A.K. Smiley Public Library Blog

Serving the City of Redlands, California since 1894

DID YOU KNOW? Carla Hayden is our current and 14th Librarian of Congress, becoming the first woman and the first African American to lead our national library.

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News + Events

Commemorating Earth Day: a reading list for children and adults

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BOOKS:

Silent spring / Carson, Rachel. Published 1962.

A climate of crisis : America in the age of environmentalism / Allitt, Patrick. 2014.

As the world burns : the new generation of activists and the landmark legal fight against climate change / Van der Voo, Lee. 2020.

Wild at heart : America’s turbulent relationship with nature, from exploitation to redemption / Outwater, Alice. 2019.

Natural rivals : John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the creation of America’s public lands / Clayton, John. 2019.

Stronghold : one man’s quest to save the world’s wild salmon / Malarkey, Tucker. 2019.

Visionary women : how Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Jane Goodall, and Alice Waters changed our world / Barnet, Andrea. 2018.

The wizard and the prophet : two remarkable scientists and their dueling visions to shape tomorrow’s world / Mann, Charles C. 2018.

Engineering Eden : the true story of a violent death, a trial, and the fight over controlling nature / Smith, Jordan Fisher. 2016.

Rachel Carson and her sisters : extraordinary women who have shaped America’s environment / Musil, Robert K. 2014.

On a farther shore : the life and legacy of Rachel Carson / Souder, William. 2012.

A force for nature : the story of NRDC and the fight to save our planet / Adams, John H. (John Hamilton). 2010.

Fraser’s penguins : a journey to the future in Antarctica / Montaigne, Fen. 2010.

The man from Clear Lake : Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson / Christofferson, Bill. 2004.

An inconvenient truth : the planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it / Gore, Al. 2006.

Getting to green : saving nature : a bipartisan solution / Rich, Frederic C. 2016.

Urban homesteading : heirloom skills for sustainable living / Kaplan, Rachel. 2011.

Living without plastic : more than 100 easy swaps for home, travel, dining, holidays, and beyond / Allen, Brigette. 2020.

The (almost) zero waste guide : 100+ tips for reducing your waste without changing your life / Mannarino, Melanie. 2020.

Climate-wise landscaping : practical actions for a sustainable future / Reed, Sue. 2018.

Sustainability made simple : small changes for big impact / Byrd, Rosaly. 2017.

Being the change : live well and spark a climate revolution / Kalmus, Peter. 2017.

The uninhabitable earth : life after warming / Wallace-Wells, David. 2019.

Climate of hope : how cities, businesses, and citizens can save the planet / Bloomberg, Michael. 2017.

The atlas of climate change : mapping the world’s greatest challenge / Dow, Kirstin. 2011.

How to avoid a climate disaster : the solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need / Gates, Bill. 2021.

No one is too small to make a difference / Thunberg, Greta. 2019.

How to prepare for climate change : a practical guide to surviving the chaos / Pogue, David. 2021.

Unstoppable : harnessing science to change the world / Nye, Bill. 2015.

The genius of Earth Day : how a 1970 teach-in unexpectedly made the first green generation / Rome, Adam. 2013.

Nature’s allies : eight conservationists who changed our world / Nielsen, Larry A. 2017.

Extreme conservation : life at the edges of the world /Berger, Joel. 2018.

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

 

KIDS

Picture Books

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

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

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

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)

Young Adult LGBTQ+ Books and Resources

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YA books featuring LGBTQ+ characters and experiences can sometimes be challenging to locate on the library shelves, but fear not, we’ve got you covered.

Here’s what you should know: the titles in the list below don’t focus exclusively on being queer. These are love stories, coming-of-age stories, dystopian stories, adventures, murder mysteries, graphic novels, memoirs, fantasy, nonfiction and, okay, some of them are mainly about being queer. Others are about friendship. Still others are about magic. The stories are as diverse as the characters who run around in them.

If you need assistance finding a book, we love helping. Remember, these are just the titles from the YA section, so feel free to use the online catalog if you’re not finding what you’re looking for. And if you have any suggestions for new additions, we’re all ears. Come let us know! We want this collection to reflect you and your interests.

Most of all, happy reading.

*Please note, several of these titles are available as eBooks. Download the OverDrive/Libby app to read them on your digital device.

Lower Level YA Fiction (Shelved alphabetically by author’s last name)

What If It’s Us – Abertalli, Becky (eBook and eAudiobook also available)

The Black Flamingo – Atta, Dean

Felix Ever After – Callendar, Kacen

The Red Scrolls of Magic – Clare, Cassandra (eBook also available)

Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List: A Novel – Cohn, Rachel (eBook and eAudiobook also available)

Notes from the Blender – Cook, Tish

Dreadnought – Daniels, April

Pet – Emezi, Akwaeke

The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door – Finneyfrock, Karen

Full Disclosure – Garrett, Cameron

Me Being Me is Exactly as Insane as You Being You – Hasak-Lowy, Todd

Her Royal Highness – Hawkins, Rachel

Yesterday is History – Jackson, Kosoko

The Extraordinaires – Klune, T.J.

Darius the Great Deserves Better – Khorram, Adib

Everything Leads to You – LaCour, Nina (eBook also available)

#MurderFunding – McNeil, Gretchen

The Art of Starving – Miller, Sam

Shine – Myracle, Lauren (eBook also available)

I’ll Give You the Sun – Nelson, Jandy (eBook also available)

Camp – Rosen, L.C.

The Midnight Lie – Rutkoski, Marie

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe  – Sáenz, Benjamin Alire

Fans of the Impossible Life – Scelsa, Kate

The Girls I’ve Been – Sharpe, Tess

They Both Die at the End – Silvera, Adam (eBook also available)

More Happy Than Not – Silvera, Adam (eBook also available)

The Gravity of Us – Stamper, Phil (eBook also available)

 

Lower Level YA Graphic Novels (Shelved with the YA Graphic Novels by Call Number)

Flamer – Curato, Mike 741.5 C922f

Heartstopper – Oseman, Alice 741.5 Os2h

Heartstopper – Volume 2 – Oseman, Alice 741.5 Os2h2

Bloom – Panetta, Kevin 741.5 P192b

Laura Deen Keeps Breaking Up with Me – Tamaki, Mariko 741.5 T15L

On a Sunbeam  – Walden, Tillie 741.5 W144

 

Lower Level YA Nonfiction (Shelved with the YA Nonfiction by Call Number)

Queerfully and Wonderfully Made: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Christian Teens – 248.8 F495q

Beyond the Gender Binary – 305.3 V191b

Gay America, Struggle for Equality – 306.76 AL78g

Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens – 306.76 B411q

Trans Mission: My Quest to a Beard – Bertie, Alex 306.76 B462t

All Boys Aren’t Blue:  A Memoir-Manifesto – 306.76 J632a

Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers – Franco, Betsy 811.6 F193

 

Resources

The Trevor Project

GLAAD

Safe Schools Coalition

Explore the Library in celebration of Black history and culture using this extensive list of titles

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The staff of A.K. Smiley Public Library has gathered a list of our books and DVDs featuring Black history and culture themes with which to “honor, remember, and inspire.” Most of the items are new, but a few are older and may be just new-to-you. We hope you’ll take a moment to explore and possibly learn a little something you didn’t know.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a son of formerly enslaved parents, embarked on the establishment of February as Black History Month. He was a teacher and school administrator who in 1912 became the second African American, after W.E.B. Du Bois, to earn a PhD from Harvard University. In February 1926 he launched the precursor of the celebration with “Negro History Week,” designated for the second week in February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Dr. Woodson also founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Each year the Association, which continues to support Dr. Woodson’s cause, assigns a theme to the celebration. The theme for 2021 is “The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity” — ideas to ponder as we read.

Please refer to previous blog post Celebrating Black Authors and Black Lives for additional titles. Take a look too at our extensive Catalog for older items on the subject, as well as those for children and young adults. Check them out through our Books to Go program or in person during our new public hours. Also, don’t forget our eLibrary!

And finally, for more ways in which to learn about Black history, view the Heritage Room’s Black History Month webinar series. available for viewing at the AKSPL Special Collections YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx1V0OiVDDpGORavA_W6icQ,  or on Facebook under the Video tab.

The offerings include:

  • “African American Literature” by Professor Charles Williams of Chaffey College
  • “Lincoln’s Greatest Decision: Emancipation and the Use of Black Troops” with Smiley Library Director Don McCue
  • “Black Voice News and the History of the Black Press” by Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds
  • “Hidden in Plain Sight: African Americans in the Library’s Historic Collections” with Archivist Dr. Nathan Gonzales

Also, we encourage you to visit these sites, the Library of Congress at  https://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov, and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) at https://www.pbs.org/articles/2021/02/celebrate-black-history-month-2021/.

*   *   *   *   *

Autobiographies, Biographies, and Memoirs

Cookbooks

DVDs

DVD Documentaries

Fiction

Graphic Novels

History

Humor

Literature

Music

Poetry

Politics, Civil Rights, Law

Sciences, Philosophy, Journalism, Language, Mathematics, Technology, Performing Arts

Social Sciences

Sports

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!

Honoring the Hispanic Heritage of Redlands

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On September 9, 1932, El Aguila premiered at the Redlands House of Neighborly Service. Featuring the talents of members of the city’s Mexican American community, the long-awaited stage production included beautiful costumes, a stringed orchestra, and sets complete with family heirlooms to provide an air of authenticity. Written by Redlander Bruce McDaniel, the play tells the story of Estrellita and her beau El Aguila who is disguised as a bandit to avenge Estrellita’s family.

Stars Luisa and Jose Munoz, the rest of the cast, musicians, and crew won rave reviews from spectators, which included theater directors from the Padua Hills Theater and Pasadena Playhouse. A celebration of Mexican culture, El Aguila went on to be staged at the Beaumont Bogart Theater and the Little Theater in Padua Hills the following year.

Photographs of the lavish sets and costumes are a part of the House of Neighborly Service Collection in the Library’s Heritage Room.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed September 15 through October 15 in the United States.