Chapter 250: Reading America’s Story Together is a community book club that explores the American Revolution through shared reading, discussion, and film. The youth group, open to participants ages eight through fourteen, will meet on Thursday, February 26th, at 5:00 p.m. at the Condit Branch, with a virtual option available via Zoom.

This month’s selections are “Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak,” by Kay Winters and “Love Thy Neighbor: The Tory Diary of Prudence Emerson,” by Ann Turner. In Colonial Voices, an errand boy races through Boston to spread secret news of rebellion, offering readers a vivid look at colonial trades and opinions as tension rises toward the Boston Tea Party. In Love Thy Neighbor, a young Tory girl in 1775 Boston watches friends become enemies as revolution brews, torn between her family’s loyalty to the King and the world she’s losing. Through Prudence’s eyes, the American Revolution unfolds from a rarely told Loyalist perspective.

Before the discussion, participants will watch a 26-minute preview from the upcoming 2025 PBS documentary “American Revolution,” by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt. The preview explores religion and religious diversity in the 18th century, offering insight into how faith helped shape the nation’s early history.

Copies of the books will be available at the Condit Branch beginning in January. For more information, please contact the Library at 815-339-2038. To participate via Zoom, please register via Zoom: https://shorturl.at/dEreQ.