South End Scoop: Books & More From KCLS — July 2023
The King County Library System (KCLS) and the South Seattle Emerald are teaming up to bring you the South End Scoop. Dig into this community-centered column each month for great book, music, movie, and event recommendations from your local librarians.
We hope you are enjoying the warm weather and discovering great books through KCLS' annual all-ages Summer Reading Program. You have until Aug. 31 to track time spent reading this summer to get prizes. Visit KCLS' Summer Reading Program webpage to join our community of readers, pop into a fun event or two, and track your minutes. Read on for great book recommendations if you need some inspiration.
And if you're looking for even more ways to make the most of your summer, try checking out our free adventure packs and museum passes. Our Check Out Washington kits can be reserved for 14 days with your KCLS library card, and they include a Discover Pass for free parking at Washington State parks and wildlife areas, maps, nature guides, and binoculars. You can also get free passes to museums and local attractions like the Museum of Flight, Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle Aquarium, KidsQuest Museum, and more through KCLS. Learn more about free passes on our website.
All KCLS libraries are open and air-conditioned. Visit our location finder map to beat the heat at a library near you.
LIBRARIAN PICKS
Kids (Ages 3 to 7)
Hiking Day by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell
Celebrate nature and family time in Anne Rockwell's book about a young girl's first hiking trip. Illustrations by the author's daughter, Lizzy Rockwell, are vibrant and beautiful, highlighting the wonder found in our natural world. Readers encounter a toad, woodpecker, chipmunk, and other friendly forest creatures in this sweet story of discovery. Hiking Day is a great book for little ones who are gearing up for a new experience or an outdoor summer adventure.
Kids and Tweens (Ages 8 to 13)
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
Celine and Bradley have been rivals throughout high school and couldn't be more different. Celine, a conspiracy-theory-obsessed nerd, and Bradley, a straight-A star athlete, are disappointed to find themselves at the same nature survival camp. Their rivalry is put to the test when the two are forced to work together. To everyone's surprise, sparks begin to fly, and Celine and Bradley must navigate new emotions in this lighthearted rom-com set in the great outdoors!
Teens (Ages 14 to 17)
This engaging documentary on DVD follows the New York Times bestselling author (How to Be Black) and podcaster (How to Citizen with Baratunde) Baratunde Thurston as he travels across America interviewing a diverse set of outdoor enthusiasts. From surfers and rice harvesters to coal-miners-turned-beekeepers, Thurston explores the complexities of climate change and how we can better coexist with the natural world.
Adults (Ages 18 and older)
A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing From Soil to Stars, edited by Erin Sharkey
A Darker Wilderness contains a powerful collection of essays about the role of nature in Black Americans' lives. Each essay meditates on an artifact — a statue, a photograph, a journal — and how they are entwined with the natural world and the collective history of the Black experience. Covering a wide range of topics from food sovereignty and environmental justice to gardening and the politics of land ownership, this moving compilation delivers a fresh and diverse take on nature writing.
Recommendations courtesy of KCLS librarian Julie from the Burien Library.
UPCOMING EVENTS
KCLS offers a variety of in-person and online events and activities for all ages! All events are free. Find one that interests you at KCLS.org/Events.
Wednesday, July 19, 12:30—1:30 p.m. Bellevue Library
Enjoy outdoor classes with instructor Master Yijiao Hong. Master Hong will demonstrate 24-form Yang style and will lead the class in Tai Chi meditation and movements. Master Hong is founder of the local Chinese Wushu & Taichi Academy.
Wednesday, July 19, 3—4 p.m. Mercer Island Library
Travel to Africa for the day! Teaching artists from Gansango Music & Dance Company will perform music and dance from West Africa.
Wednesday, July 19, 5—7 p.m. Burien Library
Get creative with us in a songwriting workshop led by staff from the School of Rock! Discover creative writing exercises for lyrics and basic chord theory for songwriters. There's no need to bring an instrument.
Tuesday, July 25, 7—8 p.m. Third Place Commons stage, Lake Forest Park
Sasha taqblu LaPointe will discuss her book, Red Paint: the Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk. This event is part of the "Lake Forest Park Reads" community literacy event.
Wednesday, July 26, 3—4:30 p.m. Online
Learn how to search and apply for your first job at this helpful workshop.
Thursday, July 27, 7:30—8:30 p.m. Online
Join a discussion with Suzanne Park, author of The Do-Over, a story about a Korean American woman who returns to college after discovering she is a few credits shy of completing her degree, only to find one of her TAs is her old college boyfriend.
Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2—3 p.m. Boulevard Park Library
Explore electricity and create your own contraption using simple circuits, motorized vibration, and recycled materials with KidsQuest Children's Museum. Think like an engineer and get creative as you decorate your wiggling, jiggling bug.
Wednesday, Aug. 2, 3—6 p.m. Renton Library
Don't toss your broken items! Bring them to the library, where skilled "fixers" will try to repair them. Co-sponsored by King County EcoConsumer's Repair Time project. Please sign up in advance — these are popular events!
Thursday, Aug. 3, 3:30—5:30 p.m. Federal Way 320th Library
Are you interested in learning about people and places around the world this summer? This event series will explore different destinations each month through travel vlogs, documentaries, films, and books. Join us in August to talk about Trinidad and Tobago.
Tuesday, August 8, 7:30—8:30 p.m. Online
Hear from Victoria Christopher Murray, bestselling author of the new novel The First Ladies. Learn about the extraordinary partnership between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune in the unlikely friendship that changed the world.
NEED A LIBRARY CARD?
Residents in the KCLS service area (in King County, outside the City of Seattle) can sign up instantly for a physical card to access our full collection, or a digital eCard to access our digital collection. VisitKCLS.org/Library-Cards to get started. Contact Ask KCLS at KCLS.org/Ask if you need assistance with your account, or call 425-462-9600 or 800-462-9600.
Featured Image: South Seattle Emerald and the King County Library System (KCLS) are teaming up to give you book, media, and event recommendations each month via the South End Scoop.
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Before you move on to the next story …
The South Seattle Emerald™ is brought to you by Rainmakers. Rainmakers give recurring gifts at any amount. With around 1,000 Rainmakers, the Emerald™ is truly community-driven local media. Help us keep BIPOC-led media free and accessible.
If just half of our readers signed up to give $6 a month, we wouldn’t have to fundraise for the rest of the year. Small amounts make a difference.
We cannot do this work without you. Become a Rainmaker today!
