What if everybody in South Dakota read the same book? Once again, the South Dakota Humanities Council is partnering with public libraries and reading groups across the state to get people to read and talk about this year's One Book South Dakota selection, The Whistling Season by author Ivan Doig.
The Whistling Season , winner of the Alex Award - Adult Books of Interest to Young Adults, is set in Marais Coulee, Montana, in 1909. In the year since their mother died, 13-year-old Paul Milliron and his younger brothers have all found ways to cope. When their attentive but overworked father spies a newspaper ad for a housekeeper willing to trek from Minneapolis to Montana ("Can't cook, but doesn't bite," reads the headline), the widow from Minneapolis and her brother -- soon to become the new school teacher -- change lives in unexpected ways.
Paul narrates The Whistling Season from his perspective nearly 40 years later as the state superintendent who must decide the future of Montana's one-room schools. Adult Paul intervenes only when necessary, to tell the reader what the boy is still learning: that some of our greatest influences are people we loved for just a season.
You or your book club can participate in this state-wide program. You can reserve your copy of The Whistling Season at any Siouxland Libraries branch or by clicking on this link for the book in the Library Catalog.
If you would like to participate in a book discussion group after you've read The Whistling Season, Siouxland Libraries is hosting 2 book discussions led by Humanities Council scholars:
Contact Librarian Jane Taylor at 367-8140 to register and get a copy of the book.
Link to book reviews from a variety of sources or from Amazon.com
