Archives for April 2026

In 2019, the California Library Literacy Services allocated funding for Family Literacy Programs at public libraries offering adult literacy services. Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Coordinator at A.K. Smiley Public Library, eagerly initiated a Family Literacy Program because she knew that many adult learners wanted to improve their own reading and writing so that they could help their children become stronger readers. To participate in the Redlands Family Literacy Program, adults must be enrolled in the Redlands Adult Literacy Program. Renee Kennedy, who leads the Family Literacy Program, described its primary goal as: “Parents and grandparents improve their reading and writing so they can help children in the home develop a love of reading, which helps them become successful students. The whole family can celebrate the joy of learning together!”

At Family Literacy meetings, children are separated into two age groups, those who are school-age and those who are toddlers or preschoolers. Joan Prehoda, a co-lead in the Family Literacy Program, and Renee Kennedy select a story to read with these groups and then lead them in an age-appropriate activity that builds on that story. While their children are busy learning, parents are taught important ways to encourage their children to read with greater comprehension. In this group setting, parents have the opportunity to support each other as they improve their own reading. Currently, Family Literacy meetings are offered once a month at Smiley Library and weekly at Lugonia Elementary School, following onsite adult literacy instruction.

Sotheavy Peterson participates in the Adult Literacy and Family Literacy Programs. Sotheavy has three sons in school, and while the family is very busy with extracurricular activities, she has made literacy a top priority for herself and her children. Sotheavy shared: “I used to think public libraries were places containing books and other materials…now I know they are so much more. They are amazing places for trust and hope. They gave my family and me peace and happiness.”

At the end of each Family Literacy meeting, children receive free books that they can use to build home libraries. Sotheavy displays books all over the house to encourage her sons to read and often finds all three boys reading a book. “I know my family is blessed to have an amazing public library and to be a part of its wonderful programs. I hope we never take public libraries for granted. They are way beyond places to borrow books or to keep us warm in winter and cold in summer. They change lives and make the world a better place.”

In addition to meeting with her tutor and participating in Family Literacy activities, Sotheavy attends Adult Literacy computer classes, writing classes, writing workshops, and book club meetings.  These activities have given her the confidence to do new things in the community. For example, Sotheavy volunteers at her children’s school and as an administrator for a school at her church where she takes on many administrative and leadership responsibilities.

Literacy can change the lives of an individual, a family, and a community. The Redlands Adult Literacy and the Family Literacy Programs are FREE, and all materials are provided. If you would like to volunteer or learn more about any of the Adult Literacy activities offered at A.K. Smiley Public Library, please contact Diane Shimota, at (909) 798-7565 or email: literacy@akspl.org. All inquiries are treated confidentially.

“You’re standing on a planet with molten lava in the middle. Your heart is beating without you asking. There’s a moon in the sky and bugs that glow. This whole thing is absurdly beautiful — don’t forget to notice.” ~ Jasmine Wilder, thetinyjoyproject, Instagram

Mark your calendars, friends: April 22 is Earth Day, and your assignment is to notice — to go outside, take a deep breath, and hug a tree that is deeply and wondrously rooted in this spinning rock of ours.

While you’re out, you might as well stop by and see us at Smiley Library, perhaps sometime this week, National Library Week, or its culmination next Saturday, April 25, for Smiley Library’s annual Library Days celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The theme of Library Days this year is “Find Your Joy,” so we invite you to come in and look for something that may bring you joy — like an earth-inspired item! Whether about a tree, a flower, a river or a rock, or just one of us creatures, there is, naturally — ‘nature-ally’ — something for everyone at the library!

I love the cover photo of our first featured book — just looking at it brings a relaxing sigh . . .  “When the Forest Breathes: Renewal and Resilience in the Natural World.” Author Suzanne Simard, a professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia, has crafted both a memoir and an account of the implementation of her Mother Tree Project, a campaign of forest ecology research conducted across multiple sites in Canada. Simard reflects on the importance of honoring the ebb and flow of human life cycles within her own family, such as the coming-of-age of her daughter and the end of life of her mother, and weaves this theme in with the natural life cycle of forests.

Simard stresses that preserving forests’ natural cycles of death and renewal is key to their longevity. Of vital importance to the Earth’s fragile ecosystems, forests continue to be disrupted by industrial logging companies, which harvest trees by clear-cutting, a technique, that Simard iterates, releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, destroys wildlife habitats, and increases the risk of wildfires and floods.

This next book fascinates me, “How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature’s Revolutionaries” by biologist David George Haskell. The floral world is “late-blooming,” so to speak, in the history of the evolution of Earth, having done so after many complex animals in the fossil record some 150–200 million years ago. Quickly diversifying, plants became “champion relationship-builders,” as insects, birds, and other animals came to rely on them for food and shelter. The flexibility of plant genetics is vital to us too! They enabled the development of important crops that supported agrarian civilizations, like wheat, oats, potato, and cotton. Now that’s Flower Power!

We also highly recommend these additional works:

“Amazon: A River’s Journey from the Andes to the Atlantic” by Thomas P. Peschak

The rich photography here traces National Geographic explorer Peschak’s unprecedented expedition of the world’s greatest river: the Amazon. A web of more than 1,000 streams and tributaries collectively spawning an enormous water world larger than the continental United States, it is home to thousands of species of fish, aquatic reptiles, mammals, and birds–most found nowhere else on Earth.

 

“The Oldest Rocks on Earth: A Search for the Origins of our World” by Simon Lamb

Geologist Lamb’s research in remote southern Africa looks at some of the oldest known rocks — some more than 3.5 billion years old, unearthing a violent world of natural disasters and climate change in the deep ocean, along ancient shorelines, and amid rising mountains. In so doing, he shows how geologists work and think, and how they read rocks and decipher what they tell us of the past, and the future.

 

“Lost Animals, Disappearing Worlds: Stories of Extinction” by Barbara Allen

This book presents thirty-one extinct species through personal portraits to say, we see that you have been here — we notice. The intimate approach not only highlights each particular species but also explores the profound, broader implications of losing a species forever.

 

P.S. For an extensive list of books on Earth care for adults, teens, and children, please visit out 2024 blog post, Celebrate Earth Day every day.

Teresa Letizia is a photo-documented tree-hugger, as well as a library specialist at A.K. Smiley Public Library, 125 W. Vine St., Redlands.

With spring upon us, we look forward to reading outside, in the sun, or curled up on the porch watching the sun set in the distance. Here is a list of books to read to your littles throughout the month. You will find all of these books in the New Book section of the Young Readers’ Room.

First up is a favorite online sensation, Ms. Rachel, and her newest book, Ms. Rachel and Bean and the Bedtime Routine – Encouraging a Calm and Comforting Good Night, written by Ms. Rachel and Mr. Aron, and illustrated by Monique Dong. Ms. Rachel has such a gentle way online, and in her books, to help children cope and deal with situations ranging from friendship to bedtime. This story will help your youngsters speed up the routine and jump right into bed (that’s the plan!). If you would like to see more of Ms. Rachel, you can check out her website at: MsRachel.com.

Pete the Cat’s Cool New Ride, written and illustrated by Kimberly & James Dean, will have kids (and adults) ready to go out for a spin around the neighborhood, even if they don’t have a car as cool as Pete’s! Pages filled with rhyming text and bright, bold illustrations continue the turning of pages and the solution to Pete’s crowded car situation. Sometimes friends have such a special place in our lives that we make extraordinary decisions to include them in every moment possible.

Timothy Knapman wrote Oh No! Dinosaurs in the Supermarket with Sarah Warburton as the illustrator. Kids will enjoy hunting through the pages as the dinosaurs seem to disappear while the adults are searching for them. I’ve yet to witness any sort of dinosaur in any grocery store, but then I’m not looking for them through the eyes of a child! Beware on your next grocery outing!

A Cure for the Hiccups, written by Jennifer E. Smith and Brandon James Scott, is a tale that most of us will probably try the next time those pesky hiccups appear. Max has developed the worst case of hiccups that she can remember. She is not one to sit around and mope while the hiccups stick around…no…Max is on the move until Grandma has a cure for Max to try out. Page after page has Max quite busy, all the while fretting over the ‘what if’ questions like ‘what if the hiccups never go away?’ thoughts. Spoiler alert: there is a solution and a quiet ending to this tale.

Check out any or all of these April suggestions and let the Youth Services Crew know which one was your favorite!

~ Pamela Martinez, Senior Librarian, Youth Services

This year is speeding by at quite the rapid pace. Before we know it, the weather will be cooler, and the Halloween decorations will be up. Unless of course you are like me and leave them up year-round. So, let’s take a moment to slow down, rest, and enjoy some poetry during National Poetry Month. Consider it a check point before you move on to the next event.

Death of the First Idea by Rickey Laurentiis is a work about when the self is in opposition to the world around it. Spanning history from ancient Greece to the Jim Crow era, to the current conflicts in the Middle East, Laurentiis shows that societies have a tendency to ostracize or even commit violence against those it may find undesirable. We live in a world that upholds individuality but only if that individual displays the preferred traits. She even reflects on her hometown of New Orleans and in the explorations, describes both the joyous and detrimental experiences she found there. With grace and wit, Laurentiis writes beautifully about how she faces a world that refuses to face her.

Cynthia Cheung’s work, Common Disaster, is an interesting look at the Covid-19 pandemic through the eyes of a physician. Cheung displays her feelings of watching those she was meant to heal, lose their lives in the sea of misinformation. She records how a devastating diagnosis can create a ripple effect, not just for the patient, but for their family as well. Though loss is an inevitable part of life, Cheung urges us towards remembrance. That through remembrance we can create space to honor those that came before and carry on their legacies. That life and grief are not exclusive to human beings but to the whole world we live on. She illustrates that in a world in which tragedy is an everyday occurrence, there still exists a thread that connects us all.

The latest work from Bianca Stone, The Near and Distant World, is a philosophical examination of the self. Much like the self, the work shows an immense range in styles and has the ability to be multifaceted. Stone shows how the self persists during global pandemics, wars, and the creation of life. In her quest for examination, Stone even delves into the inexactitude of language, how words can only get so close to the truth but never quite reach it. This is a deeply introspective work that allows the imperfections of the self to not just be displayed but celebrated.

Enjoy these works of poetry and maybe try to write some of your own this month!

–Ciara Lightner is a library specialist at A.K. Smiley Public Library.