One Community Reads 2023

About One Community Reads

A One Community Reads program aims to raise awareness to a community or regional challenge through a book selection that supports community discussion, awareness, and action. The theme for One Community Reads 2023 is “The World is Your Garden” and focuses on community gardens and ways to build community and fight food insecurity within our community.

Adult Fiction Title

The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson

Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakota people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn’t return from checking his traps. Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato – where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they’ve inherited.

Adult Non-Fiction Title

A Culinary History of Iowa: Sweet Corn, Pork Tenderloins, Maid-Rites & More by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

At the world-famous Iowa State Fair, a dizzying array of food on a stick commands a nationwide cult following. From Maid-Rites to the moveable feast known as RAGBRAI, discover the remarkable stories behind Iowa originals.

Young Adult Title

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident.

Youth Title

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner

Up in the garden, the world is full of green–leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthworms, snakes, and other animals that make a garden their home. Discover the wonder and activity that lie hidden between the stalks, under the shade of leaves, and down in the dirt.

Events

Date/Time	Event
Mar 22	Wonderful World of Worms! 9:45 am - 10:45 am 5 & Under Kids One Community Reads
Mar 25	Family Drop In! Dirt Cup Science & Garden BINGO 11:00 am - 1:00 pm 5 & Under Family Grades K-6 Kids One Community Reads
Mar 25	Super Saturday: Mini Zen Garden 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Teen Central One Community Reads Teen
Mar 28	Spend Smart. Eat Smart. 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm Meeting Room B Adults One Community Reads
Mar 29	How to Sew: a Bucket Hat - Registration CLOSED 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Meeting Room D Adults Age 14 & Up Makerspace One Community Reads

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OCR Challenge

Read, attend programs, and complete activities throughout March and April. Log your progress in Beanstack and earn 5 raffle tickets for every badge you complete. Enter your tickets for a chance to win:

$50 Sherbondy’s Gift Card
Cactus & Succulent Starter Kit
Hortiki Plants Kids Organic Garden Kit
Pottawattamie Conservation Annual Parks Pass

This challenge is open to patrons of all ages. Activities must be logged from March 1-April 30. Winners will be contacted on May 1st.

To register, download the Beanstack app on your device or register online at councilbluffslibrary.beanstack.org.

Where to Get the Book

In addition to the copies you can find on display near the Circulation Desk, the Library has multiple copies of The Seed Keeper, A Culinary History of Iowa, and Counting by 7s available for checkout through the Reference Desk. Throughout our One Community Reads, copies will be available for checkout with a three week loan period. Please contact the Reference Desk to check on availability.

If physical copies are not available, please note that The Seed Keeper is always available digitally through Hoopla, both as an e-book and as an e-audiobook.

Digital copies of A Culinary History of Iowa can be found through Hoopla as an e-book.

Digital copies of Counting by 7s can be found through Hoopla as an e-audiobook and as an e-book through Bridges/OverDrive.

Digital Copies of Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt can be found through Hoopla as an e-book.

Author Visits

Holly Goldberg Sloan, author of Counting by 7s, will be joining us on Tuesday, March 14. Join us in Meeting Room B at 7 p.m.

Diane Wilson, author of The Seed Keeper, will be speaking at the Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center Tuesday, April 11 at 7 p.m.

Darcy Dougherty Maulsby, author of A Culinary History of Iowa, will be speaking at the Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center Tuesday, April 25 at 7 p.m.

Kate Messner, author of Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, will be joining us on Thursday, April 27. Join us in Meeting Room B at 6 p.m.

Library Discussions

Want to participate in a book discussion but don’t want to organize and plan one? Join us for our Library-led books discussions throughout March and April.

The Seed Keeper Book Discussion

Tuesday, April 18 at 12 p.m. in Meeting Room A (Feel free to bring a sack lunch to this Lunch Bunch discussion.)

In addition to the copies you can find on the shelf and place a hold on, the Library has multiple copies of The Seed Keeper available for checkout through the Reference Desk. Throughout our One Community Reads, copies will be available for checkout with a three week loan period. Please contact the Reference Desk to check on availability.

If physical copies are not available, please note that The Seed Keeper is always available digitally through Hoopla, both as an e-book and as an e-audiobook.