North Carolina Humanities, home to the North Carolina Center for the Book, has selected two books to represent North Carolina at the annual Library of Congress National Book Festival: Blue’s March: An Overmountain Men Tale written by Katelynn A. Hatton and illustrated by Gabhor Utomo and Stronger Than the Storm: Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina edited by Shelley McKechnie.
Blue’s March, the book selection for young readers, and Stronger Than the Storm, the adult book selection, will be featured on the national Great Reads from Great Places reading list distributed by the Library of Congress’ Center for the Book during the National Book Festival. The list is composed of books and authors from each affiliate Center for the Book to showcase the rich culture and heritage of our country. Books are either written by an author from the respective state/territory or portray stories of the area.
Those interested can see what other titles on the Great Reads from Great Places reading list by visiting the Library of Congress’ website.
Blue’s March and Stronger Than the Storm examine North Carolina history, resilience, and community. NC Humanities chose these books to encourage engaging, productive conversation among readers and to shed light on new perspectives about important topics and to explore North Carolina’s literary heritage as we reflect on the 250th.
The National Book Festival will be held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday August 22, 2026. A selection of programs will be livestreamed online, and videos of all programs will be available shortly after the festival concludes. NC Humanities will be at the festival in Washington, D.C. to further promote these books, the resources of NC Humanities, and the important literary culture of North Carolina.
To further celebrate this year’s selections, NC Humanities is offering the following opportunities here in our home state of North Carolina:
Blue’s March: An Overmountain Men Tale – NC Humanities is providing a limited number of free book kits for teachers and school librarians in North Carolina! Book kits can be used for curriculum or afterschool/youth programs and include 20 copies of Blue’s March, bookmarks, and reading comprehension program materials. Please follow the instructions on our website to apply for these resources.
Stronger Than the Storm: Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina – NC Humanities will host a free, online book discussion program with editor Shelley McKechnie this summer! She will discuss the collection of stories, essays, and art, and the themes of resilience and selfless community spirit. Program details will be announced later this summer at nchumanities.org.
About the Books:
Blue’s March: An Overmountain Men Tale by Katelynn A. Hatton and illustrated by Gabhor Utomo
Suggested age range: 8-12 (Grades 3-5)
During the War for Independence, threats of war spread throughout America’s thirteen colonies. By 1780, British Loyalists terrorized Patriots’ homes throughout the Carolinas and planned to move westward over the Blue Ridge Mountains. That fall, Patriots in rural Virginia, North Carolina, and present-day Tennessee undertook a revolutionary act: they joined forces to march east over the Blue Ridge Mountains and confront British Loyalist troops at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Called Overmountain Men, these Patriot troops were dedicated to protecting the Carolinas and preserving independence, no matter how far the journey.
Blue’s March: An Overmountain Men Tale, is inspired by real historical events and historical figures. Travel with Joseph and his faithful hound dog, Blue, as they enlist in the Overmountain troops and embark on their adventure. From Sycamore Shoals, Tennessee, to Kings Mountain Battleground in South Carolina, foray with Joseph, Blue, and the Overmountain Men as they battle for independence.
Stronger Than the Storm: Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina edited by Shelley McKechnie
Suggested age range: 18+
In September 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida, then roared hundreds of miles inland to the mountains of western North Carolina. Record-breaking winds, rain, and floods damaged or destroyed areas across the region. More than 100 neighbors lost their lives. Power and water were out for weeks. North Carolina’s governor called it “the worst storm in our state’s history.”
To start to process the devastation, more than two dozen of the region’s finest writers and artists turned to their craft in the first few weeks after the storm. They’ve distilled emotions and events that are far too big to convey in photos or videos, and have captured the sense of selfless community spirit that has now enveloped our mountain towns.
Toya Gardner, a young Black artist from Atlanta, has returned to her ancestral home in the North Carolina mountains to trace her family history and complete her graduate thesis. But when she encounters a still-standing Confederate monument in the heart of town, she sets her sights on something bigger.
Meanwhile, local deputies find a man sleeping in the back of a station wagon and believe him to be nothing more than some slack-jawed drifter. Yet a search of the man’s vehicle reveals that he is a high-ranking member of the Klan, and the uncovering of a notebook filled with local names threatens to turn the mountain on end.
After two horrific crimes split the county apart, every soul must wrestle with deep and unspoken secrets that stretch back for generations. Those We Thought We Knew is an urgent unraveling of the dark underbelly of a community. Richly drawn and bracingly honest, it asks what happens when the people you’ve always known turn out to be monsters, what do you do when everything you ever believed crumbles away?
About North Carolina Humanities: Through public humanities programs and grantmaking, North Carolina Humanities connects North Carolinians with cultural experiences that spur dialogue, deepen human connections, and inspire community. North Carolina Humanities is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The North Carolina Center for the Book is a collection of North Carolina Humanities’ reading and literature programs that celebrate the importance of books, reading, libraries, and North Carolina’s literary heritage. To learn more, visitwww.nchumanities.org.
About the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress: The Library’s Center for the Book, established by Congress in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books and reading, is a national force for reading and literacy promotion. A public-private partnership, it sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages through its affiliated centers, collaborations with nonprofit reading-promotion partners, and through its Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress. For more information, visit www.read.gov.