The One Book Project is a countywide reading and discussion project that fosters empathy, promotes awareness, and strengthens the fabric of our community by exploring the themes in this year’s One Book selection, All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung.
About the Fall 2024 Primary Title
All You Can Ever Know
by Nicole Chung
A heartfelt memoir about the author’s experience as a Korean American adoptee raised by white parents in a predominantly white town. Chung shares her journey of grappling with questions of identity, belonging, and race, as well as her search for her birth family. As she becomes a mother herself, she seeks to understand the complexities of her adoption, family, and cultural heritage, exploring what it truly means to be connected to others. It’s a poignant exploration of family, identity, and self-discovery.
FOR ALL GENRES & AGES
All You Can Ever Know & One Book companion titles are available for checkout in print, eBook, eAudiobook, & book on CD from the Kern County Library.
Inconvenient Daughter
The All- American Teen Graphic Novel
Monstorus 
My TreePicture Book
Eyes that Weave the World’s Wonders
A Sky of Paper StarsOur Partners
The One Book Project is presented by Kern County Library and California State University, Bakersfield, Office of the Provost.
A special thanks to our community partners for participating in our One Book Project effort.
Bakersfield College
Student Activities Office
California State University of Bakersfield
Office of the Provost
Department of English
General Education Program
Sigma Tau Delta
Walter W. Stiern Library
Forever Young K-POP Events
Jamison Children’s Center
Kern Bridges Youth Homes
Kern Council Teachers of English
Kern Genealogical Society
Kern County Human Services
Kern County Network for Children Services
Koinonia Family Services
North of the River Recreation & Parks District
POVMU Films
Sign up for the One Book Project Reading Challenge through Beanstack.
Record reading sessions and manage family accounts to earn digital badges and prizes!
The challenge starts October 1, 2024 and ends November 30, 2024.
One Book Premiere Events
The One Book Kickoff Event
What I’d Like You To Know About Adoption and Foster Care Panel Discussion with co-host Bakersfield College
Tuesday, October 1 | 11:30am – 1pm
Levan Center, Bakersfield College, 1801 Panorama Drive Bakersfield 661.395.4011
Join us in person for heartfelt discussion on the joys and challenges of fostering and adopting youth from various background. Share in the triumphs, insights, and experiences that shape these transformative journeys
NOR Film Screening of a True Adoption Story
Tuesday, October 3| 1pm
Rasmussen Senior Center, North of the River Recreation and Parks District, 115 E. Roberts Lane, Bakersfield, Ca. 661.868.0701
This true story follows a young boy who gets lost and ends up thousands of miles from home. Years later, he uses technology and memories to find his birth family and return to his roots. Don’t miss this emotional journey – watch this film and be inspired!
K-Pop Film Screening
Wednesday, October 4 | 6:30-8:30pm
Beale Memorial Library Auditorium, 701 Truxtun Avenue. 661.868.0701
Record-breaking Korean girl group shares their story, revealing the challenges and triumphs behind their incredible rise to fame. Don’t miss this inspiring event! Free and open to the public- join us and be part of the journey.
Tracing the Past to See the Future
Wednesday, October 4 | 6:30-8:30pm
Beale Memorial Library Auditorium, 701 Truxtun Avenue. 661.868.0701
Record-breaking Korean girl group shares their story, revealing the challenges and triumphs behind their incredible rise to fame. Don’t miss this inspiring event! Free and open to the public- join us and be part of the journey.
An Evening with Nicole Chung, Author of All You Can Ever Know
Thursday, October 24 | 7pm
Icardo Center, CSUB, 9001 Stockdale Hwy., Bakersfield, CA 93311. 661.654.3172
(Free parking in Lot I after 6pm)
Don’t miss the chance to meet the author in person at the exclusive book signing event! Grab your copy, get it signed, and enjoy a unique opportunity to connect. Join us be part of this special moment!
CSUB One Book Project web page.
Can You K-Pop Dance Showcase
Saturday, November 2 | 2-6pm
Beale Memorial Library Auditorium, 701 Truxtun Avenue. 661.868.0701
Join us and several talent scouts from industry-leading dance companies as they scour the stage for the next K-POP stars! Come watch 25 of Kern County’s most talented acts as they dance to today’s biggest K-POP hits. From BTS, NMixx, to Xikers, solo, duo, and group dancers will cover their songs with the most intense, degree of difficulty, idol-choreographed moves. Get ready for the Random Dance Play (RDP) to pump up the crowd before the showcase kicks off!
Schedule
- 2:00-3:00pm: Random Dance Play
- 4:00-6:00pm: Showcase
A Parent Speaks
Tuesday, November 5 | 3:00-4:00pm
Zoom Register Online
Joey Merritt is the adoptive parent of two young women adopted as babies from Eastern Europe. Her oldest daughter, adopted from an orphanage in Ukraine, is now 23 with a family. Her younger daughter, adopted from foster care in the Republic of Georgia, is a transracial adoptee. There are so many myths around adopting internationally and so many things she wished she knew before she adopted – from changing birth names, how to handle racism in the community, how to work with the Interethnic Adoption Provisions (IEP’s) in the school system and how to answer questions from her kids about adoption. She will speak about the process, the struggles, and triumphs of family building through adoption. There will be plenty of time for questions in this informal conversation.
Adoptive-Foster Parents and Kids & Their Allies Panel Discussion
Wednesday, November 6 | 4:30-6:30pm
Beale Memorial Library 701 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93301. 661.868.0701
Join us for an informative panel discussion with professionals in the field of adoption and foster care discussing how it all works in Kern County and sharing their program services, as well as with adoptive parents talking about their challenges and successes through the process and raising multiracial kids.
Partners: Department of Human Services – Kern County Adoption Agency Kern Bridges Youth Homes Koinonia Family Services
In Praise of Late Wonder: California Poet Laureate and Korean Adoptee Lee Herrick Poetry Reading [at Beale].
Thursday, November 14 | 6pm
Beale Memorial Library 701 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93301. 661.868.0701
Herrick will read poems from his new book titled, In Praise of Late Wonder: New and Selected Poems (Gunpowder Press, September 2024) about his adoption from Korea related to loss, uncertainty, race dynamics, and joy. The poems explore questions of belonging, survival, and the complexities of adoption. There will be a Book Giveaway Signed by the Author after the presentation. ABOUT LEE HERRICK
Lee Herrick was born in Daejeon, Korea and adopted as an infant. He lives with his family in Fresno, California and served as Fresno Poet Laureate from 2015-2017. He teaches at Fresno City College and in the low-residency MFA program at University of Nevada Reno at Lake Tahoe. He is the 10th California Poet Laureate, and the first Asian American to serve in the role. He is the author of four books of poems: In Praise of Late Wonder: New and Selected Poems, Scar and Flower (finalist for the 2020 Northern California Book Award); Gardening Secrets of the Dead; and This Many Miles from Desire.
Herrick is co-editor of The World I Leave You: Asian American Poets on Faith and Spirit and Afterlives: A Portfolio of Asian Adoptee Diaspora Writing. His poems appear widely in The Poetry Foundation, Academy of American Poets, The Place That Inhabits Us: Poems from the San Francisco Bay Watershed, Indivisible: Poems of Social Justice with a foreword by Common, HERE: Poems for the Planet, with a foreword by the Dalai Lama, and Dear America: Letters of Hope, Habitat, Defiance, and Democracy, among others. Herrick serves on the advisory board of Terrain.org and Sixteen Rivers Press. He co-founded LitHop in Fresno. He has taught in Qingdao, China, and for Kundiman.
First Person Plural Documentary Film Screening
Saturday, November 23 | 11am-12:30pm
Beale Memorial Library 701 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93301. 661.868.0701
Partners: Point of View Films (POV) Mu Films
ABOUT THE FILM
In 1966, Deann Borshay Liem was adopted by an American family and sent from Korea to her new home. Growing up in California, the memory of her birth family was nearly forgotten until recurring dreams lead her to discover the truth: her Korean mother was very much alive. Bravely uniting her biological and adoptive families, Deann’s heartfelt journey makes FIRST PERSON PLURAL a poignant essay on family, loss, and the reconciling of two identities. FIRST PERSON PLURAL premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, and later, received the Grand Jury Prize for Best Bay Area Documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
ABOUT THE FILMAKER
Deann Borshay Liem is an Emmy Award-winning documentarian known for films that explore war, memory, family and identity including her landmark adoption films First Person Plural, In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee and Geographies of Kinship. She is the recipient of Grants and Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, California Humanities, Sundance Institute, Rockefeller Foundation, San Francisco Film Society and others.
One Book Project Additional Activities
Storytimes
Enjoy stories, songs, rhymes, & fun for the whole family.
Preschool Storytime
Sat. |Oct. 5 | 11am
Tue. | Oct. 8 | 4pm
Family Storytime
Sat. |Nov. 2 | 10:30am
Family Storytime
Fri. |Oct. 4 | 11am
Preschool Storytime
Tues. | Oct. 22 | 3:30pm
Tues. | Nov. 5 | 3:30pm
Thur. | Nov. 16* | 1pm
*storytime includes craft
Preschool Storytime
Tues. | Oct. 7 | 4pm
Thur. | Oct. 17 | 11am
Family Storytime
Fri. | Nov. 15 | 3:30pm
Family Storytime
Sat. | Oct. 5 | 11am
Preschool Storytime
Tues. | Oct. 1 | 4:30pm
Family Storytime
Weds. | Nov. 6 | 2:30pm
Mon. | Oct. 16 | 12pm
Mon. | Nov. 13 | 12pm
Preschool Storytime
Tues. | Oct. 3 | 10:30am
Tues. | Oct. 10 | 10:30am
Tues. | Oct. 17 | 10:30am
Tues. | Oct.24 | 10:30am
Tues. | Oct. 31. | 10:30am
Tues. | Nov. 7 | 10:30am
Tues. | Nov.14 | 10:30am
Tues. | Nov. 15 | 10:30am
Tues. | Nov. 21 | 10:30am
Preschool Storytime
Tues. |Oct. 10 | 10am
Thurs. |Nov. 7 | 10am
Preschool Storytime
Thur. | Oct. 17 | 10:30am
Thur. | Nov. 21 | 10:30am
Preschool Storytime
Thurs. |Oct. 3 | 11am
Fri. | Oct. 4 | 12pm
Thurs. | Oct. 31 | 11am
Fri. | Nov. 1 | 12pm
Family Storytime
Tues. | Oct. 1 | 4pm
Sat. | Oct. 5 | 4pm
Tues. | Oct. 28 | 4pm
Sat. | Nov. 2 | 10:30am
Preschool Storytime
Tues. | Oct. 15 | 11am
Family Storytime
Tues. | Oct. 15 | 4pm
Preschool Storytime
Mon. | Nov. 4| 2pm
Mon. | Nov. 18| 2pm
Mon. | Nov. 25| 2pm
Family Storytime
Fri. | Nov. 5 | 2pm
Tues. | Nov. 19 | 2pm
Coloring Stations
Stop by our coloring station and make new friends while expressing yourself through color. Take a coloring sheet or an activity sheet and have some fun! From October to November, we'll have One Book Project related sheets ready for you, so come on by!
Jamison Center Book Drive
Join us while we learn how to use American Sign Language. We will use stories, games and activities to better understand this amazing language.
Foster Kids Wish List Drive Promotion
Enjoy movie screenings that share themes similar to this year's One Book Project book selection.
Arts & Crafts
Get inspired and crafty at select library branches for One Book Project related craft events.
Ages 6-11 are invited to attend
Arvin Branch Library
Wed. | Oct. 9 | 4pm
Beale Memorial Library
Wed. | Nov. 6 | 4pm
Wed. | Nov. 20 | 4pm
Buttonwillow Branch Library
Fri. | Oct. 4 | 4pm
Fri. | Oct. 11 | 4pm
Tues. |Oct. 15 | 3pm
Thurs. | Nov. 14 | 4pm
Mon. | Nov. 18 | 4pm
Mon. | Nov. 26 | 4pm
California City Branch Library
Tues. | Oct. 22 | 3:30pm
Frazier Park Branch Library
Fri. | Oct. 13 | 3:30pm
Tues. | Nov. 5 | 3:30pm
Lamont Branch Library
Tues. | Oct. 8 | 12:30pm
Mojave Branch Library
Wed. | Oct. 9 | 2:30pm
Thurs. | Nov. 14 | 4:00pm
Northeast Branch Library
Tues. | Nov. 5 | 4:00pm
Ridgecrest Branch Library
Wed. | Nov. 20 | 12:00pm
Taft Branch Library
Tue. | Oct. 22 | 4pm
Tue. |Nov. 5 | 4pm
Wasco Branch Library
Tue. | Nov. 5 | 4:00pm
Tue. | Nov. 12 | 4:00pm
Ages 18+ are invited to attend
Buttonwillow Branch Library
Sat. | Nov. 2 | 1:00pm
California City Branch Library
Thurs. | Nov. 7 | 4:00pm Mojave Branch Library
Thurs. | Oct. 17 | 5:30pm
Ages 12-17 are invited to attend
Baker Branch Library
Wed. | Oct. 16 | 4:00pm Buttonwillow Library
Wed. |Oct. 16 | 4:00pm Frazier Park Branch Library
Tue. |Oct. 8 | 4:00pm Lamont Branch Library
Wed. | Oct. 9 | 4:30pm McFarland Branch Library
Wed. | Nov. 6 | 2:00pm Rosamond Branch Library
Thurs. | Nov. 21 | 3:30pm
All Ages are invited to attend
Arvin Branch Library
Fri. | Nov. 1 | 10am
Baker Branch Library
Sat. | Nov. 16 | 1pm
Buttonwillow Branch Library
Sat. | Oct. 12 | 12pm
Weds. | Nov. 6 | 5pm
Sat. | Nov. 9 | 2pm
Lamont Branch Library
Fri. |Nov. 1 | 10pm
Mojave Branch Library
Fri. | Nov. 1 | 11am
Taft Branch Library
Mon. | Nov. 4 |11am
Wasco Branch Library
Mon. | Nov. 4 | 11am
History of the One Book Project
The program began in 2001 through the grassroots efforts of Jillian Fritch, an elementary school teacher who had read a story in the Los Angeles Times regarding One Book, One Community initiatives; at the time Seattle Reads and One Book Chicago were pioneers, and Los Angeles had decided to do a One Book project. Jillian was inspired to begin a project in Bakersfield. The first book was “To Kill a Mockingbird.” An array of community partners jumped on board, including education, nonprofits, local government, businesses, and media outlets. The Kern County Library became the lead organization in 2003. Now, the One Book Project continues to reach out to our diverse Kern County community both in book choice and related programming. In 2010, the One Book Project began a partnership with California State University, Bakersfield’s “Runner Reader Program” (or First-Year Experience Program), which involves students reading a common book. Through this partnership, the community has benefited extended programming, including author visits and talks at CSUB at the culmination of the read. In November 2011, more than 1,400 people turned out to hear author Wes Moore speak about his book, “The Other Wes Moore.” One Book, One Bakersfield, One Kern remains a grassroots project that relies on community partners and donations to provide related programming and copies of the book throughout the county.
