Archives for September 2026

Hispanic Heritage Month is here, and at A.K. Smiley Public Library, we have plenty of new books for you to read by Latinos across the wide spectrum of genres.

Daisy Hernandez’s “Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth” explores the culturally relevant topic of citizenship in the United States through the lens of watching her parents own “lucky” paths to citizenship. The idea of citizenship in the United States has a storied history, historically used to deny personhood and humanity to many people of color and immigrants, from slaves and their children to Chinese immigrants and many more. This book explores the meandering waves of citizenship and how it has yet again found itself on the national stage with ideas like repealing birthright citizenship. Hernandez herself brings up the process of applying for Colombian citizenship, unsure of what the future holds in the United States. It’s an interesting exploration of a topic many Latinos may find relevant.

“Chancla: Healing our Families, Ourselves, and Our Culture Through Nonviolent Parenting” by Leslie Priscilla will make some readers squirm as they come face to face with some cultural practices that many people still defend. Priscilla asks questions that look at some of the harder topics of parenting that can exist in many Latino families. Not every Latino grew up with corporal punishment as the norm, but for many, the chancla, cinturon, or a branch were all a very difficult reality, and an example of violence becoming tangled with cultural identity. How many times do you say to yourself, “Well, I turned out fine” or “ they did it because they loved me”? But was it necessary? And is it still a necessary practice to carry into the future? Reader, be warned: you may be confronted with harsh realities. Even those with no children of their own may find help healing broken and streaked smatters of their own childhoods with this book. Parents fighting demons of cultural practices past and present may find this helpful in finding their own parenting styles.

“PFKNR: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance” by Vanessa Díaz flows easily from one topic to the next, connecting conversations about Bad Bunny’s personal history and how it connects to the grander story of Puerto Rico. PR might stand for Public Relations because this book feels very much like a love letter to Bad Bunny! Whether you like his music or not you’ll definitely have a kinder view of the artist after this. It highlights Bad Bunny’s humble appreciation and admiration for the Boricua artists that came before him. As well as providing context for his advocacy and for the Puerto Rico he grew up in. The combination of austerity measures, extensive debt, and American financial colonialism all created a Puerto Rico that found itself in dire straits. The book follows the historical context that raised Bad Bunny without feeling like a sticky history textbook that bogs you down in unnecessary details. Highly recommended for fans of his music as well as people invested in the story of Puerto Rico. ¡También está disponible en español!

“Cocina Puerto Rico” by chef Mia Castro offers up rich and easy-to-follow recipes from Castro’s home, Puerto Rico. She has worked under the likes of Wolfgang Puck and received praise from Gordon Ramsay himself. The recipes are rich in her personal history and spice and offer a beautiful culinary insight into Puerto Rican food, an underrated culinary giant in itself. The pictures are beautiful and mouth-watering, colorful and vibrant recipes just like the culture that inspired them. It starts with lots of basic information on ingredients and moves on to how to use them. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a basic introduction to Puerto Rican food!

“Cooking the Borderlands” highlights chef Claudette Zepeda’s culinary journey as someone raised between Mexico and the United States, who experienced the cultural meld of the people who live along the border. Food isn’t just Mexican or just American; it’s a combination that parallels the culture and the people. We can’t label them as just one thing or just another, separated by an invisible line made visible by the Treaty of Hidalgo Guadalupe. The book starts off with basics that can be found on many a Mexican family’s table: tortillas, salsas, arroz y frijoles. Zepeda invites readers to use her recipes as outlines for their own, replace, substitute, and make what makes you happy and what you will eat. Full of delicious recipes, homey pictures, and a wonderful story of two worlds becoming one, this book is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys Mexican-American cooking.

There’s plenty to choose from this Hispanic Heritage Month at A.K. Smiley Public Library.

Ruth Aguilar is a library specialist at A.K. Smiley Public Library and is proudly Mexican-American.

The Redlands City Council, recognizing the vital importance of literacy in employment, family education, and civic engagement, has officially proclaimed Sunday, September 27, 2026, as Adult Literacy Day in Redlands. Councilman Paul Barich, a staunch supporter of the adult literacy program, presented the proclamation stating, “For the last 16 years the Redlands Adult Literacy Program at Smiley Library has helped adults improve their literacy skills so they can get or advance in their jobs, help their children in school, participate in civic activities, or work toward their own higher education. The council commends the efforts of the program, its staff, volunteers, community supporters, and partners for assisting adults who work to improve their literacy and calls upon our residents to promote literacy efforts and education programs throughout our community.”

Adult literacy coordinator Diane Shimota expressed her gratitude to the city, the library, local donors, and especially volunteer tutors and adult learners, sharing that the adult literacy program depends on local support to change lives through literacy.

At the Council meeting, Kim Green, who has been a volunteer tutor with the literacy program for 13 years and has taught the adult literacy computer class for ten years, shared some of her adult literacy experiences. Kim changed the names of adult learners during her presentation to respect the learners’ confidentiality.

Kim began by describing an adult learner whose life was dramatically changed by improved literacy. She said, “During my first year as a volunteer, I was matched with Melissa, whose goals were to be able to help her children with their homework, feel more comfortable communicating with their teachers, and as a result, volunteer more at their schools.

As her literacy skills greatly improved, and she achieved her goals, Melissa noticed the positive impact rippling through her family. Soon, she and her husband decided to pursue a shared dream: starting their own business in Redlands. Their family business is now in its eighth year and is very successful, but she is even more proud that all of her daughters have graduated from college.”

Highlighting her experience as the adult literacy computer class instructor, Kim observed: “As we know, being computer literate is a must in today’s world. For this reason, the program offers weekly computer classes to adult learners…When I ask participants to share their goals for taking the class, their reasons vary. But for quite a few, the motivation is: they want to advance in their careers. For Craig, an employee at UPS, becoming proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel meant an opportunity to move from the distribution center floor into an office position and compete for other promotions. After faithfully attending computer classes for several months, he met the job requirements and soon moved into the position he had been working toward.”

Kim concluded: “These stories illustrate how literacy changes the lives of adult learners and their families. But what I couldn’t have imagined 13 years ago was how much volunteering would change mine. I’ve received much more than I’ve given—the reward of seeing others reach their learning goals and knowing I played a small part in their journeys, the friendships I’ve gained along the way, and the pride of belonging to an organization that makes a meaningful contribution to the Redlands community.”

The Redlands community is invited to celebrate Adult Literacy Day by attending a Celebration of Authors on Sunday, September 27 at 2:00 p.m. at The Contemporary Club, 173 S. Eureka St., Redlands. The event is sponsored by the Redlands Adult Literacy Program. Adult Learners will read from their works which were recently published in the anthology Our Stories, A Collection of Writings, Volume 9. Light refreshments will be served at the Celebration.

Stories in this collection reflect the wide range of writing levels of adults in the literacy program. Each author worked diligently through the writing process with the assistance of a volunteer tutor. By working with their tutors, learners developed vital literacy skills that help them overcome obstacles in their lives.

Consider how your skills in reading and writing shape your life. If you want help with reading and writing, please contact Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Coordinator, at (909)798-7565 or email literacy@akspl.org. If you are interested in volunteering with the program, sign up for the next volunteer tutor orientation scheduled for January 19, 2027, at 6:00 p.m. at A.K. Smiley Library. Please contact the literacy program to reserve your space. The program is free and tutoring services are confidential.

September 6 is National Read a Book Day!

Of course, we at Smiley Library celebrate every day as read-a-book day by offering a wide variety of books to borrow. With so much to choose from, this means that if you, say, have been drawn to something in the news and want to know more about it, you can usually find books on those topics in the library.

Two subjects that seem to have had the whole country talking lately are the passing of national treasure, singer and actress Dolly Parton, as well as that of beloved Big Bear Valley bald eagle Jackie who died August 10. Each is a beautiful icon who entertain us and who is admired just for being themselves while living their best lives. In the end, we realize how much their genuine lives gave so much back to us.

The story of Jackie and her predecessors comes alive in this wonderfully sweeping story, “The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America’s Bird,” by Pulitzer Prize winning author Jack E. Davis (“The Gulf”). A professor of environmental history, Davis presents the cultural and natural history of the United States’ national bird since 1782, when its image appeared on the national seal.

Davis contrasts the age when native peoples lived beside the eagle peacefully with spectacular stories of Founding Fathers, rapacious hunters, heroic bird rescuers, and the lives of bald eagles themselves. We learn that though we use the eagle as a symbol of our majesty, we once saw them as predators that we must destroy. This and our use of the pesticide, DDT, twice pushed the bald eagle toward the brink of extinction.

Coincidentally, among the philanthropic endeavors in which Dolly Parton engaged, was work with the American Eagle Foundation to rehabilitate and release over a hundred bald eagles in the Smoky Mountains. In 2003, she was acknowledged with a Partnership Award from the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service for her efforts.

For more reading on the bald eagle, “Return to the Sky: The Surprising Story of How One Woman and Seven Eaglets Helped Restore the Bald Eagle” is available in e-book and e-audiobook form in our e-library. It is an inspiring story of author Tina Morris’ experimentation in the 1970s as a young ornithology student who, while raising seven eaglets, developed the techniques to start the bald eagle back from extinction status. Morris was later formally inducted as an honorary Iroquois into the Confederacy of Six Nations for her work returning the Bald Eagle to the nation’s skies.

You may also want to check out “The Return of the Oystercatcher: Saving Birds to Save the Planet,” which is now on our “New Book” shelves. Author Scott Weidensaul describes his work as “a book of optimism” as he recounts the survival stories of several species of birds, including the bald eagle, and the part that the healthy presence of birds plays in saving the planet.

We came to know so many details of the lives of Jackie and her mate, Shadow, and the eaglets they hatched, observing them via the web camera at their Big Bear nest. We began to care about them and this empathy brought about for Jackie perhaps her greatest legacy, besides her offspring. We learned about how important the lake and its shoreline are to the survival of these raptors. Their popularity helped generate enormous public interest in protecting Moon Camp, approximately 63 acres of undeveloped habitat less than a mile from their nest. This year $10 million was raised to protect that land from development and go towards its preservation as a bald eagle habitat. (Source: Karen Rodriguez, Big Bear Bald Eagles)

Some say that Dolly Parton’s ultimate legacy may be the preservation of minds, as Jackie’s was the preservation of habitat. Realizing how important early reading is for the well-being of a child, and, ultimately, of an adult, Parton created, over 30 years ago, a program called Imagination Library, ImaginationLibrary.com, for children up to the age of five, of any income level, which sends participants a free book monthly. One in six children under the age of five in the U.S. now receive this gift of a surprise title, and, as Dolly wrote, “every time you open one up, you will meet new friends and take wonderful journeys to magical places.” Let’s all open one up today!

For new books about Dolly Parton, see biography “Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton” by Martha Ackmann, and a stunning compilation by Parton herself, with the help of Billboard’s Country Update editor Tom Roland, “Star of the Show: My Life on Stage.” The material is offered in print and in audio formats, featuring sound clips from her albums, live performances, and other public appearances.