Notes from the New Bin

New to Perrot's picture book collection:

POSY

by Linda Newbery

illustrated by Catherine Rayner

Follow Posy the mischievous striped kitten as she pounces and bounces through her day. She's a sandwich checker, a board-game wrecker... and ever so much more. A fun rhyming story with charming illustrations that perfectly capture feline energy!

Experience the Sound at Greenwich Point

The Town of Greenwich Shellfish Commission is sponsoring its third annual "Experience the Sound" event at Greenwich Point, from 1 P.M. to 4 P.M. on Sunday, May 17th, 2009, at the west end of Greenwich Point.

There will be over 30 Sound-related exhibits as well as a tour of the local waters, a visit on a shellfish boat and learning about local and exotic scuba dining opportunities in the Sound. Also, there will be a presentation on where to fish locally and how lobsters are trapped in local waters. Many local institutions (including Perrot!) will have tables featuring educational exhibits.

For more information, visit www.GreenwichCT.org, or contact Sue Baker at 637-4610.

Read About Moms in Youth Services

Mother's Day is coming (Sunday, May 10th)... We've gathered some books about moms into our display areas (below the bulletin board and in the window boxes) for you. Stop by and get some soon!

Bring Mom to the Kentucky Derby

“Bring Mom to the Kentucky Derby” is the book display theme on the second floor of Perrot, where we have a display of Horse Racing books in honor of the Kentucky Derby, which is this weekend. The race is on Saturday, May 2. Here’s a link to information about the Derby: http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/, which also features party ideas, and Mint Julep recipes, as well as the history of the race and the parade.

Also featured in our display are books about motherhood, with Mother’s Day coming up on Sunday, May 10th!

-The Reference Librarians

YS Summer Program Preview

The Youth Services Summer Program Schedule is now available-- click here.

Please note that for the Summer 2009 session, all our preschool programs will be DROP-IN, limited to the first 20 children and their caregivers to sign in before each program.

Our Stuff & Nonsense and Spotlight programs will still be by registration only. Pick up a registration postcard for the program of your choice from the Youth Services Circulation Desk, beginning on Monday, June 1st, 2009.

For complete registration instructions, click here. Descriptions of our program offerings are available here.

If you have other questions, please comment on this post!

THE VOTES ARE IN!

Perrot's Young Critics' Club (for 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-graders) has declared that its favorite book of 2008/2009 is....


THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change, but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.



See the rest of YCC's favorites here (click on the link on the Favorites Books of 2008-2009 link on the left), and learn more about the club!

Pulitzer Prize Winners

The Pulitzer Prize for fiction was awarded to Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout. The press releases describes the book as "a collection of 13 short stories set in small-town Maine that packs a cumulative emotional wallop, bound together by polished prose and by Olive, the title character, blunt, flawed and fascinating." This book was used as our community read in November 2008 at Perrot. Ms. Strout spoke about her book at the library, and was thrilled to be able to discuss her work with an enthusiastic group of patrons who had all read the book!


Prize-winners for non-fiction:

• American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, by Jon Meacham
• Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, by Annette Gordon-Reed
• Slavery by Another Name: The Re-enslavement of Black People in America from the Civil War to World War II, by Douglas A. Blackmon

The complete news release is available at: http://www.pulitzer.org/press_releases

-The Reference Librarians

Earth Day Is This Wednesday, April 22nd

How are you celebrating Earth Day? Perrot has a display of books in the Adult Department that gives a full range of ideas for making changes, both big and small, that will make a difference.

Included are:

• 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth, by Sophie John and Jesse Javna: This is a new edition, revised and expanded, with lots of new ideas to try.
• Greening Your Office, by Jon Clift and Amanda Cuthbert: This book is an A to Z guide of little changes you can make in your office that can lessen your environmental impact.
• Boat Green: 50 Steps Boaters Can Take to Save Our Waters, by Clyde W. Ford: As we take to the water soon, there are some practical tips in this book for leaving a “green wake.
  

Youth Services also has a display of Earth Day-related books in the window boxes. A few selections:

• Organic Crafts: 75 Earth-Friendly Art Activities, by Kimberly Monaghan: Parents, teachers, and caregivers looking for ideas on how to get children outdoors and instill in them a love for nature can find creative crafts, games, and activities using objects that kids can collect from nature in this idea book.
• Earth-Friendly Crafts for Kids: 50 Awesome Things to Make with Recycled Stuff, by Heather Smith with Joe Rhatigan: This appealing volume is not only a craft book-- it also educates users to be more aware of packaging, waste, and of making conscious decisions about how products are used and discarded.
• Weird Weather: Everything You Didn't Want to Know About Climate Change but Probably Should Find Out, by Kate Evans: Explains the science behind global warming, shows how it is progressing, and says what is being and not being done to stop the problem.
• The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming, by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon: Right now we are waking up to the reality that the effects of global warming are upon us--from extreme changes in weather to endangered animals, global warming touches every aspect of our lives.

A plethora of information is also available at Earth911-- find out how to reduce your impact, reuse what you’ve got, and recycle your trash.

A couple of new travel books

With some warm weather approaching, many turn their thoughts to travel. We have two heavily illustrated books that will get you thinking “TRAVEL”. The first is Our New Jersey, by Steve Greer, which is a wonderful book of photographs of all that is New Jersey– the Jersey Shore, the Pine Barrens, Princeton University, Atlantic City, etc. For those who have not witnessed the diversity of that state, it’s an eye opener.

Next, we have Sacred Places of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Most Peaceful and Powerful Destinations. Published by National Geographic, it is bursting with beautiful pictures from all over the world. There are caves and churches, lakes and stone monoliths, and so much else. Come in and see!

--The Reference Librarians

Easter Closing Reminder

Don't forget... the libraries will be closed on Friday, April 10th, 2009, for Good Friday, and Sunday, April 12th, 2009, for Easter.

Youth Services' Our Picks! for April

Take a look at Youth Services' brand-new Our Picks! list for April 2009-- it features picture books featuring our furry, hoppy friends, BUNNIES!

We're on Twitter

Perrot is now on Twitter. Have an account? Follow us! Our username is "perrotlibrary."