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In-house Initiatives
A Baker's Dozen
Every year since 2004, we've named thirteen of the best picture books to support family literacy and to create a love of books and reading with preschool children.
Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award
The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award is annually presented to an American poet or anthologist for the most outstanding new book of children’s poetry published in the previous year.
Letters About Literature
Letters About Literature was a nationwide writing contest that invited 4-12th-graders to write letters to authors (living or dead) explaining how the author’s work affected them. The program concluded in 2018-2019 in its 27th year.
Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize
The Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize is presented annually to the best graphic novel, fiction or non-fiction, published in the previous calendar year by a living U.S. or Canadian citizen or resident.
Podcast
2020 Schlow Library Podcast #104: King of King Court & the Pennsylvania Center for the Book
Public Poetry Project
Four poets with connections to PA are selected annually for the Public Poetry Project to have their poems featured on posters that are distributed for free to be displayed in public places so that it might become part of the daily lives of a greater number of people.
Poems from Life with Juniper Village
Poems from Life annually pairs local poets with residents of the local Juniper Village Senior Living at Brookline to share and celebrate the lives of Juniper residents with the creation and public reading of original, individualized poems.
Podcast
2020 Schlow Library Podcast #86: Celebrating National Poetry Month with the PA Center for the Book
Words of Art
Word of Art is an audio collection of ekphrastic poetry by Nicole Miyashiro that invites visitors to spend extra time in art spaces, both introspectively and conversationally, and an educational tool for group or self-led workshops.
Wordstruck: Micro Essays on Literature that Redefined You
Wordstruck invites 10-12th graders to describe how a written work has influenced them personally in 350 words or less for a monetary prize.
Library of Congress Initiatives
Great Reads from Great Places
Every year, each Center for the Book state affiliate or state library selects a book to contribute to a list representing the literary heritage of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US Virgin Islands to be distributed by the Library of Congress during the National Book Festival.
YouTube Video
2020 Title: Feed Your Mind: A Story of August Wilson by Jen Bryant
WPSU BookMark Review
2019 Title: A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet, reviewed by Karla M. Schmit
Great Lakes Reads
Great Lakes Reads is a yearly booklist selected by each state or province that borders a Great Lake.
Route 1 Reads
Route 1 Reads is an annual, themed booklist featuring titles selected by the 16 affiliate East CoastCenters for the Book that represent states that can be traveled by US Route 1.
Co-sponsored Initiatives
Centre County Reads
Centre County community organizations partner up for Centre County Reads to encourage residents to connect with each other and discuss the human condition and current issues by reading the same book.
WPSU BookMark Reviews
2020 Title: Charming Billy by Alice McDermott, reviewed by Michelle Hamme
2019 Title: Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird by Katie Fallon, reviewed by Emily Morrison
2018 Title: Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa, reviewed by Philip Chwistek; also reviewed by Ruth Canagarajah
2017 Title: Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee, reviewed by Bailey Young
2016 Title: Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbot, reviewed by Adison Godfrey
2014 Title: Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, reviewed by Hannah Burks
Penn State Reads (2013-2018)
Penn State Reads was a university and community wide common reading program.
WPSU BookMark Review
2014 Title: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, reviewed by Sanjana Marikunte; also reviewed by Nicole Miyashiro in PSU Library News.