A.K. Smiley Public Library Blog

Serving the City of Redlands, California since 1894

“Democracy depends on an informed population. And where can people get all the information they need? —At the Library.” – Elliot Shelkrot, (Media Talk videotape)

“Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.” – Anne Herbert

Pamela Martinez

Voting and Coding and Spiders, Oh My!… Drive-thru Family Day is October 10th

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The Library is open! The Young Readers’ Room and Underground Teen sections are excited to invite our patrons, young and old, back inside to browse, study and read! Here is a list of five non-fiction books you will find in the New Book area of the Young Readers’ Room. Stop by soon to check them out and browse for some others while you are here!

In observance of the 100th anniversary of Nineteenth Amendment, we have the book, “Women Win the Vote” by Nancy B. Kennedy ready for checkout. Nineteen chapters are written about nineteen individuals who made a difference in the women’s movement. The final chapter mentions ten additional people who also made an impact for women in the U.S. Filled with colorful pages and information that POPS!, this book is great for learning something you may not have known before! This book makes history fun! The call number is J324.62 K384w.

How many of you enjoy working on the computer? How many of you enjoy figuring out difficult projects or playing computer games? Well, this next book will have you able to code your own computer games! “Get Coding 2! Build Five Computer Games Using HTML and JavaScript” by David Whitney contains step-by-step instructions on how to create your own computer game! Parents, you may enjoy this book as well as the kiddos! Colored drawings and easy to follow directions will have you playing a new game in no time! Please find this book under the call number J005.1 W612g on the New Book shelf.

“Be Your Best Self: Life Skills for Unstoppable Kids” by Danielle Brown and Nathan Kai will motivate your child to do their very best in order to achieve that dream or goal towards which they may be working. This book has short chapters that range from discussing what success is to how to stay motivated. Colored illustrations and easy to read text will help your child reach those goals, or maybe even set some new goals! Please find this book under the call number J158.1 B812b on the New Book shelf.

“Splendid Spiders” by Melissa Higgins has a book full of colorful, life-size photographs of spiders! An easy to read book, it may have you parents looking around more closely for these small, or LARGE insects! You’ll either find the photographs intriguing or creepy! With so much to learn about spiders, you’ll find useful information in this book. Please look for this under the call number J595.4 H535s on the New Book shelf.

Have you been wondering about outdoor science? Well, we have the perfect book for you: “Habitats” by Sonya Newland. This book is not only fun, it will teach the youngsters some great facts and let them experience science experiments too! Each double page spread has colored photographs and illustrations to help solidify the lesson. With easy to follow directions on how to complete a science experiment, this book will become a favorite! Please find this book under the call number J591.707 N461h.

We’re gearing up for our 17th Annual Family Day celebration on Saturday, October 10 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Join us to celebrate the Young Readers’ Room 100th Birthday celebration. This year’s event will be a drive-thru celebration. Please enter the Library’s front drive along Vine Street from Cajon Street (4th Street will be closed in both directions). Everyone will drive through the front drive and exit onto Eureka Street. We have a free book for every child and a free family book for the first 200 families who drive through. We will have six stations at which vehicles can stop along the drive, so be ready for some fun and surprises to celebrate with us! See you soon!

Get into a Book Series from the Young Readers’ Room!

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Have you ever started a series of books and read through them so quickly that you were willing the author to hurry up and write the next one already?!

I have certainly done that more than I can count!! Once you start a series, you just want to keep reading until the very, very, very ending of the story!

Well, this week the Young Readers’ Room would like to recommend books in a series, specifically, the latest book of the series. If you have not started any of these yet, you may want to back track to the very first story and work your way up to the current and final volume.

Please start with the “Thunder Girls” series by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams. You may recognize Joan Holub’s name from another popular series she wrote entitled “Goddess Girls.” The newest volume of this four-volume series (so far) is titled “Skade and the Enchanted Snow.” This final title will take you to the winter months, as Skade is the Goddess of skiing, which we know takes place in the chilled winter months, time for a summer reprieve! Part mystery, part adventure, part Norse mythology and magic, Skade and her team of dedicated friends will have you turning each page to find out what will happen next!

Next up for your continuous reading pleasure is by Margaret Peterson Haddix, one of my favorite authors, in book two of “Greystone Secrets:  The Deceivers.” Chess, Emma, and Finn are siblings who must go back to the other world for more mysterious happenings. The other world is a mirror of the ‘normal’ world, except that lies seem to be the truth. Can you imagine if you had to tell lies in order to survive…no truth telling at all? Find out what these three siblings, plus their friend Natalie, will do in order to make reality become truth.

Many of you have read the Treehouse books by Andy Griffiths, which started out with “The 13-Story Treehouse.” Well, the ninth book of the series has arrived! “The 117-Story Treehouse” is now ready for check-out! What other floors could Andy and Terry possibly add to the previous volume: “The 104-Story Treehouse?” These two, author and illustrator, have been creating amazing Treehouse books for seven years. Great fun and a great read indeed–you’ll want to start at the beginning of this series for sure with “The 13-Story Treehouse.”

Have you started the “Keeper of the Lost Cities” series yet? Well, you should read the first seven volumes before you start this brand new, eighth in the series “Legacy.” Book 8 does not disappoint. Sophie first began to wow us in the first of the series with “Keeper of the Lost Cities.” Sophie continues her quest for truth. There are so many lies, who can really make heads or tails of truth when they actually hear it? Sophie and her friendships are tested in this final volume. Can you bear to read it? If you have read the other seven, this is necessary for you!

The sixth and final book of the “Fairy Tale Reform School” series is here! “Cursed” by Jen Calonita will not disappoint. For those of you who have been faithful and read the other five, this final installment will leave you with a satisfied sigh! Rumpelstiltskin is the star of this story, or is it Gilly? Racing against time on a mission to save Enchantasia from the evil Stiltskin, Gilly and her friends have their hands full. The pirate ship and Gilly’s crew think they can handle the task at hand, but will they make it in time?

All of these titles are available through our Books-to-Go program here at the Library. You can reserve any book, magazine, book-on-CD or music CD by logging onto our website (www.akspl.org) and scrolling down to the Books-to-Go link under “Services” and reserving each book with your library card number. You can also give us a call in the Young Readers’ Room at (909) 798-7674; or email the Library at circ@akspl.org.

We have three options to help you keep your reading up during this pandemic while the Library is closed. We sure miss you all and hope to see you soon!

Great news for all of our Redlands Unified School District students and teachers: the Library is offering a free eLibrary Card to all RUSD students and teachers for the upcoming school year, 2020-2021! Please go to our website and fill out the Temporary eLibrary card application, and a staff member will contact you with your specific eLibrary card number.

Five New Picture Books for Young Readers

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So many things are happening in the library since we’ve been closed. We are still receiving wonderful, new books for you to check-out!

The Young Readers’ Room staff has been busy getting the Juvenile and Young Adult areas cleaned and tidied up for you when we are able to allow you to come back inside. In the meantime, please feel free to utilize our Books-to-Go program. You can reserve books three different ways:  online through our on-line catalog found at akspl.org; or you can email the library at:  circ@akspl.org; or you can call either the Main number (909) 798-7565 or the Young Readers’ Room @ (909) 798-7674. Please make sure your library card number and your contact information is up to date as well (address, phone number & email address). Once we have your books gathered up for you, we will give you a call to set up an appointment so you can come and pick up your books from the front of the library near the main entrance.

For this month’s article, you will find all of these books in our New Book area under the author’s last name. Please consider the following picture books for check-out:

“What Matters Most” by Emma Dodd is a lovely story made up of questions to make a little one think about things. The illustrations were created digitally and there is some sparkle sprinkled throughout the pages!  Emma Dodd has created yet another fabulous book for our young readers’ to enjoy.

Dianne White has written another lyrical picture book filled with color and wonder. “Green on Green” celebrates each season with spectacular colors and amazement while discovering something new that has sprouted, grown or was born.  The illustrations by Felicita Sala captures each season and expression. Enjoy this book today!

A lovely book written and illustrated by Zosienka can be found in “The Moon Keeper”. In my first reading of this story, I was hooked and had to read it again! Very artistic illustrations fill each page as the little bear is on a mission to be the new moon keeper. Emile, the bear is very excited and takes his job quite seriously. As the moon cycles through its phases, Emile is concerned that he has seemed to have lost the moon! Check this book out today to find out exactly what happened to the moon and Emile!

My fourth recommendation for you all is “The Bear Must Go On” written by Dev Petty and illustrated by Brandon Todd. What could be better than writing a play for you and your friends to be on stage together and recite the words you all have written? Except, for these four woodland friends, one does not want to be on stage! Being the writer for the script is actually a lot of work, especially when all three friends have a lot of words for you to write down! The show must go on, but what if the show hadn’t been written and it’s time to raise the curtain? Find out when you check out this book soon!

“Windows” by Julia Denos and illustrated by E.B. Goodale is a discovery book. Walk around you neighborhood and search for the windows that are dark, lighted, decorated or plain. There are lots of things to discover in and around windows. Is that a family reading together? Can you see the family cooking together through the kitchen window? Do you spy the kitty cat sleeping on the windowsill? This is an Ezra Jack Keats Honor Book, which honors outstanding new writers and illustrators.  Check out this great book today.