Painting in Adult Non-Fiction

The 2nd floor of the adult wing (non-fiction) is being painted. Please ask the Reference librarian for assistance in accessing materials. Please use caution in the area. Your patience is appreciated!

New Graphic Novel Pick in Youth Services

GUNNERKRIGG COURT, VOLUME 1, BY THOMAS SIDDELL [click here to place a hold]

Gunnerkrigg Court does not look much like a school at all. It closer resembles a large industrial complex than a place of learning. Within the first week of my attendance, I began to notice a number of strange occurrences. The most prevalent of these oddities being the fact that I seemed to have obtained a second shadow. . .

Antimony Carver is a precocious young girl starting her first year of school at gloomy Gunnerkrigg Court, a very British boarding school that has robots running around alongside body-snatching demons, forest gods, and the odd mythical creature. The opening volume in the serires follows Antimony through her orientation year: the people she meets, the strrange things that happen, and the thing she causes to happen as she and her new friend, Kat, unravel the mysteries of the Court.

NEW Museum Pass-- Stepping Stones Museum for Children

Now available to borrow from the Youth Services Desk-- a museum pass for Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk. You may borrow the pass for one week, and it entitles you to one free admission with each regular paid admission (maximum of three free admissions per day).

Exhibits and educational programs at Stepping Stones help expand a child's world by engaging them in fun, playful exploration. With four main galleries, a toddlers-only gallery and over 100 hands-on activities, Stepping Stones offers children ages ten and under plenty to explore and discover. More information at: http://www.steppingstonesmuseum.org/

See a list of all the museum passes Perrot has for you to borrow here.

Do You Have Tickets to Lou?

Children's storyteller and musician Lou Del Bianco will give a family show at Perrot on Thursday, July 30th, 2009, at 4 P.M. Do you have your tickets? Sign up now for FREE at the Youth Services Desk!

Family Fun magazine calls Lou Del Bianco "fresh, funny, [and] highly entertaining," while Billboard magazine raves, "we’ve never seen any kid’s performer who more effectively interacts with his audience"!

Find out more about Lou at his website: http://www.findlou.com/

Movie in the Park

The Perrot Memorial Library is pleased to host a summer movie in the park in Binney Park in Old Greenwich! We will be showing the 1987 film The Princess Bride (rated PG) in the park on Saturday, August 1st, 2009, at 8:30 P.M. [Showing is cancelled in the event of inclement weather.]

More about the movie:
When a young boy falls ill, his grandfather pops round to visit him. To cheer his grandson up, Grandpa has brought a storybook; The Princess Bride, a tale of the love between the beautiful Buttercup and the besotted Westley, a love cruelly interrupted by Westley's tragic apparent death at sea when seeking his fortune. Heartbroken, Buttercup has sworn never to love again, but accepts the marriage proposal of the rich and handsome Prince Humperdinck, heir to the throne of Florin; but death is no barrier to true love, and in a story filled with exotically-accented swordsmen, big-hearted giants, genius kidnappers, sadistic torturers, vile swamps, Rodents of Unusual Size, the Dread Pirate Roberts and a somewhat embittered miracle worker, the love between Westley and Buttercup twists and turns on a path filled with adventure. Will the True Love of Westley and Buttercup win the day? Will Inigo Montaya find the six-fingered man who murdered his father? Will Humperdinck's evil plans come to fruition? And, more importantly, will Grandpa be able to tell the story without any of the yucky kissing? --Scott Nisbet, IMDb.com

Looking for more book recommendations this summer?

Here’s a listing that includes thriller, light reads, biographies and mysteries: http://abcnews.go.com/gma/books There is also a link to to Parade Magazine and their picks.
Perrot Library already has most of these in their collection, with new titles arriving every day.

-The Reference Librarians

The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund, and More Great Reads

THE EX-MRS. HEDGEFUND, BY JILL KARGMAN
[Fiction] This novel defines vacation read: quick to run through, fun to read, and full of likeable characters. With recent hedge fund stories in the news, this is also a timely book about a lifestyle many New Yorkers live. The title character, Holly, is living her dream as the stay-at-home wife of a hedge fund founder. Her world crashes as she discovers her husband’s infidelities, then Holly must start again. This is her tale of finding herself after the bottom drops out of her life. You’ll be cheering her on the whole time.

For more great books, take a look at the new Great Reads from the Reference Librarians list for July 2009.

Youth Services' Summer Reading Contest Starts Today!

This is the first week of the Youth Services Summer Reading Contest! This year, you have to guess which SILLY book the Perrot bears are acting out! They will be acting out a different READiculous ('cos remember, the theme for this year is "DO SOMETHING READICULOUS!") book each week in July. You can go here to check. Once you know which book they're reading, come into the Library (and check out some books!) to receive a guess slip. You can guess as many times as you check out books during the week!

Each week, we will put all of our correct guesses in a hat, and draw a winner. They will receive a super-cool gift bag full of books, toys, and silly stuff! After this week is over, we will draw from among all the correct guess slips from all four weeks to select a GRAND PRIZE winner-- four tickets to Lake Compounce amusement park in Bristol, CT!

Perrot Has Paperbacks!

Perrot has added a collection of about 200 new adult paperbacks, including reissues of many old favorites, in a paperback carousel behind the CD and DVD collections in the Watt room. There are mystery, romance and fiction titles arranged by category. They circulate for three weeks like our other books.

Please come and browse!

Painting

Painting is taking place this week in the Youth Services vestibule. Please use caution when entering or exiting the children's wing. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

Quick Takes on Some Quick Reads

Quick recommendations from the Reference Desk:

• The Gate House, by Nelson DeMille: Finally, a sequel to Gold Coast
• Terminal Freeze, by Lincoln Child: Long frozen ancient animal – thawed on TV!
• True Colors, by Kristin Hannah: Love, betrayal, sisterhood make up this touching tale
• Summer Affair, by Elin Hilderbrand: All her books take place on Nantucket. Fun at any time
• The 8th Confession, by James Patterson: This New Women’s Murder Club title takes place on the seamier side of the “street” in San Francisco
• Lethal Legacy, by Linda Fairstein: Set at the New York Public Library. Lots of mystery and history
• Fed Up, by Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant: This new “Gourmet Girl” mystery mixes romance, murder and a reality TV show about chefs
• The Associate, by John Grisham: Brilliant Yale Law school grad is blackmailed into accepting a position with an unscrupulous NY City law firm
• Just Take My Heart, by Mary Higgins Clark: Eerie and suspenseful story about a heart transplant recipient who experiences symptoms of her donor during a trial

Sunday Closings

Just a reminder... Perrot is closed on Sundays during the summer, from this Sunday (June 21st) through Labor Day weekend. Our next Sunday open will be September 13th.

Just Added for Summer- Drop-in Storytime in Chinese!

The non-proft Chinese Language School of Connecticut will host Storytime in Chinese at Perrot on Wednesdays in July (July 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th) at 1 P.M. The program is aimed at children ages 3 to 5 (and their siblings). This is a free program and no registration necessary!

CLSC is a fully-accredited organization, which teaches Chinese as a second language to children ages 6 months and up in their various weekend and weekday Chopstix preschool classes, regular programs for children and adults, and private tutoring programs. Please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or e-mail info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org for more information.

DVD Diva: Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor, who turned 77 in February, is one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses. Here are a few of her movies available at Perrot:

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof: This 1958 movie is a story of the deception which is destroying a patriarchal Southern family as its members gather for the imminent demise of their "Big Daddy." Also starring Paul Newman.

Life With Father: In this 1947 film, William Powell plays a Wall Street broker who tries to run his family like a bookkeeper only to realize his wife, played by Irene Dunn, actually rules the roost.

A Place In The Sun: With Montgomery Clift as a poor young man determined to win a place in respectable society and the heart of beautiful socialite. He is ultimately driven to a desperate act of passion that unravels his world forever. Originally released in 1951.

Taylor also starred with her husband, Richard Burton, in these movies:

The Taming of the Shrew: In this play by Shakespeare, Richard Burton plays Petrucio, a fortune-hunting scoundrel from Verona who arrives in Padua hoping to capture a wealthy wife.

Coming soon to Perrot on DVD is Cleopatra– with Richard Burton as Marc Anthony and Rex Harrison as Caesar– who can resist the ultimate love triangle? Also coming soon-- The Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Film Collection on DVD. It includes The Sandpiper, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Comedians.

For more details about this famous actress, her 2002 biography, Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry is available on the 2nd floor.

Things to Do This Weekend

Friends of the Byram Library Book Sale: Saturday, June 6th and Sunday, June 7th. At St. Paul's Lutheran Church. A wide selection of goodies, including fiction, over forty categories of non-fiction, and thousands upon thousands of incredible children's books. More info.

Connecticut Trails Day 2009: Whether you’re interested in a long or short hike, a history walk, kayaking, tree identification, horseback-riding, orienteering, letterboxing, trail maintenance, or cycling, Connecticut Trails Day offers a large variety of events for you and your family to enjoy! Saturday, June 6th, statewide. View the list over 190 events. Participate in trail maintenance (9 AM to noon) or go on a moderate hike (10 AM to 2 PM) Saturday at Greenwich and Stamford's Mianus River Park.