A.K. Smiley Public Library Blog

Serving the City of Redlands, California since 1894

Archives for October 2025

Spooky, chilling tales await you . . . at the library . . .

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Ladies and Gentlemen, I am happy to announce that it is finally, Halloween season. I have literally been waiting an entire year to celebrate Halloween again. And on that note, here is your annual Shannon’s spine-chilling Smiley Library selections. Read if you dare (enter menacing laugh here).

My first frightening find is “The Staircase in the Woods” by Chuck Wendig. Wendig tells an alternating timeline story about a group of high school friends who would do anything for each other, until they don’t. One fateful weekend changes their lives when a strange staircase shows up in the middle of the woods where the five friends are camping. Out of anger and frustration, one of the friends decides to climb the staircase to see what will happen, and when he reaches the top of the staircase, he disappears never to be seen again. Decades go by, and when one of the friends calls the group for one last epic hangout, as his dying wish, the friends acquiesce. The group of friends come to realize that the dying wish is actually a trap that brings the past and present together. Come and check out this frightening tale to find out what fate has in store for this group of friends.

If you want something on the lighter and more romantic side, then I suggest “Ghost Business” by Jen DeLuca. Sophie runs and operates the only ghost tour of the haunted town Boneyard Key, Florida, that is until the newcomer, Tristan moves into town. Much to Sophie’s chagrin, Tristan starts his own ghost tour business of Boneyard Key, and a ghost tour rivalry has begun! Will Sophie and Tristan be able to exorcise their demons? Read this book to find out which business gets ghosted.

If neither of these two books sound appealing to you, then I suggest Sarah Pinborough’s latest novel, “We Live Here Now.” After an accident that nearly killed her, Emily and her husband, Freddie, decide to move to the English countryside for a new start. The house is immaculate, but something feels wrong, very wrong. The lights turn off by themselves, books fall out of the bookcase, and she is sensing a paranormal presence in the house, but Emily is the only one witnessing these happenings and her husband doesn’t believe her. Is the house really haunted or is Emily hallucinating? Come and check out this haunting read to find out the truth.

Come and down and check out these and other haunting novels.

Shannon Swamp Witch Harris is a Library Specialist at A.K. Smiley Public Library who loves Halloween.

Happy Halloween from the Young Readers’ Room!

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Halloween is already right around the corner! Our Halloween books in the Young Readers’ Room are so popular, they barely hit the shelves before they’re snatched up. Here are a few of my favorite scary children’s books for you to hunt down here at Smiley Library.

I adore pop-up books. It’s amazing how much the added dimension can craft a completely new experience out of a familiar story. We have only a select few circulating here at Smiley Library – they’re delicate, and tend to get damaged easily. One is The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, a creepy classic presented in this form by David Pelham and Christopher Wormell. It opens to a scene of our narrator lifting a book to his face, already looking grim with anguish as he begins his lament. You can find this book displayed in our Poetry section in the Young Reader’s Room today. Scare-o-meter level: 8/10.

Scary, Scary Halloween is a story in rhyme for a younger audience by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Jan Brett. Four pair of glowing emerald eyes peek out from their mask of darkness to issue warnings of monsters roaming the streets on Halloween night. But thanks to some Scooby Doo-esque reveals, nobody is actually as scary as they initially seem… Scare-o-meter level: 4/10.

 

What’s your favorite scary monster? The Atlas of Monsters and Ghosts identifies mythical creatures of lore, both familiar (Chimera, Yeti, La Llorona) and unfamiliar (Smok Wawelski, Humbaba, Yara-Ma-Yha-Who) by region. It is a wonderfully atmospheric experience, reading this book – it has a similar feel to the Dragonology and Wizardology books, sure to have children imagining that they’re monster hunters dusting off some enormous, long-forgotten volume to get to the bottom of a case… with an introduction written by none other than Van Helsing. Scare-o-meter level: 5/10.

Halloween A B C is a series of poems by Eve Merriam, each paired with an illustration by Lane Smith. Smith is known for his collaborations with Jon Scieszka — most popularly, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. His illustrations have such depth and texture that spawn an unsettling, intriguing aura: they’re bizarre in the best, most hypnotizing way. Paired with Merriam’s poems, you’ll turn the page haunted with questions more often than not.      Scare-o-meter level: 7/10.

One last pop-up book for your consideration: Haunted House by Jan Pieńkowski. It truly feels like a campy carnival ride: skeletons are jumping out of closets, cockroaches are hiding in the cabinets, bats are swooping down from the attic. Treat yourself and explore this 1970s neon-infused fever dream of a haunted house with silly, spooky surprises at every turn. Scare-o-meter level: 3/10.

Celebrate with us at Smiley Library this Halloween! Choose a few scary books and show off your costume to Miss Kristina and me in the Young Readers’ Room — we will be also be dressed up in the Young Readers’ Room on Friday, October 31!    ~Miss Emily

Redlands celebrates Adult Literacy Day with adult learner-authors

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Adult Learner Authors at the Celebration of Authors, September 28, 2025

On September 16, the Redlands City Council approved a proclamation declaring September 28, 2025 “Adult Literacy Day in the City of Redlands.” Mayor Mario Saucedo presented the proclamation to Bill Hatfield, Library Board President, Don McCue, Director of A.K. Smiley Public Library, Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Program Coordinator, Katerina Biryukova, Adult Learner Leader, and Katherine Gifford, her tutor. Through this proclamation, the Council affirmed its commitment to educational equity and encouraged Redlands residents to promote literacy efforts and education throughout our community. Since 2010, the Redlands Adult Literacy Program has been providing free, confidential, one-to-one tutoring tailored to the specific needs of adult literacy learners. This past fiscal year, the program was able to serve 92 hardworking adult learners with the support of over 100 dedicated volunteers.

This month also marked the publication of the Redlands Adult Literacy Program’s eighth volume of the literacy anthology, Our Stories, A Collection of Writings. Each year, adult learners are encouraged to capture in writing their personal stories. Their contributions reflect a wide range of reading and writing levels. For some authors, the first step was simply dictating their stories to tutors and then working through the writing process with their tutors’ help. Other learners spent months rewriting multiple drafts until they were satisfied and ready to submit their work for publication. Regardless of their literacy level, these adult learner-authors work hard to develop important literacy skills that will help them to better communicate in the workplace, with their families, and in the community.

To honor “Adult Literacy Day,” the Redlands Adult Literacy Program invited the community to celebrate with adult learner-authors, who read the works they had contributed to the adult literacy anthology. This Celebration of Authors has become a much-anticipated annual event. This year, 26 adult learner-authors read their stories to an overflow crowd of tutors, learners, families, friends, and community members. As each author finished reading their work, the audience could feel the learner’s pride, confidence, and relief as they completed this challenging goal.

Audience members shared how inspiring it was to hear adult learners read their own writing. One tutor said, “The stories gave me a reason to feel hope.” Another shared, “The readings demonstrated the importance of A.K. Smiley Public Library to our community and the life changing impact that improved literacy has on adult learners, their families, and the community of Redlands.” Renee Kennedy, Family Literacy Lead, observed, “The multigenerational impact of literacy is evidenced in the Budding Blossom chapter of the anthology where the children of adult learners wrote stories of their own for publication.” Some of these children stood proudly with their parents when a group photo of authors was taken.

To read this compilation of inspiring writings, visit A.K. Smiley Public Library. Copies of Our Stories, A Collection of Writings, Volume 8 are now available for checkout.

If you know of an adult who wants help with reading and writing, please encourage them to take the first step in changing their life by contacting Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Coordinator, at (909) 798-7565 ext. 4110 or email literacy@akspl.org. All inquiries are treated confidentially. The Redlands Adult Literacy Program welcomes new volunteers. If you are interested in learning more about volunteering with the Redlands Adult Literacy Program, please contact Diane Shimota.