09/06/2026
September 6 is National Read a Book Day!
Of course, we at Smiley Library celebrate every day as read-a-book day by offering a wide variety of books to borrow. With so much to choose from, this means that if you, say, have been drawn to something in the news and want to know more about it, you can usually find books on those topics in the library.
Two subjects that seem to have had the whole country talking lately are the passing of national treasure, singer and actress Dolly Parton, as well as that of beloved Big Bear Valley bald eagle Jackie who died August 10. Both are beautiful icons who entertained us and who were admired just for being themselves while living their best lives. In the end, we realize how much their genuine lives gave so much back to us.
The story of Jackie and her predecessors comes alive in this wonderfully sweeping story, “The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America's Bird,” by Pulitzer Prize winning author Jack E. Davis (“The Gulf”). A professor of environmental history, Davis presents the cultural and natural history of the United States’ national bird since 1782, when its image appeared on the national seal.
Davis contrasts the age when native peoples lived beside the eagle peacefully with spectacular stories of Founding Fathers, rapacious hunters, heroic bird rescuers, and the lives of bald eagles themselves. We learn that though we use the eagle as a symbol of our majesty, we once saw them as predators that we must destroy. This and our use of the pesticide, DDT, twice pushed the bald eagle toward the brink of extinction.
Coincidentally, among the philanthropic endeavors in which Dolly Parton engaged, was work with the American Eagle Foundation to rehabilitate and release over a hundred bald eagles in the Smoky Mountains. In 2003, she was acknowledged with a Partnership Award from the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service for her efforts.
For more reading on the bald eagle, “Return to the Sky: The Surprising Story of How One Woman and Seven Eaglets Helped Restore the Bald Eagle” is available in e-book and e-audiobook form in our e-library. It is an inspiring story of author Tina Morris’ experimentation in the 1970s as a young ornithology student who, while raising seven eaglets, developed the techniques to start the bald eagle back from extinction status. Morris was later formally inducted as an honorary Iroquois into the Confederacy of Six Nations for her work returning the Bald Eagle to the nation's skies.
You may also want to check out “The Return of the Oystercatcher: Saving Birds to Save the Planet,” which is now on our “New Book” shelves. Author Scott Weidensaul describes his work as “a book of optimism” as he recounts the survival stories of several species of birds, including the bald eagle, and the part that the healthy presence of birds plays in saving the planet.
We came to know so many details of the lives of Jackie and her mate, Shadow, and the eaglets they hatched, observing them via the web camera at their Big Bear nest. We began to care about them and this empathy brought about for Jackie perhaps her greatest legacy, besides her offspring. We learned about how important the lake and its shoreline are to the survival of these raptors. Their popularity helped generate enormous public interest in protecting Moon Camp, approximately 63 acres of undeveloped habitat less than a mile from their nest. This year $10 million was raised to protect that land from development and go towards its preservation as a bald eagle habitat. (Source: Karen Rodriguez, Big Bear Bald Eagles)
Some say that Dolly Parton’s ultimate legacy may be the preservation of minds, as Jackie’s was the preservation of habitat. Realizing how important early reading is for the well-being of a child, and, ultimately, of an adult, Parton created, over 30 years ago, a program called Imagination Library (ImaginationLibrary.com), for children up to the age of five, of any income level, which sends participants a free book monthly. One in six children under the age of five in the U.S. now receive this gift of a surprise title, and, as Dolly wrote, “every time you open one up, you will meet new friends and take wonderful journeys to magical places." Let’s all open one up today.
For new books about Dolly Parton, see biography “Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton” by Martha Ackmann, and a stunning compilation by Parton herself, with the help of Billboard's Country Update editor Tom Roland, “Star of the Show: My Life on Stage.” The material is offered in print and in audio formats, featuring sound clips from her albums, live performances, and other public appearances.
Written by Teresa Letizia, a library specialist at A.K. Smiley Public Library, 125 W. Vine St., Redlands.
