Good morning,
What's life without a few typos, especially when you're working in an Excel doc with 11 tabs! As some of you may have seen, on Friday we released the librarian and educator version of the 2026 Governor's Summer Learning Challenge Suggested Reading List. We
noticed a handful of books ended up in the wrong tabs so that's been corrected
In case you missed it, below is the original email with the updated file. Please read it carefully and feel free to email me directly with any questions!
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As some of you may know, the CT State Library took over the management of the Governor's Summer Learning program (GSLP) this year on the 30-year anniversary of the program.
While the GSLP is a different initiative from each public library's individual summer reading program, we do recognize how important it is for some public libraries to have the GSLP Reading List in advance to prepare for community members who utilize the public
library while reading over the summer. Attached you'll find the completed Governor's Suggested Summer Reading List as a part of the GSLP.
The list doesn't have to be a secret, but the attached excel document is meant for librarians and educators to plan and prepare for summer. A more visually appealing public document will be released closer to summer.
What can you expect to see on the list?:
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The list has been broken down by each individual grade (combining only PreK-K, 9-10, and 11-12)
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The list does not adhere to the iREAD summer reading theme
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Each list contains 15-20 titles
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Each list has suggested authors to read
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The final list will include the Nutmeg Book Award, Charter Oak Children's Book Award, and All CT Read titles.
The goal is to keep the list largely the same from year to year, making small changes to keep it up to date. Titles will be dropped from the list when they are 5 years past their initial publication date. There will no longer be a completely new list every
year. Due to this new long-term goal for the GSLP reading list, we want to stress to public libraries that every book on the list does not need to be purchased. CT is lucky to have robust opportunities for resource sharing, and all available titles will be
purchased on the Palace Project App and will be available to borrow from the Middletown Library Service Center. The final list for CT residents will also have language that clearly states the books included are suggestions, not requirements and readers are
encouraged to select books that meet their unique interests. The final list will also encourage readers to visit their local public library and enlist the help of their librarian.
Making a reading list is an art not a science and we hope that being able to access the GSLC reading list in advance of Summer will be helpful. We appreciate the librarians who offered book and author suggestions and will continue to offer opportunities for
the library community to help shape future lists.
Best regards,
Kym
