2022 Big Read and Little Read Book Announcements!

The community-wide NEA Big Read Lakeshore and Little Read Lakeshore organized by Hope College have received grants from both the nationwide NEA Big Read and the statewide Michigan Humanities in support of this coming fall’s programming, which will explore Greek mythology, the Hero’s Journey and untold hero stories through the lives of characters ranging from …

Book Recommendations you Should Read During Black History Month

As an English Education professor, I’m involved in an organization called the National Council of Teachers of English. This organization is dedicated to “improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education”. Over the past 20 years, I’ve attended its conferences, subscribed to its publications, and used the …

Let’s talk! Just reading our Big Read book isn’t enough…

During these summer months, our Big Read team has been hard at work getting ready for our upcoming virtual program this November. We are eager for our Lakeshore readers, on Hope’s campus and beyond, to read Nathaniel Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea along with our Little Read book, Galapagos Girl/Galapagueña, by Marsha Diane …

Important history lessons for today

I will never forget my eighth-grade social studies teacher Mr. Danato at Franklin Middle School in Wheaton, Ilinois. Mr. Danato stood at 5 feet 8 inches and had salt and pepper hair that fell at the nape of his neck. At the start of each class period, we would scramble to copy down pre-written notes …

2017 Book Announced!

The Big Read Holland Area will return this fall, supported for the fourth consecutive year by an award to Hope College through the NEA Big Read. This year’s program at Hope, running across the first three weeks in November, will feature Julie Otsuka’s book When the Emperor Was Divine. When the Emperor Was Divine transports …