Storytime with the Little Old Lady from Pasadena
June 6, 2026 - 11:00 am
Free drop-in event. No reservations required.
Event will be canceled in instances of rain or heat over 100° f
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Route 66, the “Little Old Lady from Pasadena” joins us for a special Storytime at the Gamble House! Dedicated to promoting childhood literacy and combating ageism, the Little Old Lady, Dorothy Garcia, will share children’s stories that spark imagination. The books featured this Saturday are Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt and Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendack.
Bring the little ones, find a spot under the big oak on the lawn, and enjoy a morning of learning and fun for all ages.
Book Club: DUST JACKET JOURNEYS
Tuesday, June 9, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The Last American Road Trip by Sarah Kendzior
FREE – RSVP requested
Join us for our book club, Dust Jacket Journeys, where we invite you to explore perspectives around architecture, art, identity, and place.
Dust Jacket Journeys is currently held on the second Tuesday of the month from 5:30-6:30pm. Each gathering will offer an opportunity for exploring diverse perspectives, sharing discoveries, and the exchange of ideas which make for a meaningful reading experience. To mark the 100th anniversary of Route 66, the books selected this quarter explore and deconstruct the significance of road trips in American family life. We look forward to sharing a literary journey to new perspectives and new understandings one book at a time.
The Last American Road Trip by Sarah Kendzior: Starting from Missouri, Sarah Kendzior's family drives across America in every direction as cataclysmic events— climate crisis, political and technological turmoil, and the pandemic—reshape American life. They explore Route 66, national parks, historical sites, and Americana icons as Kendzior contemplates love for country in a broken heartland. Together, the family watches the landscape of the United States—physical, environmental, social, political—transform through the car window. Blending travelogue, memoir, history, and societal analysis, The Last American Road Trip is one mother’s promise to her children that their country will be there for them in the future.
Purchase The Last American Road Trip at shop.gamblehouse.org and receive a 20% off coupon for the next featured book. Books available at https://shop.gamblehouse.org/collections/dust-jacket-journeys.
Electric Moons Lecture and Signing with Author India Mandelkern
Saturday, June 13, 2026, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Doors Open for Tour: 6:30 p.m. | Lecture Begins: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $0 Members | $8 Non-Members
Join us for an electrifying evening with a first-floor tour of the Gamble House followed by a lecture on the past, present, and future of street lighting in the Greater Los Angeles area with historian India Mandelkern, author of Electric Moons: A Social History of Street Lighting in Los Angeles. She will be joined by photographer Tom Bertolotti, who will discuss his strategies for photographing city scenes in the book. Electric Moons will be available for purchase and signing by India and Tom after the lecture. The ticket price for this event can be applied to your book purchase.
India Mandelkern is a historian and writer based in Altadena, California. She has authored two books––Electric Moons: A Social History of Street Lighting in Los Angeles (2023) and Wilshire Subway: The Making of the D Line Subway Extension (2026). She occasionally moonlights as a sommelier and holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Tom Bertolotti is an Italian photographer, in Los Angeles since 2018. His work focuses on headshots, editorials, and a neo-noir rediscovery of Southern California. Tom’s photographs illustrate the book Electric Moons: A Social History of Street Lighting in Los Angeles (2023). He used to be an academic and his doctoral thesis concentrated on the philosophy of gossip.
Looking for Something Else?
We're a specialized bookstore, which means we don't carry a lot of titles you might find in other stores.
But don't fret, you can still support us whether you're a lover of fiction or cookbooks or just about anything else!
Purchases made at our Gamble House Bookshop site also support our museum.
Shop from our "Staff Picks" lists or use the search bar at the top of the page to find your latest read.
The Gamble House Bookstore is a drop-off site for Pasadena For All, a local grassroots mutual aid and advocacy organization who come together every Saturday to distribute items to our unhoused neighbors.
Items currently in high demand:
Men's shoes, tents, tarps, sleeping bags, NEW socks, NEW underwear, Men's clothing sizes L, XL, XXL & up, NEW toiletries, Backpacks, First aid supplies
Please refrain from donating stained or torn clothing. Please launder items prior to donation.
