Library Staff

September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic American Heritage Month.

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.

The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30-day period.

For more information, visit HispanicHeritageMonth.gov, enjoy our display inside the Library, and check out some of our books listed below, such as My Broken Language by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and co-writer of In the Heights, Quiara Alegría Hudes. Hudes tells her lyrical story of coming of age against the backdrop of an ailing Philadelphia barrio, with her sprawling Puerto Rican family as a collective muse.

In addition, you may search our catalog for our large collection of Spanish language materials, or contact the Heritage Room to view local Hispanic heritage items, such as these photos featured in our previous blog post, Honoring the Hispanic Heritage of Redlands.

 

Biography

¡Hola papi! : how to come out in a Walmart parking lot and other life lessons / Brammer, John Paul, 2021

The crusades of Cesar Chavez : a biography / Pawel, Miriam, 2014

The universal tone : bringing my story to light / Santana, Carlos, 2014

Clemente : the true legacy of an undying hero / Clemente (Family), 2013

My beloved world / Sotomayor, Sonia, 2013

Beyond rain of gold / Villaseñor, Victor, 2011

And a voice to sing with : a memoir / Baez, Joan, 2009

Roberto Clemente : the great one / Markensen, Bruce, 1998

Dreaming with his eyes open : a life of Diego Rivera / Marnham, Patrick, 1998

 

Arts and Recreation

Trejo : my life of crime, redemption, and Hollywood / Trejo, Danny, 2021

In the Heights : finding home / Miranda, Lin-Manuel, 2021

Joan Baez : the last leaf / Thomson, Elizabeth, 2020

Writing the future : Basquiat and the hip-hop generation / Munsell, Liz, 2020

Spirit run : a 6,000-mile marathon through North America’s stolen land / Álvarez, Noé, 2020

Goya : a portrait of the artist / Tomlinson, Janis A., 2020

Frida in America : the creative awakening of a great artist / Stahr, Celia, 2020

They bled blue : the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers : Fernandomania, strike-season mayhem, and the weirdest championship baseball had ever seen / Turbow, Jason, 2019

Frida Kahlo at home / Barbezat, Suzanne, 2016

Frida Kahlo’s garden / Zavala, Adriana, 2015

Goya : his life and works in 500 images : an illustrated account of the artist, his life and context, with a gallery of 300 paintings and drawings / Hodge, Susie, 2015

Salvador Dalí / Shanes, Eric, 2014

Why soccer matters / Pelé, 2014

True love / Lopez, Jennifer, 2014

Rita Moreno : a memoir / Moreno, Rita, 2013

I’m not gonna lie : and other lies you tell when you turn 50 / Lopez, George, 2013

Salvador Dali : 1904-1989 / Wolf, Norbert, 2008

Diego Rivera : his art and his passions / Souter, Gerry, 2007

American dream : ten years of prints, books & drawings = diez años de grabados, libros y dibujos / Rodríguez, Artemio, 2006

Pablo Picasso : a modern master / Leslie, Richard, 2006

The Baroque world of Fernando Botero / Sillevis, John, 2006

The diary of Frida Kahlo : an intimate self-portrait / Kahlo, Frida, 2005

Chicano visions : American painters on the verge / Marin, Cheech, 2002

Mexican muralists : Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros / Rochfort, Desmond, 1998

Picasso / Lévy, Lorraine, 1991

Art in Latin America : the modern era, 1820-1980 / Ades, Dawn, 1989

Diego Rivera : a retrospective / Rivera, Diego, 1986

Texas-Mexican cancionero : folksongs of the lower border / Paredes, Americo, 1976

 

Spanish Language Materials –

Trejo : mi vida de crimen, redención y Hollywood /  Trejo, Danny, 2021

 

Literature and Poetry

My broken language : a memoir / Hudes, Quiara Alegría, 2021

A farewell to Gabo and Mercedes : a son’s memoir of Gabriel García Márquez and Mercedes Barcha / García, Rodrigo, 2021

Between two fires : intimate writings on life, love, food & flavor / Esquivel, Laura, 2000

Postcolonial love poem / Diaz, Natalie, 2020

Every day we get more illegal / Herrera, Juan Felipe, 2020

Thrown in the throat / Garcia, Benjamin, 2020

Native country of the heart : a memoir / Moraga, Cherríe, 2019

Lima : limón / Scenters-Zapico, Natalie, 2019

Black dove : essays on mama, mi’jo, and me / Castillo, Ana, 2016

A thousand forests in one acorn : an anthology of Spanish-language fiction / Miles, Valerie, 2014

Cubanisimo! : the Vintage Book of contemporary Cuban literature / García, Cristina, 2003

 

Fiction

Chola salvation / Gonzalez, Estella, 2021

Las biuty queens / Ojeda, Iván Monalisa, 2021

The five wounds : a novel / Quade, Kirstin Valdez, 2021

The rock eaters : stories / Peynado, Brenda, 2021

Gordo : stories / Cortez, Jaime, 2021

The president and the frog / De Robertis, Carolina, 2021

Songs for the flames : stories / Vásquez, Juan Gabriel, 2021

 

Science Fiction

(Star Wars) Last shot / Older, Daniel José, 2018

Infomocracy / Older, Malka, 2016

 

History

Horizontal vertigo : a city called Mexico / Villoro, Juan, 2021

 

“Invest in our Planet” is the theme for Earth Day, April 22, 2022.

Use the following reading list for adults, young adults, and children to find a way you can help!

 

But first, how you can invest in our community ~

Learn about local efforts to reduce climate change and positively influence our collective health and sustainability on a local level:

What: Presentations by Accelerate Neighborhood Climate Action (ANCA), Redlands Conservancy, and CA Climate Action Group. Table presentations by Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Friends of A.K. Smiley Public Library, Redlands Conservancy, and ANCA

When: Wednesday, April 27, at 6:30 pm (doors open at 6:00 pm)

Where: A.K. Smiley Public Library Contemporary Club, 173 S. Eureka St., Redlands

It’s free to the public; no registration is required.

~~~~~~~~~~

Also, enjoy the Great Outdoors in a state park in honor of Earth Day ~

Visit participating California state parks for free with your library card by checking out a vehicle’s day-use state park pass! Some restrictions apply; give us a call at 909-798-7565 for more information.

• California State Library Parks Pass / California State Library, Parks Pass Program, 2022

READING LIST OF BOOKS FOR ADULTS:

Activists, Innovators, & Inspiration

Animals & Plants

Climate Change, Global Warming, and the effects on our environment

Environmental Toxins

• Toxic legacy : how the weedkiller glyphosate is destroying our health and the environment / Seneff, Stephanie, 2021
• Our daily poison : from pesticides to packaging, how chemicals have contaminated the food chain and are making us sick / Robin, Marie-Monique, 2014
• Silent spring / Carson, Rachel. Published 1962.

Hope

Mitigation, Preparation

Plastics & Recycling

• Can I recycle this? : a guide to better recycling and how to reduce single-use plastics / Romer, Jennie, 2021**
• Plastic : an autobiography / Cobb, Allison, 2021
• Living without plastic : more than 100 easy swaps for home, travel, dining, holidays, and beyond / Allen, Brigette, 2021
• **For more information on recycling in the City of Redlands, visit the City’s website,  https://www.cityofredlands.org/solid-waste-recycling-services

Pollinators: why birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees are vital to our environment

• 100 plants to feed the monarch : create a healthy habitat to sustain North America’s most beloved butterfly : the Xerces Society / Lee-Mader, Eric, 2021
• Where have all the bees gone? : pollinators in crisis / Hirsch, Rebecca E., 2020
• How to attract birds to your garden / Rouse, Dan, 2020
• The pollinator victory garden : win the war on pollinator decline with ecological gardening : how to attract and support bees, beetles, butterflies, bats, and other pollinators / Eierman, Kim, 2020
• Our native bees : North America’s endangered pollinators and the fight to save them/ Embry, Paige, 2018
• 100 plants to feed the bees : provide a healthy habitat to help pollinators thrive / Lee-Mäder, Eric, 2016

The Science: let’s figure this out

• The physics of climate change / Krauss, Lawrence M., 2021
• Unsettled : what climate science tells us, what it doesn’t, and why it matters / Koonin, Steven E., 2021
• Brave green world : how science can save our planet / Forman, Christopher, 2021
• The field guide to citizen science : how you can contribute to scientific research and make a difference / Cavalier, Darlene, 2020
• Unstoppable : harnessing science to change the world / Nye, Bill, 2015

Trees & Forests

• The treeline : the last forest and the future of life on earth / Rawlence, Ben, 2022
• Ever green : saving big forests to save the planet / Reid, John W., 2022
• Trees in trouble : wildfires, infestations, and climate change / Mathews, Daniel, 2021

MAGAZINES

• Audubon / National Audubon Society, <1953-current>
• Environment / Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation, <1993-current>
• The Mother earth news / The Mother Earth News, Inc., <1973-current>
• National Geographic / National Geographic Society (U.S.), <1905-current>
• Natural history / American Museum of Natural History, <1921-current>
• Sierra [serial (magazine)] : the Sierra Club bulletin / Sierra Club, <1985-current>

YOUNG ADULT

Fiction

• My Chemical Mountain – Vacco, Corina (YA VAC)
• The Crazy Things Girls Do for Love – Sheldon, Dyan (YA SHE)
• Salvage – Duncan, Alexandra (YA DUN)

Nonfiction

• An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming – Gore, Al 363.738 G66in
• Where Have All the Bees Gone? Pollinators in Crisis – Hirsch, Rebecca E. 595.79 H615w

Graphic Novels

• How to Fake a Moon Landing: Exposing the Myths of Science Denial – Cunningham, Daryl 001.9 C917h

CHILDREN

Picture Books

• Peppa Pig and the Earth Day Adventure – (JE PEP)
• Be a Tree – Gianferrari, Maria (JE GIA)
• Arthur Turns Green – Brown, Marc Tolon (JE BRO)
• Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration – Capucilli, Alyssa Satin (JE CAP)
• Dear Earth…: From Your Friends in Room 5 – Dealey, Erin (JE DEA)
• These Seas Count! – Formento, Alison (JE FOR)
• A Small History of a Disagreement – Fuentes, Claudio (JE FUE)
• We Are Water Protectors – Lindstrom, Carole (JE LIN)
• Ballyhoo Bay – Sierra, Judy (JE SIE)
• Miss Fox’s Class Goes Green – Spinelli, Eileen (JE SPI)
• Greta and the Giants: Inspired by Greta Thunberg’s Stand to Save the World – Tucker Zoe (JEFO TUC)
• Just a Dream – Van Allsburg, Chris (JEFO VAN)
• Earth Day, Birthday – Wright, Maureen (JE WRI)
• My Forever Dress – Ziefert, Harriet (JE ZIE)

Chapter Books

• Willodeen – Applegate, Katherine (J APP)
• Violet Mackerel’s Pocket Protest – Branford, Anna (J BRA)
• Watch Out World, Rosy Cole is Going Green: Rosy Cole’s Bright, Though Not Exactly Popular, Ideas About Garbage, Worms, Dirt, and Other Gifts of Nature – Greenwald, Shelia (J GRE)
• Scat – Hiaasen, Carl (J HIA)
• Flush – Hiaasen, Carl (J HIA)
• Hoot – Hiaasen, Carl (J HIA)
• Save the Earth – Klein, Abby (J KLE)
• Marty McGuire Digs Worms! – Messner Kate (J MES)

Mysteries

• Nate the Great and the Earth Day Robot – Sharmat, Andrew (J M SHA)
• Cam Jansen and the Green School Mystery – Adler, David (J M ADL)
• Earth Day Escapade – Keene, Carolyn (J M KEE)

Graphic Novels

• Luz Sees the Light – Davila, Claudia 741.5 D289L
• Getting to the Bottom of Global Warming – Collins, Terry 363.738 C696g

Nonfiction

• The Wild World Handbook: How Adventurers, Artists, Scientists – and YOU – Can Protect the Earth’s Habitats – Debbink, Andrea 333.95 D35w
• It Starts with a Bee – Gallagher, Aimee 595.79 G135i
• How to Change Everything: The Young Human’s Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other – Klein, Naomi with Stefoff, Rebecca 363.738 K672h
• Earth Day – Cella, Clara 394.262 C33e
• Earth Day – Hooray – Murphy, Stuart 513 M597e
• What a Waste – French, Jess 363.72 F888w
• The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs – Messner, Kate 333.95 M564b
• Caillou: Every Drop Counts – Johanson, Sarah Margaret 333.91 J599c
• Sustainable Water Resources – Rooney, Anne 363.61 R674s
• One Child, One Planet: Inspiration for the Young Conservationist – Llewellyn, Bridget McGovern 363.7 L77o
• Our House in on Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call to Save the Planet – Winter, Jeanette 333.7 W734o
• Trash Revolution: Breaking the Waste Cycle – Fyvie, Erica 363.72 F999t
• Join the No-Plastic Challenge! A First Book of Reducing Waste – Ritchie, Scot 363.72 R51j
• The Plastic Problem – Salt, Rachel 363.72 Sa37p
• Discover It Yourself: Pollution and Waste – 363.73 D631
• Taming Plastic: Stop the Pollution – Bates, Albert 363.738 B318t
• Our Environment: Everything You Need to Know – Pasquet, Jacques 577 P265o
• Climate Change: The Science Behind Melting Glaciers and Warming Oceans, with Hands-On Activities – Sneideman, Joshua 551.6 Sn26c
• If Bees Disappeared – Williams, Lily 595.79 W673i

Easy Readers

• Earth Day – McNamara, Margaret (JER MCN)

Spanish

• El Guardian del Pantano – Garrett, Ann (JSPE GAR)
• Calentamiento Global – Buchanan, Shelly (JSP 363.738 B851c)