Celebrate Your Freedom To Read With Banned Books Week!

Posted on September 28, 2020 by casnoble

Every year, certain books are challenged in public schools and libraries for a number of different reasons, including profanity, vulgarity, LGBTQIA+ content, references to magic and witchcraft, going against “family values/morals, being sensitive, controversial, or politically charged, and so on. In order to inform the public about this censorship, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom compiles a list of the top challenged books based on reports and media stories.

566 books were targeted in 2019, and of those books the most challenged are listed below. You can check all of them out in at least one format from Abbot Public LIbrary, and many are in multiple physical or digital formats. Some even have movies or TV shows based on them, which you can reserve in DVD format for curbside pickup, currently with no charge!

George by Alex Gino (print, Overdrive/Libby app ebook and e-audiobook, hoopla e-audiobook)

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin (print and Overdrive/Libby app ebook)

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, illustrated by EG Keller (Overdrive/Libby app ebook and hoopla ebook)

Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg, illustrated by Fiona Smyth (print and hoopla ebook)

Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack, illustrated by Stevie Lewis (print only)

I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas (print only)

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (regular print, large print, book on CD, related TV show Seasons 1-3, and Overdrive/Libby app ebooks)

Drama written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier (print and Overdrive/Libby app ebooks)

The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (regular print, large print, book on CD, DVD, and Overdrive ebook and e-audiobook)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (large print, book on CD, DVD, and Overdrive ebook and e-audiobook)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (print, DVD, and Overdrive ebook and e-audiobook)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (print, book on CD, DVD, and Overdrive ebook and e-audiobook)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (print, book on CD, DVD, and Overdrive ebook and e-audiobook)
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (print, book on CD, DVD, and Overdrive ebook and e-audiobook)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (print, book on CD, DVDs Part 1 and Part 2, and Overdrive ebook and e-audiobook)

All the Harry Potter books are also available on hoopla in different languages in ebook and audiobook format.

And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson illustrated by Henry Cole (print and hoopla e-audiobook)

Celebrate your freedom to read what you choose by reserving the above titles for Curbside Pickup (please read about the process here for reserving titles and setting up an appointment to pick them up), or checking them out online through our digital services.

Find out more about Banned Books Week on the American Library Association website or the Banned Book Week website, including the history of Banned Books Week, virtual events taking place this week, the Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books or the decade, and more!

Reading on Broadway

Posted on July 11, 2020 by casnoble

Pull up a front row seat as the curtain opens…to reveal these fantastic scripts and stories made for the stage!

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Lorraine Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun in 1959. Set in Chicago, it is the story of a black working class family struggling with economic pressures and living in a small apartment. Sadly, the grandfather has died, and they must carefully decide what to do with the life insurance money. They choose to invest in a home, but are met with brutal racism as it is in a white community. The title is a quote from the Langston Hughes poem Harlem.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child created by J.K. Rowling and written by Jack Thorne

Harry Potter leaves the pages for the stage in this script for the eighth volume featuring the famous wizard. Years after the end of Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione are now sending their own children to Hogwarts.

Hamilton: the Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda

This hit Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, who was the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. Miranda was inspired by Ron Chernow’s biography, Alexander Hamilton.

Accessible on Overdrive as an ebook and audiobook. You can also listen to the Original Broadway Soundtrack on hoopla.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

First in the Wicked Years Series, this highly imaginative portrayal of L. Frank Baum’s Wicked Witch of the West was adapted to become a popular Broadway play. Set before Dorothy’s arrival, Elphaba (a.k.a. The Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (later known as Glinda) are good friends but unfortunately love the same man. Familiar characters emerge as this interesting perspective of the tale unfolds. The play won multiple Tony Awards and a Grammy.

Listen to the 2003, 2013, and 15th Anniversary 2019 soundtracks on hoopla!

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

This play opened in 1947 and takes place in New Orleans. Blanche DuBois was going through financial hardships and moved to New Orleans to live with her sister, Stella, and her husband, Stanley. Blanche becomes involved with Stanley’s friend, Mitch, until rumors come to light about why Blanche was fired from her teaching position and how her husband died. There are disturbing scenes depicting cruelty in the flawed characters. This play won many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awards.

Accessible as an ebook and audiobook.

The Importance of being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

The play first premiered in 1895 in London. It was Wilde’s most successful play. Written by the king of the epigram, it abounds with humor. The story is about Algernon Moncrieff and his good friend, Jack Worthing. Jack wants to propose to Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolyn, but has told her his name was Earnest, and she seems to love him more for that fact. Meanwhile, Algernon is intrigued to meet Jack’s niece, Cecily, in the country, and Cecily thinks Algernon’s name is Earnest. This is a light hearted romantic comedy.

Accessible as an ebook and audiobook.

Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Written as a monologue and starring the writer, this funny and moving story debuted in 2013 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before going on to theatre in London, and eventually becoming a BBC series which she won a Golden Globe for Best Television Series. She is engaged with the audience during the story, sharing her events with us.

If you want to be swept away in even more screenplays, check out our The Majesty and Magic of Live Performance post, as well as this drama collection on Overdrive/Libby as well as these screenplays, drama movies, musicals, and soundtracks on hoopla.

Read J. K. Rowling’s Tale of The Ickabog Online And Compete To Have Your Illustrations Published!

Posted on June 3, 2020 by casnoble

J. K. Rowling is best known for her Harry Potter series, which you can check out online with your Abbot Public Library card through Overdrive or on the Libby app. She has even published some adult books under the name Robert Galbraith. Now she is back with a children’s book she originally shared only with her children: The Ickabog. Set to be officially published in November, she is posting her story a few chapters at a time on The Ickabog website.

Not only can you read the story for free online, bit by bit, but you can compete to have your illustrations printed in the published book! Children between seven and twelve years old are invited to have a parent or guardian submit their drawings or paintings for them in the official competition run by the author’s publishers. Find out more about how to enter the competition here.

Each week when a new chapter (or two or three) is published, J. K. Rowling gives suggestions for what to draw to go along with the text, but she wants kids to let their imaginations run wild! She won’t be judging the competition – the publishers will. You can still share your artwork on Social Media with the hashtag #TheIckabog. Feel free to post your artwork on the Abbot Public Library Facebook page!

If you miss reading Rowling’s Harry Potter series, check out the related items in Abbot Public Library’s Overdrive and hoopla collections of fact books, quiz books, cookbooks, music, and even a movie, including: