This September – November, One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern (The One Book Project) is encouraging the entire community to share experiences related to a single book’s themes through discussions, educational programming, and entertainment. The read is meant to pull a community together, cross cultural divides, and enhance understanding of our diversity, all while supporting literacy. Are […]

______________________________________________________________ About the Book A revelatory account of a kind of poverty so extreme, and so often hidden, most Americans don’t think it exists. Kathryn Edin teamed up with Luke Shaefer to make a surprising discovery: the number of American families living on $2.00 per person, per day, has skyrocketed to one and a half million […]

1st One Book, One Bakersfield Read March 21st – May 15th, 2002 Organized by community volunteer, Jillian Stump-Fritch, the first One Book Project engaged Kern County Library and included a wide variety of community programming and funding partners. The One Book Project was modeled on One Book Chicago. Following Seattle, Chicago, and Los Angeles, Bakersfield was one […]

2nd One Book, One Bakersfield Read July – October, 2002 Community volunteer, Jillian Fritch and the One Book Project steering team, organized the 2nd read. This One Book coincided with the California State Read of The Grapes of Wrath, for which the Kern County Library received 8 mini-grants at 8 library branches throughout Kern County. This read also coincided […]

3rd One Book, One Bakersfield Read October, 2002 – May, 2003 The One Book Project was led community member Jillian Fritch and the One Book steering committee. An accompanying juvenile title, Basher Five-Two by Scott O’Grady, was available as well. The Kick Off was at the Kern County Airport.

4th One Book, One Bakersfield Read May – October, 2013 The One Book Project was led community member Jillian Fritch and the One Book steering committee. An accompanying juvenile title, I Am An American by Jerry Stanley, was available as well. The Kick Off was at Bakersfield High School, where Jillian Fritch announced that the leadership of the […]

5th One Book, One Bakersfield Read October, 2003 – January, 2014 In the highly effective pairing of Tortilla Curtain along with juvenile companion title, Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, the fifth One Book Project dealt with themes and stories about a family’s migration to California from Mexico. Both authors came to Bakersfield to present a conversation. The One Book […]

6th One Book, One Bakersfield Read March – May, 2004 The One Book Project was lead by the Kern County Library and the Kern County Superintendent of Schools.

7th One Book, One Bakersfield Read February – March, 2005 The One Book Project was lead by the Kern County Library and the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. This One Book was the first ever selected through community balloting. Fahrenheit 451 received the top vote, and the community was very excited about seeing author Ray Bradbury present the […]