Reading Programs


Welcome to our reading programs page! Here you will find all of the programs we have to offer; whether it be your kids, or yourself, we have programs for all ages. So what are you waiting for? Time to dive in and see where reading can take you and your family!

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One Book Big Sky | Summer 2023

Mark your calendars! One Book Big Sky is back! Come June 21st 6PM to the Library & meet Elise Atchison, author of “Crazy Mountain” and winner of The Eludia Award. “Crazy Mountain” chronicles a rapidly changing place and community through the diverse and conflicting stories of the people who live in a fictional mountain valley in Montana over nearly half a century (1970-2015). As newly built roads carve through the primal wild, and the rural landscape transforms into subdivisions, McMansions and resorts, conflicts escalate between locals and newcomers, developers and environmentalists, the wealthy and the homeless. What does it mean to lose a place we love, and what does it mean to gain from it? Perhaps it depends on perspective.

Highlights

Connect With Community

Special Author Visit

Enjoy a Fantastic Book!


One Book Big Sky (Fall 2022)

Don't miss out on the "One Book Big Sky" book, And It Will Be a Beautiful Life by Craig Lancaster.

And It Will Be a Beautiful Life is the story of Max Wendt, a pipeline inspector, and his rapidly changing family.

It is a 2022 High Plains Book Award fiction finalist, and it was also a finalist in the 2022 Best Book Awards and the 2022 International Book Awards, both of those honors in the category of literary fiction.

Several copies are available in the library, so come check one out and join us next month!

The visit from Craig Lancaster is scheduled for September 27th at 6:30 in the library. We hope you'll join us for this fun book club!

Highlights

Connect With The Community

Special Author Visit

Enjoy a Fantastic Book!



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One Book Big Sky - Burning The Breeze

We are very excited to announce the book for this winter's "One Book Big Sky," Burning the Breeze: Three Generations of Women in the American West, written by Lisa Hendrickson

In the middle of the Great Depression, Montana native Julia Bennett arrived in New York City with no money and an audacious business plan: to identify and visit easterners who could afford to spend their summers at her brand new dude ranch near Ennis, Montana. Julia, a big-game hunter whom friends described as “a clever shot with both rifle and shotgun,” flouted gender conventions to build guest ranches in Montana and Arizona that attracted world-renowned entertainers and artists.

Bennett’s entrepreneurship, however, was not a new family development. During the Civil War, her widowed grandmother and her seven-year-old daughter—Bennett’s mother—set out from Missouri on a ten-month journey with little more than a yoke of oxen, a covered wagon, and the clothes on their backs. They faced countless heartbreaks and obstacles as they struggled to build a new life in the Montana Territory.

Burning the Breeze is the story of three generations of women and their intrepid efforts to succeed in the American West. Excerpts from diaries, letters, and scrapbooks, along with rare family photos, help bring their vibrant personalities to life.

Books are available on a first-come basis. A visit from Lisa is scheduled for June 14th at 6:30 in the library
We hope you'll join us in this fun "One Book Big Sky" read...the more the merrier.

Highlights

Connect With Community

Special Author Visit

Enjoy a Fantastic Book!



Summer Reading Program!

We are excited to invite you and your child(ren) to attend this summer’s programs that are scheduled for the 2022 Summer Reading Program “Oceans of Possibilities!!!” The reading program is intended for children Kindergarten - 4th grade and will be every Tuesday at 4:00, from June 22nd-July 27th. All information and schedules can be viewed & downloaded below:

Bean Stack link
Summer Reading Program Calendar

Highlights

Children interacting with other kids their age

Crafts and Snacks

Special programs and exciting guests!


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Young Adult & Adult Summer Reading Programs

This summer challenge yourself through the library’s summer reading program (SRP). 

Join us this summer for the MS/HS summer reading program, 'Oceans of Possibilities'. We are going to use the new app - Beanstack - to track the summer reading program.

Download it on June 13th!

Please reach out if you have any questions.

Stop by the library in June for more details or download it:

Bean Stack link


Books For Babies

It is never too early to begin sharing books with your baby. Reading to your baby will help him or her learn more quickly. It will also increase the loving bond between you! Your baby will love sharing books with you!

Books for Babies is a national literacy program that acquaints parents of newborns with the important role they play in the development of their children. Parents are presented with a Books for Babies kit containing a board book for baby, baby’s first library card, a onesie and a variety of brochures with reading tips and early literacy information from nationally-recognized educational organizations.

Visit the Big Sky Community Library and receive your kit OR pick one up for the new MOM


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Story Time

Story Time is Back! 🙂
Every Monday at 10:30 in the library, we have a storytime that's perfect for your toddlers and pre-schoolers.  Each week a special theme is presented, incorporating different books, age-appropriate crafts, and snacks to enjoy. A perfect  way to get your child interacting with other kids their age.  Kindles, i-pads and a variety of other learning tools are introduced as well, exposing your child to all types of learning.  Please join us!

Highlights

Children interacting with other kids their age

Fun and Interactive Storytelling

Crafts and Snacks


1,000 Books Before Kindergarten


  • Application: Just fill it out and bring it in to the library.
  • Brochure: Find out more about the program and how it works.
  • Early Learning Concepts: A great resource to help find the perfect book to help your child learn crucial skills needed for Kindergarten readiness.
  • Parent Resources: Bibliography to help parents with read-aloud strategies.
  • Website Resources: A list of helpful websites that give ideas for reading aloud.
  • Reading Incentives: A list of the incentives for earmarking each 100 book reading success.
  • Reading Logs: Keep track of the books you read. After every 100 books bring your log into the library for a prize. Click on the links below and print out your reading logs
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One Book Big Sky - January 25th 6:00pm

Highlights

Connect With Community

Special Author Visit

In late March 1944, as Stalin’s forces push into Ukraine, young Emil and Adeline Martel must make a terrible decision: Do they wait for the Soviet bear’s intrusion and risk being sent to Siberia? Or do they reluctantly follow the wolves—murderous Nazi officers who have pledged to protect “pure-blood” Germans?

The Martels are one of many families of German heritage whose ancestors have farmed in Ukraine for more than a century. But after already living under Stalin’s horrifying regime, Emil and Adeline decide they must run in retreat from their land with the wolves they despise to escape the Soviets and go in search of freedom.

Caught between two warring forces and overcoming horrific trials to pursue their hope of emigrating to the West, the Martels’ story is a brutal, complex, and ultimately triumphant tale that illuminates the extraordinary power of love, faith, and one family’s incredible will to survive and see their dreams realized.

Several books are available in the library and books are available in ebook and audio versions in OverDrive. So....you still have plenty of time!

The visit from Mark Sullivan is scheduled for September 28th at 6:30 in the library. We hope you'll join us for this fun book club!

Enjoy a Fantastic Book!


One Book Big Sky (Spring 2021- Canceled)

We are very excited to announce the book for this winter's "One Book Big Sky," Sold on a Monday, written by Kristina McMorris. An unforgettable historical fiction novel, inspired by a stunning piece of history from Depression-Era America.

One Book Big Sky CANCELLED! We are very disappointed to announce our "One Book Big Sky," Sold on a Monday, written by Kristina McMorris is cancelled. We just received an e-mail from Kristina's agent stating "With Covid number spiking across the country and the new variant causing concern, Kristina just doesn't feel comfortable flying in June." The FOL board and I made an executive decision to not reschedule the program as we will be soon starting our summer "One Book Big Sky" read which we will announce in June. We appreciate your understanding.

*A special thanks to the Glore Fund and The Big Sky Resort Tax District for sponsoring the "One Book Big Sky " programming.

Highlights

Connect With The Community

Special Author Visit

Enjoy a Fantastic Book!



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One Book Big Sky (Summer 2019)

We our excited to announce our third One Book Big Sky Title! For our third book title, we are reading Don't Say Anything to Anybody: A German World War II Girlhood by Brigette Z. Yearman with Anika Hanisch (Bozeman author) Fifteen copies are available on a first come basis with hopes several of you will participate.

Plans are to have the author, Anika Hanisch, come for a visit in September 18th, at 6:30pm.We hope you'll take part in this fun event.

Pick up your copy today and join in the summer reading fun!

Highlights

Connect With The Community

Special Author Visit



One Book Big Sky (Winter 2019)

We are very excited to announce the book for this winter's "One Book Big Sky," The Carry Home by Bozeman author, Gary Ferguson. The Carry Home is both a moving celebration of the outdoor life shared between Ferguson and his wife Jane, who died tragically in a canoeing accident in northern Ontario in 2005, and a chronicle of the mending, uplifting power of nature. Confronting his unthinkable loss, Ferguson set out to fulfill Jane’s final wish: the scattering of her ashes in five remote, wild locations they loved and shared. The act of the carry home allows Ferguson the opportunity to ruminate on their life together as well as explore deeply the impactful presence of nature in all of our lives.
The Carry Home offers a powerful glimpse into how the natural world can be a critical prompt for moving through cycles of immeasurable grief, how bereavement can turn to wonder, and how one man rediscovered himself in the process of saying goodbye. 

Highlights

Connect With The Community

Special Author Visit



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One Book Big Sky (2018)

On Wednesday, September 12th, the FOL sponsored the first-ever One Book Big Sky featuring the book Beneath the Scarlet Sky. Local author, Mark Sullivan joined us to discuss his experience with writing and researching the book, as well as the future plans for this true-life story. Close to 50 patrons attended the event, eager to hear about the fascinating life of Pino Lella. If you have not read the book, it's an unbelievable story of resilience and heroism told from the perspective of young Italian boy during WW II. Highly recommended by all who attended. The book had an all-time circulation check-out of 70 times. Thanks to all who participated! Watch for the next "One Book Big Sky" coming out in January, 2019.

Highlights

Connect With The Community

Special Author Visit