Check out the Off the Shelf newsletter to see all our programs & services!
 
June 14 – August 2 | Join the Summer Reading Program!
  • Sign up at any Pasadena Public Library site or online at Pasadena.Beanstack.com/.
  • Complete and track your activities.
  • Receive prizes whenever you complete a milestone. For more info, visit: CityOfPasadena.libguides.com/summer-reading
Stronger Together: A Collaborative Puzzle Mural
 
Each of you is a “piece” of what makes the library so special! Help us create a puzzle mural by decorating your own puzzle piece during this year’s Summer Reading Program. Individual pieces will become part of a larger mural that will be unveiled during our End of Summer Bash (see below). Designs can be about anything related to the library – your favorite book or favorite book character, or something that makes you think of the Pasadena community. Puzzles must be submitted to a Pasadena Public Library branch no later than July 26th to be part of the mural. 
 
Questions? Contact Marie Plug at mplug@CityofPasadena.net.
 
We can’t wait to see what you create. Let’s make something awesome together!
 
 
End of Summer Bash!
 
Join us for a summer celebration with a ton of games, an amazing hula performance,  the unveiling of the Collaborative Puzzle Mural and the LEGO® Showcase. Refreshments  will be provided.  For all ages.
Saturday, Aug. 2 • 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. • Jefferson Branch Library
 
11:30 a.m. – noon • Hālau Hula Moaniʻaʻala Anuhea
Perpetuating the Hawaiian culture through dance, chant and aloha. Learn about the instruments used and the differences between the ancient style and modern-day hula.
 
noon – 1:30 p.m. • LEGO® Showcase
Join us as the 2025 Design Your LEGO® contest entrants (contest deadline July 18) present and give a brief commentary on their entries. Each entry is then judged based on originality/creativity, presentation/aesthetics and complexity. Winners will be chosen by a panel of LEGO® enthusiasts.  Creators need to be able to attend and present at Showcase Day in order to be eligible for prizes.
 
Sponsored by The Friends of the Pasadena Public Library. 
 
Elementary School Booklist
Check out these books recommended for grades K - 5!
 
Big Bike, Little Bike
by Kellie DuBay Gillis

A charming cast of different animals approach the same simple bike, in a story that celebrates how circumstances can change perspective and how far one's perspective -- and one bike -- can take someone. A bike. Is it a big bike or a little bike? Fast or slow? Dirty or clean? It all depends on who is taking it for a ride. 
First Day Around the World
by Ibi Aanu Zoboi

A picture book offers a lyrical celebration of the first day of school across every continent and explores what going back to school looks like, including breakfast-to-bedtime routines, for children in countries around the world.
Growing Home
by Beth Ferry

A motley crew of talkative plants, a curious spider, and a grumpy goldfish use their newfound magical abilities to defend their family from a greedy human. 
Middle School Booklist
Check out these books recommended for grades 6 - 8!
 
At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom
by Erin Entrada Kelly

A biography of the legendary and inspiring Josefina "Joey" Guerrero: World War II spy, Filipina guerrilla fighter, war hero, Medal of Freedom recipient, leprosy survivor, teacher, and peacemaker by Newbery medalist Erin Entrada Kelly. Written for young readers. 
Please Pay Attention
by Jamie Sumner

After surviving a school shooting that left her in a wheelchair, Bea finds healing and empowerment through horseback riding therapy and begins to advocate for change. This moving story is written in verse. 
A Hero's Guide to Summer Vacation
by Pablo Cartaya

Gonzalo Alberto Sánchez García has never considered himself the hero of his own story. He’s an observer, quietly snapshotting landscapes and drawing the creatures he imagines emerging from them. Forced to spend the summer with his estranged grandfather, Alberto William García—the very famous reclusive author—Gonzalo didn’t expect to learn that heroes and monsters are not only the stuff of fantasy. 
High School Booklist
Check out these books recommended for grades 9 - 12!
 
The Otherwhere Post
by Emily J. Taylor

Maeve Abenthy lives under a fake name and avoids putting down roots to escape the stain of her father's crime -- but, when she receives a letter saying her father was innocent, she starts looking into her father's past. To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice at the Interworld Post Office, where she will learn the art of scriptomancy: the dangerous magic that allows messengers to cast spells on letters and send them to other worlds. 
A Catalog of Burnt Objects
by Shana Youngdahl

Seventeen-year-old Caprice wants to repair her family now that her brother has returned home, but wildfires strike her small California town, in a love story and a reflection of the heartbreaking, true story of the 2018 wildfire that destroyed Paradise, California.
Bingsu for Two
by Sujin Witherspoon

River Langston-Lee dumps his girlfriend, quits his job at his parents' cafe and gets a job at a failing Korean cafe working with grumpy goth Sarang Cho, in an enemies-to-lovers coffee shop romance. 
Homework Help Partners
Kindergarten – 6th Grade
June - August
Various Library Sites 
 
Parents, get help for your kids with math, language arts and reading this summer. Students will be matched with a volunteer Homework Help Partner. Submit an interest form at CityOfPasadena.libwizard.com/f/homework to be matched.
 
Library staff will contact you to confirm. Scheduling and library meeting location is based on volunteer availability.
 
LIVE CHAT WITH LIBRARY STAFF M-F, 9-5
This newsletter is brought to you by:
  • Youth Services Librarian Ashley Olmsted (aolmsted@cityofpasadena.net)
  • Youth Services Senior Librarian Jane Gov (jgov@cityofpasadena.net)
Please reach out to us if you have any questions or requests for services! We are here to help you!