What's New

The sun is out, the birds are singing, and the palm trees are swaying. It’s nearly summer in Redlands, California, and at Smiley Library, we all know what that means. It’s time again for the Youth Services Summer Reading Program, and we’re proud to announce that this year’s theme is Color Our World! This theme encompasses all modes of creativity and art – drawing, writing, painting, photography, music – anything and everything that makes our world a more colorful place.

Beginning with our kickoff event on June 10, Smiley Library will be hosting events and programs for families in the Assembly Room every Tuesday at 10:00am and in the Contemporary Club every Thursday at 10:00am and 2:00pm. These include concerts, magic acts, and art workshops (just to name a few) through July 31. Teens can look forward to programs on Wednesdays such as a clay handbuilding workshop (hosted by Redlands Pottery Project) and book club party (register to pick up a free copy of the book club books on or after June 10 while supplies last!). Registration is required for some of these events, so please call us at (909) 798-7674 or see our flyer for QR codes to register. For more details, check out our Instagram pages (@akspl_kids and @akspl_teens) or the children’s and teens’ pages on our website.

As for the reading component of the Summer Reading Program, children and teens from age 0-19 are welcome to participate. Zero – three-year-olds will earn stickers, while 4-19-year-olds will be reading to earn chances to win oodles of fun and exciting new prizes, such as giant Squishmallows for children and Instax cameras for teens.

All story times except Spanish Storytime will pause during this period, but don’t fret, because the good news is… you can have your own special story times at home with our book giveaways! We will be giving away many wonderful books for free after events every Thursday, a few of which I am about to preview for you here.

Speaking of making the world a more colorful place… Dear Bookstore by Emily Arrow does exactly that. It is a beautiful ode to books and the special, comforting, lovely places where they live. If you catch me crying at the desk in the Young Readers’ Room, this book is likely the culprit. Genevieve Godbout’s illustrations are absolutely lush: sprawling neon vines, twinkling stars, and playful animals against a lavender backdrop, all of which come together to perfectly complement Arrow’s words and showcase the magic to be discovered in books. Emily Arrow is also a songwriter and performer; this book is inspired by a song she wrote in 2017. She has a YouTube channel as well, filled with entertainment for kids, including songs and story times. Her next book Dear Library will be released in 2026, and will no doubt be just as extraordinary and whimsical.

If you’re a loyal patron of the Young Readers’ Room, surely you’re familiar with the illustrations of Jon Klassen. Thanks to Miss Kristina, we have FOUR standups of his art — see if you can spot them all the next time you visit us. The Wolf, The Duck and The Mouse is a fairy tale-esque story in that it is equal amounts funny, curious, and strange… and it may or may not end with a twist. It’s written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen — the unstoppable duo also known for The Shapes Trilogy. The deadpan humor of their collaborative stories is always entertaining, and this book is no exception. The Duck and The Mouse have been gobbled up by The Wolf and are living in his stomach in a situation reminiscent of that of Pinocchio, Gepetto, and Monstro in Disney’s Pinocchio. Unlike Pinocchio and Gepetto, Duck and Mouse make the most of their time spent in their host’s stomach and even team up when he is in trouble.

These crayons need a union! The Day the Crayons Quit written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers is such a clever book, compiled of letters (of complaint, for the most part) written by crayons to their owner, Duncan. Yellow and Orange are no longer speaking to one another, Pink isn’t able to be himself, Green may be the only employee who’s satisfied with his job — this workplace is chaos. But Duncan is open to negotiating… it really does help you think about creative ways to use color, whether you’re an adult or a child. Once you fall in love with these crayons, explore more of their world with other books in our collection such as Love From The Crayons and The Crayons Love Our Planet.

All of these books are currently available to check out in the Young Readers’ Room at Smiley Library. We hope to see you at the library this summer!

Emily Windver is a specialist in the Youth Services Department at A.K. Smiley Library. She enjoys crafting, reading, and treating her crayons fairly and equally.

The Redlands Adult Literacy Program at A.K. Smiley Library is going strong after 15 years. The program works because of volunteers who want to be tutors. A frequent misconception is that adult literacy tutors must have prior experience as a classroom teacher. In fact, adult literacy tutors and volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds, bringing their unique life skills to help adults improve their reading and writing. This article highlights adult literacy tutor Sarah Osborne, a long-time supporter of the adult literacy program who retired two years ago from Esri. Upon retirement, Sarah took the orientation course to be an adult literacy tutor, and she has already worked with two adult learners.

In explaining why she volunteers, Sarah said, “I’ve always felt that being literate is a gateway to a better life. In order to get a good job, fill out an application, or advance in a job, you need to know how to read. In order to navigate the Internet safely and successfully, you need to know how to read. In order to stay safe on the road, you need to know how to read. This list goes on and on. One thing I’ve discovered is that I’ve learned just as much about life from the learners I work with. Volunteering is very fulfilling.”

In addition to one-on-one tutoring with adults, Sarah has been a volunteer in the weekly literacy computer literacy classes. The computer literacy classes augment one-on-one tutoring by teaching adult learners the technology skills to use kiosks at doctors’ offices, communicate with friends, families, medical professionals, and educators, search for and apply for employment, and find information on the Internet. Sarah brings a unique passion of hers to the adult literacy computer classes. During retirement, Sarah has developed a “Stop the Scam” class that she incorporates into each adult literacy computer class by providing tips on avoiding internet scams. According to Sarah, “In 2025 everyone needs to be computer literate. Part of this literacy is understanding the different types of cybercrimes and how to stay safe from scams.”

The Redlands Adult Literacy Program relies on its volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring to adults who are interested in improving their reading and writing skills. Literacy volunteers also support computer classes, family literacy programs, book clubs, and other activities that help adult learners reach their individual literacy goals. Every volunteer has a unique story about working in adult literacy, and many speak of the joy that comes when they help adults learn a new literacy skill that will be used in their work, personal, and/or family life.

If you have other talents that you would like to share, there are additional volunteer opportunities on the adult literacy hospitality, fundraising, grant writing, and technology committees. The Redlands Adult Literacy Program always needs volunteers to lend a helping hand for book club discussions.

Do you have a passion for reading or writing? Would you like to help someone learn to read? The Redlands Adult Literacy Program provides an opportunity for you to pursue your passion by becoming an adult literacy tutor. Volunteer tutors are the foundation of the Adult Literacy Program because they donate their time to support learners in their quest for reading and writing competency. Says Sarah, “The literacy program is a gem. It’s a very welcoming environment for both the tutors and learners.”

To volunteer to help someone with their reading and writing, please stop by the Circulation Desk at A.K. Smiley Public Library and ask for the Adult Literacy Coordinator or leave your contact information.  The next Tutor Orientation is August 19, 2025.  You can also contact the Literacy program by calling 909.798.7565, ext. 4110 or email: literacy@akspl.org. Tutoring is a great opportunity to help an adult change his or her life through literacy.

To learn more, about Internet scamming, sign up for Sarah’s scam awareness newsletter at EastValleyStopScams.org. Sarah is also willing to speak with community groups about avoiding scams. If you are interested in speaking with her, she can be reached by email at scam.awareness.education@gmail.com. We are grateful for Sarah and every adult literacy volunteer’s contribution to the adult literacy program and their commitment to help adults in our community to improve their literacy.

A.K. Smiley Public Library has a plethora of databases available for library patrons. Allow me to introduce you to the selection we have for children and teens. With your library card, you can access each of these databases from our webpage: https://akspl.org. Once you have opened up the webpage, hover over the “eLibrary” tab on the top black bar and you can choose which type of database you would like to peruse. The choices are: eBooks, eAudiobooks, and eMagazines; Streaming Services; eDatabases; Workforce Development.  If you choose to click on the ‘eLibrary” tab, it will direct you to the entire page of selections.

https://www.akspl.org/elibrary/

Some of the databases and e-book sites will require your library card number and your PIN. The PIN number is the last four digits of the phone number you registered when you applied for you library card.

One of the children and teen pages you may be interested in is National Geographic for Kids. This site offers magazines, books, videos, and pictures for your young explorer to discover. This site will keep your youngsters busy for a long time as they learn facts about places, animals, and people. You may be developing a nature photographer after they’ve explored this site!

The next database for you to discover is the AR Bookfinder. Accelerated Reader Bookfinder is a quick resource for kids and parents to locate a book on the list to see if their student can read it to earn points at school. Many of the schools in our district use the AR system to test children on their understanding of the books they’re reading, as well as their level of comprehension. The reader then takes a quiz at the school and earns points during the school year. This database is also available at the library on our OPACs (online public access catalog).

Another fabulous site to explore is the Teaching Books database. This database brings you over 361,215 resources about children’s and young adult books. I can imagine you will fall prey to the wide variety of information available on this site and spend quite a bit of time exploring. This site is great not only for kids and teens, but also parents, teachers, educators, and anyone interested in children’s literature.

An educational, fun site for you to share with your kids is Lote4Kids. A digital selection of picture books (eBooks and audiobooks) in a diverse range of world languages. I am astounded at the variety of languages that are available. This e-book database will certainly keep you and your kids busy as you discover new languages to listen to, and maybe even learn!

One final suggestion is geared towards teens. Rosen Teen Health and Wellness offers ‘real life, real answers’ for our teen community. Full of a variety of timely subjects pertaining to teen topics, this database presents material in an updated fresh, new look and feel. This “critically acclaimed, award-winning resource provides middle and high school students with non-judgmental, straightforward, curricular and self-help support, aligned to state, national, and provincial standards.”

There are quite a few more resources for you to peruse, and I could go on and on about all of these fantastic offerings, but space is limited here for this article! Please log-on and find your new favorite site to explore and let us know what you’ve discovered!

~ Pamela Martinez, Senior Librarian, Youth Services

Here at Smiley Library, we have lots of new cookbooks with many more on the way. Since there is a delicious abundance, too many to mention in detail, please enjoy this buffet listing of recent cookbooks.

MEMOIR

CLASSIC/COMFORT

INTERNATIONAL

PLANT FORWARD

BAKING/DESSERT

Since the world continues to spin on its axis, poetry month has arrived once more and once more do we explore new works of poetry. Poetry gives us a way to look at the world and the culture we find ourselves in. By reading poetry, we get a chance to hear things, not only new perspectives, but help to gain insights into ourselves that we might not have had the language to get to ourselves.

Doggerel is the latest work by the acclaimed Reginald Dwayne Betts. Betts, a formerly incarcerated person seeking to improve an unfair system, continues his work in this stellar volume. Betts is able to give us insight into the necessary attributes to survive in the prison system as a teenager. It is juxtaposed against the childhood his own children are going through, and how having an attendant father is a much different experience. Dogs feature heavily throughout, as they are the personification of companionship without judgement. Loyal and fierce, dogs show us how to love without ego. Betts’ work is another great example of how much we can learn by just listening to those we often render voiceless.

Tiana Clark’s Scorched Earth is about what comes after the end. After her divorce, Clark must face new realities and old wounds. On this journey of understanding, Clark explores not only herself but the idea of Black joy throughout history. Looking at how black bodies were abused in the past, Clark seeks to understand her own current situation and how self-acceptance is a form of rebellion. She also attempts to rectify her own Christian upbringing with her queerness and disconnection from a higher power. An exploration of black joy and sorrow, the work is an example of how healing can be a radical act.

Esther Lin’s Cold Thief Place is about a woman growing up undocumented in America after being born in Brazil to parents who immigrated from China. Esther’s parents found solace and a sense of community through Christianity but this in turn created an abusive dynamic for their children. Esther herself is pushed into a marriage for a green card mirroring her own parents’ relationship. The work also shows the sympathy of a child for their parents, not just seeing them as caretakers but the humans they are and the circumstances they faced on their own journeys. It is a brilliant work that strives to teach us that a status does not erase the person it is attached to.

Winter of Worship is the newest collection by Kayleb Rae Candrilli. Candrilli looks back at his life, reconciling his current identity with the identity he once held. Having experienced the loss of his father and multiple friends over the years, Candrilli holds their memories close and laments their continued absence. The author describes their recent journeys through the pandemic and the ever-increasing destruction caused by climate change and social upheaval. Candrilli seeks to enjoy the nostalgia of the past while remaining true to the events as they occurred.

Poetry month continues on so please enjoy these books and many more at A.K. Smiley Public Library.