear like a dot in front of the sun, creating a “ring of fire” effect. Some of the cities in Texas that will see the annular eclipse include Midland, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi. Other cities will get to experience a partial eclipse on the 14th. The next eclipse, on April 8, 2024, will be a total eclipse. Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin (especially the Hill Country) will be in the path of totality, meaning that those cities will get to experience the moon completely covering the sun. Plenty of other cities across Texas will once again experience a partial eclipse.

There are a lot of ways to experience this rare opportunity, from reading books to participating in citizen science projects to making eclipse-related arts and crafts. One citizen science project we want to highlight is the Eclipse Soundscapes project. For both the annular and total eclipses, you can record audio, or record written observations using all your senses of what happens during the eclipse and submit your findings to the Eclipse Soundscapes team. For more information and how to participate, visit https://eclipsesoundscapes.org/.

Remember that safety comes first when observing any eclipse. Never look directly at the sun without protective eclipse glasses; you can also use an indirect method of viewing the eclipse like a camera obscura (also known as a pinhole camera).

Books to read:

AMERICAN ECLIPSE: A NATION’S EPIC RACE TO CATCH THE SHADOW OF THE MOON AND WIN THE GLORY OF THE WORLD by David Baron (DBC13007)

MASK OF THE SUN: THE SCIENCE, HISTORY, AND FORGOTTEN LORE OF ECLIPSES by John Dvorak (DB88411)

ECLIPSE CHASER: SCIENCE IN THE MOON’S SHADOW by Ilima Loomis (DB109047). For grades 5-8.

ASTRONOMY LAB FOR KIDS: 52 FAMILY-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES by Michelle Nichols (DB108159). For grades 3-6.

Websites to visit:

Announcing: Youth Newsletter and Website

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Texas Talking Book Program Youth Services Header with Logo

The Texas Talking Book Program is excited to offer a new monthly newsletter just for our youth patrons!

Any patron 18 and younger (or their caregiver) can sign up to receive a youth-specific newsletter each month that will include book lists, BARD tips and tricks, activities, and other fun things. We encourage you to choose the email format because of paper shortages, but the newsletter will also be available in large print and Braille as needed. A Spanish version is also available.

You can sign up here: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/tbp/youthservices

Or you can call us at 1-800-252-9605

By signing up you’ll be the first to know about new youth service offerings and events!