Toddler Storytime

Toddler Storytime is a great way to introduce your 2 year old to a group experience. Activities include stories, singing songs and fingerplays. Registration is recommended but not required. Storytimes will be held on Mondays at 10:00 a.m. from September 17th -October 29th.

Preschool Storytime

These weekly sessions are for the 3-5 year old child. The aim of storytime is to introduce children to the library and to the magic of books and reading, as well as to develop social skills needed for school. Registration is recommended but not required. Storytimes will be held on Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. from September 20th - November 1st.

Barks and Books

Elementary school children are invited to the San Marino Public Library to practice their reading skills by reading a book to a gentle dog. This special program is made possible by volunteers of the Pasadena Humane Society. Please call the children’s department for specific time and dates. Space is limited and reservations are required. For more information, please call 626-300-0777.

A New Way to Talk About Books

The San Marino Public Library is now offering animated books reviews by ReadtheBooks.com on its website. These book reviews are great for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Sponsored in part by the San Marino Chapter of the National Charity League, this online resource is another innovative way children can find new and interesting titles to read. With Readthebook.com, you can also sort and search Valentine and Carver’s accelerated reader list, and then search to see if the Public Library carries that specific title. To enjoy this book-discovery experience first hand, go to sanmarinopl.org and click on " Children’s Webpage" . Then click on the Animated Book Reviews link.

Library on YouTube

Watch short films of the dedication of the new library and last March's " Topping Out" ceremony. Just visit the "In the News" section of our library Web page, http://sanmarinopl.org/librarynews/inthenews.htm. These videos were uploaded to YouTube.com by Barris Shao, a freelance videographer for Channel 19, who has given us permission to link to them. Thanks, Barris!

Summer Time Is Reading Time

Don’t let the kids have all the reading fun this summer! While the kids rack up the numbers in the Library’s Summer Reading Program, their parents can indulge in their own recreational reading. Great new books in the library include Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child, the eleventh book in the Jack Reacher series; Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella, in which Becky Bloomwood tricks out her newborn; Lean Mean Thirteen, Janet Evanovich’s latest Stephanie Plum adventure; and The Overlook by Michael Connelly, featuring Harry Bosch investigating a murder that may have consequences for national security. Also, don’t forget that the last Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is due out on July 21.

In addition to books for loan, we also have a Book Shoppe in which the Friends of the Library sell gently used donated books for shockingly low prices. All proceeds go to new materials for the library. Stop in today!

Road Trip?

Summer is upon us, so if you are heading out of town on a driving vacation, be sure to stop by the library first and pick up some books on CD. The library has a large selection of new books on CD, both fiction and non-fiction, for your listening pleasure while on the road.

History buffs can immerse themselves in art with Ross King’s The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade That Gave Us Impressionism, or go for lighter fare with The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of The Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard.

On the fiction front there is Nineteen Minutes, the latest offering by New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult, and Ellis Avery’s The Teahouse Fire, a lushly detailed historical novel based around the Japanese tea ceremony. Ann Brashares The Last Summer (of You and Me) is a deeply felt celebration of summer and nostalgia for youth. There are dozens of family friendly children’s books on CD available as well.