09/20/2026
In the Youth Department, there’s never a shortage of fun programs and events going on. We’re busy all year round! September and October are especially chock-full of events, ranging from story times, to a teen art contest, to a cooking demonstration. Here I will highlight our programs for the fall.
Our regularly scheduled weekly story times have resumed as of mid-August (after their Summer Reading Program hiatus) with some schedule changes! Preschool Story Time starts off the week, hosted by Miss Pamela on Mondays at 10:30 AM. Next is Spanish Story Time on Tuesdays at 10:30 AM, hosted by our volunteer Miss Bris. We’re excited to be reintroducing this storytime back into the mix! Wednesdays, we have Pajama Story Time at 7:00 PM, usually hosted by Miss Pamela, and open to all ages and all pajamas. Thursdays are our most popular storytime day, with two Baby Story Times hosted by Miss Kristina at 9:30 and 10:15 AM. Finishing up the week on Fridays at 10:30 AM, we have Toddler Story Time hosted by me, Miss Emily! Remember, the age groups for all of our story times are suggestions – we’re not turning anyone away. Siblings are always welcome, too! Come read stories and sing songs with us.
Book Buddies Club is thriving. Currently, we have a group of 25 young patrons in our (semi-monthly) book club open to ages 7-12, reading Into the Wild, the first book in the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Upon signing up for the book club, readers receive a free copy of the book and are invited to four meetings, generally weekly over the course of a month, where they read the book together. Other books read in the past include Dog Man, Spy School, and Finally Seen. All great successes! If you have a book club book suggestion, let Miss Pamela know! She’s been known to implement recommendations for the book club proposed by eager readers.
Miss Sarah is returning for weekly Homework Help on Mondays now that the school year has started! In the Young Readers’ Room from 12:30-2:30 PM, she helps children grades K-6 with their homework needs.
Now that we’ve covered our recurring events, there are a few one-day events in September and October to introduce. On Sunday, September 20th we will host a 90th Anniversary Celebration for The Story of Ferdinand; featuring a story time, photo booth, and flower crown craft. The following week, Thursday, September 24th will be our monthly spirit day: Dress Like an Animal Day! On Sunday, October 25th we will be joined by June Jo Lee and Philip Lee of Readers to Eaters, a company promoting food literacy through children’s books and events. They will be hosting the Awesome Sauce Workshop, a cooking demonstration in celebration of their new book release: Kimchi Taco Time!
The 23rd Annual Family Day will be on Saturday, September 26th. Our featured author this year will be Tiffany Stovall, author of the board book “Hi Redlands!” We will be giving away one free copy of this book to each of the first 400 families in attendance. Other featured guests include East Valley Therapy Dogs, Master Gardeners, Girl Scouts, and It’s Music Time; to name a few. There will be activities including a pop-up book craft and a climbing wall, as well as free lunch for attendees aged 0-18, and a book selection from which each child can choose a free book while supplies last. This is a super fun community event! Come and celebrate Redlands and A.K. Smiley Library with us, all ages are welcome.
In addition to our events and programs for children, Smiley Library also has tons of things to do for teens, thanks to Miss Kristina. The Dia de Mu***os teen art contest is finally underway! Students within the Redlands Unified School District aged 13-18 are encouraged to send in original artwork based on the Dia de Mu***os theme, competing for a grand prize of $400. The deadline for submissions is October 21st.
Multiple Tuesdays per month, Miss Kristina hosts a Teen Writers Club in the Teen Underground open to anyone between the ages of 13 and 18. Teens participate in all kinds of fun writing games and exercises; September’s meetings are on the 15th and the 29th. Keep an eye out for our October Dates on next month’s schedule. Every second Wednesday of the month is Virtual Reality in the Teen Underground: teens are welcomed to choose from the wide variety of games available to be played with our virtual reality gaming headset and console. September’s event was the 9th, and October’s event will take place on the 14th.
If you’d like more information about any of these events, feel free to call us in the Young Readers’ Room or explore our website! We have a busy season ahead of us.
We have an amazing staff at the A.K. Smiley Library who support us here in the Young Readers’ Room and help our programs run smoothly and successfully! I would like to saythank you to all of our wonderful staff and volunteers for everything that they do, and to our patrons for enjoying the services we have to offer. It’s such a privilege to be surrounded by such a hardworking, dedicated, and supportive community.
Written by Emily Windver, Library Specialist, Youth Services.
