Easter Holiday Hours

All library locations will be closed on Sunday, March 31. We will resume regular hours on Monday, April 1.

Grow Your Shelf

A Diverse Reading Program

April 1 through 30
All ages. 

Grow Your Shelf encourages you to pick books and media that you wouldn't normally choose to read. Challenge yourself to read something new to broaden your understanding of topic or theme, whether that's a different genre, book, or author whose experience differs from yours.

Be brave and daring and read from a bigger. world-sized collection of books! You just might find your next favorite genre or author. 

Participation is Easy!

Come in and grab a reading log at any Library location. 

Once you start, pick up a seed packet as a gift at the Youth and Teen Desk or second floor Information Desk. 

This self-led reading program is open to all ages with a valid District card. 

Show off your Garden

As you finish a new book, come to any location, and fill out an entry form for your chance to win a great prize! One completed book equals one entry slip. You can also add a flower to our display with the name and author or the book to share with others.

Ideas to Help You Grow

Read a Book that is...

  • On a "banned" or "challenged" list
  • By an author from another country or translated from another language
  • About a different culture other than your own
  • A different genre than your usual
  • Representing disabilities by an author who is disabled
  • A graphic novel
  • Published before you were born
  • By an author who is a different gender than you 
  • A cookbook from another culture
  • In a format different than how you usually read (i.e., audiobook, ebook, etc.)
  • By a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) author
  • A book recommended by Palatine Library staff 
  • A collection of poems 

Need some inspiration to get started?

Here are some book recommendations from our librarians! Titles are available through CCS libraries in our catalog.

By an author from another country or translated from another language

  • The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. Three generations of a South American family deal with tragedies and triumphs. Translated from Spanish. Adult fiction. 
  • Last Witnesses by Svetlana Alexievich. An oral history of children's experiences in World War II across Russia in a moving book that reveals the personal stories of a generation that grew up with the trauma of war. Translated from Russian. Adult nonfiction.
  • Recommended by Carly 

By an author who is a different gender than you

  • The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas. Teo, 17-year-old child of the goddess of birds, must compete in five mysterious trials to keep the evil Obsidian gods at bay. Teen fiction.
  • Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon. Taking from their own experiences as a gender non-conforming artist, Vaid-Menon shows us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. Teen nonfiction.
  • Recommended by Natalie

By a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) author

  • Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston. 13-year-old Amari joins the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs to fight an evil magician and search for the truth about her brother's disappearance. Grades 3 - 7. Fiction. 
  • While I Was Away by Waka T. Brown. In this moving memoir that reads like a novel, 12-year-old Japanese American Waka intentionally ignores a laundry request from her mother. The consequence? Five months in Tokyo with her strict grandmother to master Japanese and learn about her roots. Grades 5 - 9. Nonfiction. 
  • Recommended by Tracie

Representing disabilities by an author who is disabled

  • Happy Again by Igor Plohl. Lucas is a happy lion. One day Lucas falls and hurts his spine. Can Lucas be happy again? Ages 4 - 8. Fiction. 
  • Not So Different by Shane Burcaw. Author Shane Burcaw answers common questions he receives about living with a disability in a friendly, funny way. Ages 6 - 9. Nonfiction.
  • Recommended by Brooke

Win a Prize

The more books you read, the more chances to win! At the beginning of May, we will pull five winners (three at the Main Library and one from each Branch) from the entry slips submitted all month long. Winners receive a $25 gift card, generously provided by Friend's of Palatine Library! Entry slips are accepted from April 1 through April 30 during regular Library hours. 

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