Tag: Reading Challenges

Native American Heritage Month 2023

- Stephanie Leave a comment

November is National Native American Heritage Month. Celebrate the rich cultural traditions, histories, and contributions of Indigenous peoples in North America. Complete activities and read books written by Indigenous authors. Log your reading and activities throughout the month to earn badges. This reading challenge is live on Beanstack from November 1st to December 3, 2023. Curious what you need to do? Sign up on Beanstack today either online or on the app!

This reading challenge has four different prize bundles for different age groups: a children’s picture book bundle, a middle grade chapter book bundle, a teen book bundle, and a gift card to Birchbark Books for adults.

Looking for some ideas of what to read? Check out the following websites and book recommendations put together by our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team.

Native American Heritage

Native American Rights Fund: ‘Our Mission: The Native American Rights Fund holds governments accountable. We fight to protect Native American rights, resources, and lifeways through litigation, legal advocacy, and legal expertise.’ – from Native American Rights Fund website

Native Tribes Have Lost 99% of Their Land in the United States (video 4:26) – ‘New data set quantifies Indigenous land dispossession and forced migration’ – from video description

American Indian Library Association: ‘AILA was founded in 1979 in conjunction with the White House Pre-Conference on Indian Library and Information Services on or near Reservations. At the time, there was increasing awareness that library services for Native Americans were inadequate. Individuals as well as the government began to organize to remedy the situation.’ – from American Indian Library Association website

Teaching and Learning about Native Americans : ‘Check out the answers to some of the questions that educators frequently ask about Native Americans.’ – from the National Museum of the American Indian

The Nation’s First Concentration Camp: A piece written by Primary Selections from Special Collections which is put together by the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center housed in the Main Street location of the Davenport Public Library.

Native American Tribes & the Indian History in Davenport, IA

 

Juvenile Books

Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series by Traci Sorell

Finding My Dance by Ria Thundercloud

Indigenous People’s Day by Katrina Phillips

Living Ghosts & Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories by Dan Jones

Native Americans in History: a History Book for Kids by Jimmy Beason

Fact and Fiction of American Colonization by Tammy Gagne

We are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell

 

Young Adult

The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas by Maria Garcia Esperon

Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present by Adrienne Keene

Apple: Skin to the Core: a Memoir in Words and Pictures by Eric L. Gansworth

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Jean Mendoza

Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin

Trickster: Native American Tales: a Graphic Collection

 

Adult

A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson, the Creek Indians, and the Epic War for the American South by Peter Cozzens

The Seven Circles: Indigenous Teachings for Living Well by Chelsey Luger

We are the Middle of Forever: Indigenous Voices from Turtle Island on the Changing Earth

We Refuse to Forget: a True Story of Black Creeks, American Identity, and Power by Caleb Gale

An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States by Kyle Mays

Unworthy Republic: the Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to India Territory by Claudio Saunt

Reading Challenges for 2016

- Bianca 3 Comments

Read 2016

It is a new year and the perfect time to start a reading challenge. I struggle at times with what to choose, because there is so much out there to read, and my time is limited. A reading challenge consists of following a set of specific reading guidelines over a certain period of time. The reading criteria all depends on the kind of reading challenge it is. You can usually find a local summer or winter reading challenge at your public library where you can read for prizes. But there are other reading challenges that you do for fun or to broaden your reading repertoire. There may be a requirement on your reading challenge for a type of book you would have never picked up on your own, but for the sake of the challenge you give it a try. It could be the best or worst thing you ever read, but that is the fun of the challenge. You just never know what you will have to pick up. In this blog are a list of reading challenges that span the entire year. They are different so you can pick out one that appeals to your style or current interest.

Committing to a year long challenge is great for keeping you reading, and for guiding you on what to read next. I’m not quite sure which one I will pick, but I will be participating in one of these challenges. I hope your year in reading is a good one!

Bustle Reads Challenge 2016 Read books by women and writers of color. Includes 20 book categories to complete.

Modern Mrs Darcy 2016 Reading Challenge Read one book a month. Categories are broad and leave room for you stay in your comfort zone if you want to.

The 2016 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge  Challenge consists of 24 books and includes a downloadable chart to keep track. A wide range of books are covered including read a play and read a food memoir. Definitely a challenge that will get you out of your comfort zone.

Popsugar Ultimate  2016 Reading Challenge  If you read a lot, this may be the challenge for you! This list includes 40 different categories and you won’t find any books that you can read in a day. Unless you read very fast! But there are a slew of fun topics like read a book written by a celebrity. 

Challies 2016 Reading Challenge This challenge is pretty cool because it has a challenge for every reader! The Light Reader challenge is the first of four different challenges and consists of 13 books for about 1 book every 4 weeks. The Obsessed Reader is the fourth and most difficult, with 104 books! That’s 2 books a week folks. There are two other challenges that fall somewhere in between light and obsessed.

Daring to Live Fully Reading Challenge I liked this challenge because it gives you book suggestions under each category to get you started. There are 12 books on list which makes it very doable.

Back to the Classics Reading Challenge As the name suggests, all the books in this challenge are considered “classics”. Site gives detailed explanation of each category and one book recommendation.

2016 Diversity Reading Challenge  These are books either written by or about a person of diversity. Two categories include a book in which a character suffers from a mental illness and a book with a LGBT main character. There are 12 categories.

Intrigued? The Davenport Public Library is about to launch their own online reading challenge! It will be a low-stress, no obligation way to expand your reading horizons and maybe help you find your next great read! Watch this space for details coming next week!