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December 2, 2024 to February 28, 2025 Patrons can visit the library to register in-person and pick up a reading log. Additional Reading Logs can be downloaded here.  Age groups: How it Works Registration for youth and adults begins Monday, December 2, 2024 and the program runs until Friday, February 28, 2025.You must visit the …

Do you enjoy visiting other libraries? Visit the library now to pick up your paper passport.  The crawl will be held October 1 to 31, 2024. The Smithton Public Library District will have a small gift for anyone who visits us as part of the crawl. If you are a current, valid Smithton Public Library …

Have you ever wondered what librarians use and recommend for their reading time and book-ish accessories? We all know you need a good reading light and a comfy chair, but check out these fun accessories and book-ish delights, below! These recommendations have been suggested by Smithton PLD staff members, and are NOT sponsored. They include services, products, apps, …

Want to learn a new skill? A new language? Upskill your work skills? Check out this (non-exhaustive) list of places where you can attend free classes! Coursera Coursera has over a thousand free courses. Free courses are Coursera courses offered without charge to anyone who enrolls. They cover a range of topics. Degree programs and certificates are …

Smithton Public Library District’s2024 Summer Reading Program FOR AGES 0-100+! Visit the library to sign up the whole family, beginning Tuesday, May 28, 2024. Everything you need to complete the reading program is in the folder! A few notes: *A maximum of 3 completed logs per person may be turned in for prizes. The Summer …

Get inspired for the holiday! Read something you’ve never heard of before. Read something as old as you can find. Read something brand new, hot off the shelf. Read a classic you enjoy over and over. And share with your family! Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree | Robert Barry Summary: When Mr. Willowby’s Christmas tree is …

The Last Unicorn (1982) – United States rated PG Summary: When a young unicorn learns she may soon be the last of her kind, she leaves the safety of her protected forest and enlists the help of a clumsy sorcerer as they embark on a long journey to save the unicorns from extinction. Recommendation: I …

Tokyo Godfathers (2003) PG-13 Summary: The story takes place on Christmas Eve in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Middle-aged has-been Gin, aging transvestite Hana, and teenager runaway Miyuki are homeless friends who have formed a makeshift family structure bond. That bond is tested when they find an abandoned baby while searching for food in a trash dumpster. They …

Only Yesterday (1991) Summary: After living her whole life in the city, 27-year-old Taeko decides to visit her relatives in the countryside. As she travels, memories of her youth resurface. And after meeting young farmer Toshio, she wonders if she’s been true to the dreams of her childhood self. What would her life be like …

Spirited Away (2001) Summary: When a young girl is trapped in a strange new world of spirits, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and rescue her parents. The mysteries of what this place is, who is responsible, and how to escape all fall on Chihiro’s 10-year-old shoulders. …

My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Summary: Two young girls, 10-year-old Satsuki and her 4-year-old sister Mei, move into a house in the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. Satsuki and Mei discover that their rented home may be haunted and magical creatures inhabit the nearby forest. Adventures and rescues abound while …

I thought I was pulling together a selection of works not at all alike each other… but no, I really do like my adventure stories with moral or ethical consequences. Read The Count of Monte Cristo aloud – the language is musical. Island of the Blue Dolphins might need note taking or drawings of the …

Each of the following suggestions is an inventive and original concept with lots of running, hiding, seeking, fighting, and sometimes a little magic. Every Day in particular starts a series with amazing implications for our understanding of time and consciousness. -Cinda The City of Bones | Cassandra Clare Summary: Suddenly able to see demons and …

Cyrano |2021 Summary: This is a romantic historical musical version of the same classic story made completely attainable by Steve Martin’s modern take with Roxanne (1987). Whether or not the music is part of what you enjoy about this version, that’s up to you. I don’t want to talk it down just because I found …

2022 Illinois Bluestem Award Winners 2022 Monarch Award 2022 Rebecca Caudill Award Winners Check out our Google Sheets document (linked below) to see the titles! These spreadsheets also show you if the library has a physical copy, or if you can get a digital copy through Hoopla or CloudLibrary.

The links below the groupings direct you to various blog posts featuring the listed titles. Happy Reading! -Jenna Dauer, Smithton Public Library District Library Director Tween (5th grade and up) interests:  Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin – 2009 Inspired picture books: Thumpy Feet, by Betsy Lewin – 2013 This is Not …

Scroll down for suggestions for the following ages.  The links will jump you to that section of the blog post. Birth to 5 years old 6 to 12 years old Teens, ages 13-18 years old Adults Ages Birth to 5 years old Sneezy the Snowman | Maureen Wright Summary: A snowman who finds it dreadfully cold keeps …

From Cinda: The holidays are on their way! I associate holidays with family coming together. Do you have a favorite family movie? Does it happen to involve a holiday or not? Some of my favorite movie families are shown without any holidays involved. I also love a few traditional (and not so traditional) Christmas movies …

The Great Chicago Fire: Rising from the Ashes | Kate Hannigan & Alex Graudins Summary: A fictionalized account of what happened before, during, and after the Chicago Fire (which burned for 30 hours before it was done), this story follows the movements of a couple of kids as they try to reunite their lost puppy …

The Hate U Give (listing the movie only because I have yet to read the source material, 2018) , book by Angie Thomas – 2017 Summary: Starr is witness to a terrible moment, the police shooting of her black friend who was holding a hairbrush. Conflicted in her identity and purpose, she eventually gives up …