Attention all book lovers! Here is an opportunity for ALL high school students to participate in by nominating their favorite book from a list of 20 books that have been chosen by teachers and librarians in Illinois. Although the Illinois Read for a Lifetime program will no longer be sponsored at Regina Dominican, the Abe Lincoln offers students an opportunity to read four books from the list and nominate their favorite.

Mr. Apo explains the move from Read for a Lifetime to the Abe Lincoln program, “The Read for a Lifetime program is administered by the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, but because the Governor and State Legislature have been unable to pass a budget that funds educational programs such as this one, the program has been forced to reduced its services.”

The Abraham Lincoln Award is administered by the Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA). A student must read 4 of the approved titles before March 13, 2017. In this program, students also have the chance to vote for the book they enjoyed the most. While the student receives a certificate from ISLMA, the book with the most votes will receive the award.

In order to complete the program, students must write a critique on the book they’ve read, and post them on Regina’s Library Website. Thankfully, the library has copies of each book.  Students can borrow any of these books.

Mr. Apo shares some insight on the importance of this program, “Reading from another’s perspective is an excellent way to learn empathy and what it means to live in another’s shoes; therefore it is important that a high school reading program represent a diversity of perspectives.”

From the list of this year’s 22 nominees, the books are more diverse in authorship, genre, and subject matter than previous reading programs. This year books range from, Latina, African-American, Asian-American, and Middle Eastern authors and characters. And, topics are touched upon, mental illness, physical disability, suicide, poverty, and LGBT+ equality. To see the full list, click here.

According to Mr. Apo, the list has some strong contenders. He said, “I’ve had a chance to read some of the books from this year’s nominees, and I’ve loved every book I’ve read. I would recommend, of the books I’ve read, Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman and Through the Woods by Emily Carroll.”

Happy reading everyone!