Great Reads from Great Places

2024 Selections Announced Soon! 

North Carolina Humanities annually selects one book for young readers and one book for adults that is either written by a North Carolina author or prominently portrays stories of the state to be featured at the Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

 

The books and authors are featured on the national Great Reads from Great Places (formerly Discover Great Places Through Reading) reading list that is distributed by the Library of Congress’s Center for the Book leading up to the National Book Festival. The list is composed of books and authors from each state and territory affiliate Center for the Book to showcase the rich culture and heritage of our country. See what other affiliate Centers for the Book selected on this year’s reading list.

 

NC Humanities, home to the North Carolina Center for the Book, featured When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn and The Kudzu Queen by Mimi Herman, in programming and resources throughout 2023.

 

When Sea Becomes Sky – NC Humanities is providing 30 free book boxes for teachers and school librarians in North Carolina! Book boxes can be used for curriculum or afterschool/youth programs and include 20 copies of When Sea Becomes Sky, bookmarks, and other surprise goodies! An NC Humanities-created Reading Response Journal, where students can record their thoughts on the book, and an NC Humanities-original interactive reading comprehension game will also be included! Please use this form to request a book box by July 22, 2023.

About the Book: (Suggested age range: 8-13) Bex and Davey’s summer in the saltmarsh is different this year, thanks to the record-breaking drought. Even the fish seem listless—and each day the water level lowers farther. When they discover a mysterious underwater statue, they’re thrilled at the chance to solve the puzzle of its origin. But when they learn of a development plan that will destroy their beloved marsh, they need to act quickly. Unfortunately, sometimes progress happens whether you’re ready or not. What will it mean if Bex and Davey lose their corner of the marsh where otters frolic and dragonflies buzz—their favorite place to be siblings together?

 

 

The Kudzu Queen– Join NC Humanities on August 30, 2023 at 6:30 pm to hear author Mimi Herman and English professor Marc Cohen discuss Mimi’s book The Kudzu Queen. Mimi and Marc will spend an hour talking about The Kudzu Queen, especially invasive species, women’s roles in society, and rural life in World War II-era North Carolina. Register to attend this free, online book discussion. This program will be recorded and made available on YouTube after. Prompting book discussion questions can be accessed on Herman’s website at: https://www.mimiherman.com/book-clubs.

About the Book: (Suggested age range: 18+) Fifteen-year-old Mattie Lee Watson dreams of men, not boys. So when James T. Cullowee, the Kudzu King, arrives in Cooper County, North Carolina in 1941 to spread the gospel of kudzu—claiming that it will improve the soil, feed cattle at almost no cost, even cure headaches—Mattie is ready. Mr. Cullowee is determined to sell the entire county on the future of kudzu, and organizes a kudzu festival, complete with a beauty pageant. Mattie is determined to be crowned Kudzu Queen and capture the attentions of the Kudzu King. As she learns more about Cullowee, however, she discovers that he, like the kudzu he promotes, has a dark and predatory side. When Mattie finds she is not the only one threatened, she devises a plan to bring him down. Based on historical facts, The Kudzu Queen unravels a tangle of sexuality, power, race, and kudzu through the voice of an irresistibly delightful (and mostly honest) narrator.

 

 

2022: How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor

Georgina Hayes is desperate. Ever since her father left and they were evicted from their apartment, her family has been living in their car. With her mama juggling two jobs and trying to make enough money to find a place to live, Georgina is stuck looking after her younger brother, Toby. And she has her heart set on improving their situation. When Georgina spots a missing-dog poster with a reward of five hundred dollars, the solution to all her problems suddenly seems within reach. All she must do is “borrow” the right dog and its owners are sure to offer a reward. What happens next is the last thing she expected. With unmistakable sympathy, Barbara O’Connor tells the story of a young girl struggling to see what’s right when everything else seems wrong.

 

2022: The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myer

North Carolina, 1946. One woman. A discovery that could rewrite history. Shedding light on the hidden history of women’s activism during the post-war period, at its heart, The Tobacco Wives is a deeply human, emotionally satisfying, and dramatic novel about the power of female connection and the importance of seeking truth. Re-watch our The Tobacco Wives Book Discussion with author Adele Myers and historian Beth Nevarez.

 

 

 

 

2021: The Edge of Anything written by Nora Shalaway Carpenter

The Edge of Anything is a young adult novel set in the mountains of North Carolina. Len, a loner teen photographer, and Sage, a star athlete with a recent medical disqualification, both need college scholarships. After a chance encounter, the two girls form an unlikely friendship. Both Len and Sage are keeping secrets, that if kept hidden, could cost them everything.

To ensure access to resources that help North Carolinians engage in meaningful conversation, NC Humanities has provided the following thinking questions for our 2021 Discover Great Places Through Reading selection, to use with the book. Download the Thinking Questions.

 

 

2020:  My N.C. from A to Z written by Michelle Lanier and illustrated by Dare Coulter

My N.C. from A to Z celebrates pride of place, creates connections to North Carolina’s rich African American heritage, and teaches children about human equality. Each letter of the alphabet introduces an African American person or place who has shaped North Carolina’s arts, culture, and social-justice legacy.

 

 

 

This is a program of the North Carolina Center for the Book and is provided by NC Humanities with assistance from the State Library of North Carolina.

 

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