Monday, June 24, 2024

Summer Reading Program Event: Mr. Keith the Magic Man presents Wild Adventures at the Library


Thank you, Mr. Keith for the Wild Adventures at the Library show for the Smyrna Public Library Summer Reading Program today.  It was a perfect fit for the theme of this year’s program, Adventure Begins at your Library. 

Keith Karnok, better known throughout Georgia as "Mr. Keith the Magic Man”, and his trusty sidekick “Vern” the talking/singing Gooney Bird helped the kids discover “Wild Adventures at the Library” in their fun magic and ventriloquism reading show about animals, adventure, and reading.    

The 2024 Summer Reading Program is sponsored by the City of Smyrna, the Friends of Smyrna Library, and Dairy Queen, Spring Rd.

Recommended Summer 2024 Reading List

Featured Book:

HOW CAN I HELP YOU by Laura Sims


Other Recommended Selections:

A COURT OF MIST AND FURY by Sarah J. Maas

A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES by Sarah J. Maas

AN UNFINISHED LOVE STORY by Doris Kearns Goodwin

CAMINO GHOSTS by John Grisham

ENTRANCES AND EXITS by Michael Richards

ERUPTION by Michael Crichton and James Patterson

FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros

FUNNY STORY by Emily Henry

JUST FOR THE SUMMER by Abby Jimenez

LEATHER AND LARK by Brynne Weaver

OUTLIVE by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford

THE ANXIOUS GENERATION by Jonathan Haidt

THE ASHES & THE STAR-CURSED KING by Carissa Broadbent

THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

THE COMFORT OF GHOSTS by Jacqueline Winspear

THE HOUSEMAID by Freida McFadden

THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah

THE WREN IN THE HOLLY LIBRARY by K.A. Linde

THIS SUMMER WILL BE DIFFERENT by Carley Fortune

WHAT THIS COMEDIAN SAID WILL SHOCK YOU by Bill Maher

WHEN THE SEA CAME ALIVE by Garrett M. Graff

WHEN WOMEN RAN FIFTH AVENUE by Julie Satow

YOU LIKE IT DARKER by Stephen King

SOURCE: NY Times Bestseller Lists
06/23/2024


Friday, June 21, 2024

Summer Reading Program Event: Cobb County Water System Presents: River Adventure!

Thank you to Ms. Julie and Ms. Nan from the Cobb County Watershed Stewardship for teaching us today about our local rivers and how they help us.  

After a story about rivers, the kids got to make their own puppets of animals that use the river!

The 2024 Summer Reading Program is sponsored by the City of Smyrna, the Friends of Smyrna Library, and Dairy Queen, Spring Rd.

Thursday, June 20, 2024

Monday, June 17, 2024

Summer Reading Program Event: Piccadilly Puppets Presents Imagination Station

Thank you, Piccadilly Puppets for the entertaining Imagination Station program for the Smyrna Public Library Summer Reading Program today!  The kids really enjoyed the playful variety show with puppets, simple objects, music, storytelling, and lots of audience participation.  Everyone discovered that a little imagination can go a long way!

The 2024 Summer Reading Program is sponsored by the City of Smyrna, the Friends of Smyrna Library, and Dairy Queen, Spring Rd.

Friday, June 14, 2024

Summer Reading Program Event: Butterfly Release

One of the highlights of this year's Summer Reading Program for kids was observing caterpillars transform into butterflies throughout May and June via metamorphosis.

The metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly is a marvel of nature's transformational prowess. Starting as an egg laid on a suitable host plant, the caterpillar hatches and begins its voracious feeding stage, consuming leaves to fuel its growth. As it grows, the caterpillar sheds its skin multiple times in a process called molting. Once fully grown, it forms a chrysalis or pupa, where the most astonishing changes occur. Inside this protective casing, the caterpillar's body undergoes a remarkable restructuring. Imaginal discs, groups of cells that were present since the caterpillar's early development, now begin to rapidly divide and differentiate, forming the adult butterfly's wings, legs, antennae, and other structures. This metamorphosis typically takes a few weeks, culminating in the emergence of a fully-formed butterfly, ready to take flight and begin its new life cycle.

Today the butterflies were released on the library patio just in time for National Pollinator Week.

The 2024 Summer Reading Program is sponsored by the City of Smyrna, the Friends of Smyrna Library, and Dairy Queen, Spring Rd.

Thursday, June 13, 2024

FOSL Announces Summer Pop-Up Clearance Sale Series

All Books on CD, Movie DVDs, Music CDs, and Books on the 2 CLEARANCE Tables are only 50 cents each. The sales are taking place in the Library Atrium Lobby through the end of July. As soon as we free up some table space we’ll add more Music CDs and Travel Books. More collections will be put out each week – look for social media updates. Cash, PayPal, and Venmo are accepted for
payment.
We also restocked the FOSL Bookstore with new selections from 75 cents to $2. Magazines are only 10 cents.
Proceeds from the Summer CLEARANCE Sales will be donated to purchase new book titles for teens.
Teens (rising 6th graders to 12th graders) can sign-up to volunteer at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090E4DACAD2AA0FC1-teen1#/

Dana Palacio, Marc McAfee, and Raven Hinson Join FOSL Board of Directors

Meet our new Directors on the Friends of Smyrna Library Board of Directors!
Thank you, Dana Palacio, Marc McAfee, and Raven Hinson (left to right) for raising your hands and volunteering to serve in a leadership role.

We are excited to have you on the FOSL team!

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Friends of Smyrna Library Awarded Grant by Friends of Georgia Libraries

Friends of Smyrna Library was selected to receive a grant by the Friends of Georgia Libraries to support an upcoming appearance by a Georgia author! 

Did you know that one of the most popular non-fiction books loaned from the library are cookbooks? 

FOSL is excited to host an author talk with popular Atlanta-based cookbook author and food blogger, Michelle Braxton. She released a new book in 2024. 

Since the pandemic, interest in growing and cooking local produce has reached a new high. 

We are excited to feature a local author who connects her readers to great recipes that are fun and healthy to make at home! Save the date for August 18 for this fun author event!

Monday, June 3, 2024

Summer Reading Program Event: Jeffini's Wild West Magic Show

Thank you, Jeffini for your return to the Smyrna Public Library Summer Reading Program!  The kids had a great time attending your wonderful new show.  

Event Description:

Jeffini used MAGIC & PUPPETS to encourage kids to READ & Explore the Wild West.  The children helped Marshal Jeffini stop Black Bart from stealing all the words . . . words like . . . Power, and Ambition, and Gold and Silver . . . and - well - you get the idea . . . because if he stole all the words – he would have stolen all the books and have all the knowledge needed to rule the world . . . and we just could not let happen!!   

This NEW show included fun magic, Jeffini’s crazy puppet friends, and all of the kids working together to accomplish amazing things by working together.  This year’s magical words are...“Yippee Kay Yay It's a Reading day!" 

The 2024 Summer Reading Program is sponsored by the City of Smyrna, the Friends of Smyrna Library, and Dairy Queen, Spring Rd.


Sunday Lecture: Papermaking Around the World

Thank you, Virginia Howell, for yesterday’s presentation on Papermaking Around the World.  

Lecture Summary:

Paper is a ubiquitous material, used in books to coffee filters to clothing and furniture. Today we discovered the paper of papermaking and how different cultures developed techniques and uses for this material that allowed their societies to flourish and grow. From China to the Pacific Islands to India to Italy to Mexico and the Americas, we find out about the tools and traditions of papermaking.

Speaker Bio: 

Virginia Howell is the director of the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking in the Renewable Bioproducts Institute at Georgia Tech. She has been a museum professional for 25 years, working in historic sites, science, art, and history museums as an educator. A Tennessee native, Howell has lived in Smyrna for the last 9 years and is proud to have four different library cards to support her interest in paper-as-books.

The Sunday Lecture series is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.