Reaching Rural Readers

Promoting literacy in rural Minnesota.

Connecting high school readers to authors and each other.

Inspiring future teachers.

Reaching Rural Readers brings the joy of reading to rural Minnesota teens who might not have access to summer reading programs. Every month during the summer, teens, professors, and preservice teachers gather online to discuss a young adult book selection with the author. Research shows that owning books is important for developing literacy, so we provide FREE books for our summer readers. Plus, we offer engaging online discussions where we dive into the book and prepare questions for our meeting with the author.

Book discussions are facilitated by English Education majors who are coached by education professors from Bemidji State University. Our online book club provides the teacher candidates an opportunity to practice leading book discussions and work with high school students who are motivated to read.

Join us for a summer of discovery through books, discussions, and connections to other readers!