Long Awaited Train Bridge Construction on Sound Beach and Tomac Avenues Begins... Now!

After noticing some work developing in the south station parking lot, the Old Greenwich Association reached out to town officials to find out if the long anticipated train bridges construction project was about to begin. In fact, the project has indeed begun.

Information from the Greenwich Department of Parking Services:

The State of Connecticut Department of Transportation has commenced work of "Rehabilitation of Metro-North Railroad Bridge(s)." In addition to to replacing the Sound Beach and Tomac Avenue bridges, CT DOT will make improvements to the Railroad Station and the South Commuter Parking lot at the Stamford Bound in Old Greenwich. The project is a joint effort between the CT DOT and Metro North which will take place over the course of four years.

As promised, a website has been created that will allow residents to check for anticipated delays, construction updates, traffic pattern changes and more. The website will also provide information on the specifics of the project, and give people a way to contact CT DOT directly with questions or concerns.

Go to www.oldgreenwich.org for more details, and click on the Train Bridge Construction banner which as of today will be a permanent feature on the Old Greenwich Association site.

What We're Reading at Perrot: Book Recommendations from our Reference Desk

What We're Reading at Perrot

THE BOSTON GIRL, BY ANITA DIAMONT

[Fiction] The author of this delightful book is known for her previous best sellers-- The Red Tent and Day After Night, among others. Without retelling this story, it begins with an 85-year-old grandmother talking to her 22-year-old granddaughter, answering the question, "How did you become the woman you are today?" The author has such a keen eye for historical detail and an ear for voices, both young and old. This is a great choice for book groups.

See the rest of our list of recommendations!

Winners of the Semi-Annual Y2C2 Jeopardy Tournament

Golden Y Award Winners, Winter 2014

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the Semi-Annual Young Young Critics' Club (Y2C2) Jeopardy Tournament!

The winning team, The Books (L-R): Darin, Rina, Ava, Pip, and Nicholas 

They are the current holders of the coveted Wonderful Golden "Y" Award! The winners have demonstrated their mastery of trivia questions related to the books that the Young Young Critics' Club (our book club for 4th- and 5th-graders) has read during the past year. (Yes, it looks like a lobster, but trust us, it’s also a wonderful golden ‘Y’-- stop by the Youth Services Department and see for yourself!)

Upcoming Event: Local a cappella group, The Bows

Perrot is pleased to host host a musical performance of holiday tunes by local women's a cappella group, The Bows. 

Sunday, December 21st, 2014

2:00 PM

Perrot Library Children's Wing

Children's Program Registration Is Going on Now!

Registration for Youth Services' Winter/Spring 2015 Program Session is going on now through Sunday, January 11th, 2015. [View the winter program schedule]

•     Our program registration is by lottery
•     You must have an active library card in good standing to register
•     Obtain a registration postcard for the program(s) of your choice from the Youth Services Desk
•     Fill out ALL of the required information. Incomplete applications will not be considered
•     Address the reverse of the card to yourself
•     Affix a first-class stamp (49¢)
•     Drop off your card at the Youth Services Desk by January 11th
•     Registration cards will be mailed back to you within a week of the close of registration

Questions? Please give us a call at 203-637-8802, or comment on this post.

Elizabeth Owen

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Elizabeth Owen, Perrot's former Interlibrary Loan specialist and Adult Circulation staff member. Elizabeth spent many happy years at Perrot, until her retirement in 2011. Our thoughts and love are with Elizabeth's family at this difficult time.


ELIZABETH ANNE  MACFARLANE OWEN, born June 9th, 1946, died peacefully in Norwalk, CT on November 19th, 2014, surrounded by her loving family after a long and dignified battle with Lewy Body Dementia. The daughter of Charles and Margaret Grindlay and sister of Jenny, she was born in Lennoxtown, Scotland. She attended Oxford University where she and Jerry first met; she then moved to Connecticut with her husband and three children in October, 1986 where she lived for the remainder of her life. She had a life-long passion for language and the nuances and different meanings of words. She worked at Perrot Library in Old Greenwich for many years and she was an active member of several different church communities throughout her life (St. Mary's Church, Maidenhead, England; Greenwich Baptist Church, Greenwich, CT; and Black Rock Congregational Church, Fairfield, CT). Her spirit lives on in her family; her devoted husband, Jerry, her children, Kate, Isobel, and Edward, their spouses, Chris Morin, Jose Miguel Cuevas, and Caryn Owen, her seven beautiful grandchildren, Torie, Alistair, Emilia, Sofia, Lucas, Kai, and Beckett and her nephew, John. She will be dearly missed by her friends in both the US and the UK, with whom she shared many memories and many cups of tea. We will miss her grace, her quick, dry wit, and her kindness. We will also miss her eloquent, handwritten letters which she steadfastly wrote until she could no longer. Calling hours will be held from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Sunday November 23rd, 2014 at the home of Jerry Owen on 44 Reichert Circle, Westport, CT, 06880. A Commemoration Service with reception to follow will be held at Greenwich Baptist Church, 10 Indian Rock Lane, Greenwich, Connecticut on Frida,y December 5th, 2014 at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to either the Lewy Body Dementia Association at donate.lbda.org or Norwalk Younglife at norwalk.younglife.org. Our dearest Elizabeth, Mum, Mumma, Lizzie Anne, Lizzie, Auntie Lizzie, Grannie, we love you so much, your spirit will be with us always.

-Published in the Greenwich Time, November 21st, 2014

Annual Lions Club Grapefruit Sale

The Old Greenwich Lions Club is selling grapefruits and oranges, as part of its annual fund-raising effort to flight blindness worldwide.

Fruit is available for purchase at Perrot-- please ask at the Adult Circulation Desk.

Pricing:
Grapefruit: $20 per case,  $10 per ½ case
Oranges: $20 per case,  $10 per ½ case
Case of ½ grapefruit and ½ oranges: $20

Upcoming Event: Author Nina Darnton on her Latest Novel, The Perfect Mother

Upcoming Event at Perrot: 
Author Nina Darnton will speak about her latest novel, The Perfect Mother
Monday, December 1st, 2014, at 7:30 PM in Perrot's Children's Wing

About the Book:
When an American exchange student is accused of murder, her mother will stop at nothing to save her. A midnight phone call shatters Jennifer Lewis’s carefully orchestrated life. Her daughter, Emma, who’s studying abroad in Spain, has been arrested after the brutal murder of another student. Jennifer rushes to her side, certain the arrest is a terrible mistake, and determined to do whatever is necessary to bring Emma home. But as she begins to investigate the crime, she starts to wonder whether she ever really knew her daughter. The police charge Emma, and the press leaps on the story, exaggerating every sordid detail. One by one, Emma’s defense team, her father, and finally even Jennifer begin to have doubts. A novel of harrowing emotional suspense, The Perfect Mother probes the dark side of parenthood and the complicated bond between mothers and daughters.

About the Author:

A journalist for thirty years, Nina Darnton wrote her first novel, An African Affair, three years ago and never looked back. As a journalist, Nina has written extensively for The New York Times, mostly about the arts. She wrote the “At the Movies” Column, and frequent celebrity profiles for the Arts and Leisure section as well as movie reviews, Sunday book reviews, and longer articles for the Times Sunday magazine. She has also published in Elle, More, Mirabella, Family Circle, House and Garden and Travel and Leisure. She was chief movie writer for the New York Post and a fashion reporter at Newsweek, travelling to London, Paris and Milan twice a year to cover the shows. She was also a contributor to National Public Radio and an essayist for the McNeill-Lehrer News Hour on public television.With her husband, she has lived and worked in Nigeria, Kenya, Poland, Spain and England and used those experiences and some of those settings in each of her novels. Nina has a BA from the University of Wisconsin with a major in Comparative Literature. She also has an MS in Psychology with a specialty in Child Development from the New School of Social Research and an MFA in Acting from Columbia University. Nina is married to the journalist and novelist John Darnton. They have three children and four grandchildren and live in New York City and New Paltz, New York.

Annual Appeal for the Perrot Memorial Library Association

Now is the time to join Perrot- and here are some of the many reasons why:

• Perrot is your neighborhood library. We share resources with Greenwich Library, but we are an independent institution funded by membership donations.
• All of Perrot's fabulous programs for children and adults are free and supported entirely by membership contributions. 
• Perrot's building and grounds are owned by the Perrot Memorial Library Association and are largely maintained with membership funds. 

Where you are renewing your membership or joining for the first time, we appreciate your contribution at any level. We depend on your generosity!

Watch for our Annual Appeal brochure in the mail, or donate online today. 

Payment will be processed via PayPal. A PayPal account is not required to donate.

Thank you for your support!

Upcoming Event: Family Storytelling Concert featuring Tom Lee

Perrot Memorial Library is proud to present an afternoon of storytelling in memory of our beloved Children's Librarians, Kate McClelland ("Mrs. Mac") and Kathy Krasniewicz ("Mrs. K"). Those who knew Kate and Kathy know how much storytelling was a part of their lives and how they used it to enchant and educate the youth of our community.

We are delighted that storyteller Tom Lee will be joining us for this special family event, which will be held in Perrot's Children's Wing at 2 PM on Saturday, November 15th, 2014. No tickets are required, but seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis. This event is recommended for families with children ages 5 and up.

Tom Lee has told stories professionally for twenty years. His interest in traditional stories began while he was working as a cook in a tiny fishing village in Scotland. Tom's first storytelling performances were tales from Grimm, told in the the London pub theater called, appropriately, "The Man in the Moon." In the United States, Tom has worked in classrooms with children of all ages. "When it comes to stories," he says, "children have taught me everything I know." Tom is  roster artist with the Connecticut Commission on Culture and a frequent guest artist at the The Metropolitan Opera Education Conference, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Yale Center for British Art. Tom was a featured teller at the 2014 National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Tom Lee lives in Chester, Connecticut, where he cooks without fear and gardens overambitiously.

For more information about Tom Lee, please visit his website: http://www.tomleestoryteller.com/

Tellabration! 2014: An International Celebration of Story

Throughout the world, the week before Thanksgiving is set aside as a time to celebrate the time-honored art of storytelling and story listening. Join the thousands of people, young and old, around the world who will spend a unique and magical hour rediscovering the laughter, the tears and the power of the story, at this year's TELLABRATION!

Featured at the Cos Cob Library on Friday, November 7th, 2014, at 7 PM, will be Perrot's very own Director of Youth Services, Kathy Jarombek, as well as Lauren Mendoza and student tellers from Cos Cob School. For more information, contact Wendy Silver 203-622-6883, wsilver@greenwichlibrary.org.

Check out the rest of the local Tellabration events here.

Upcoming Event: No Parent Left Behind: Your Child's Digital Reputation

The Perrot Memorial Library, in collaboration with the Junior League of Greenwich, proudly presents Tori Aiello leading “No Parent Left Behind – Your Child’s Digital Reputation,” an interactive session on the pitfalls of social media for your son or daughter. Wednesday, October 15th, 2014, from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM at Perrot Library. 

Tori Aiello is a Senior Coach and Trainer with The Speech Improvement Company with over 15 years experience developing, leading, and teaching comprehensive communication training sessions nationwide. Her talk will analyze the perception of your child’s chosen words and pictures on (1) text, (2) email, (3) Snapchat, (4) Facebook, etc.

This event is part of the Junior League of Greenwich’s project, "Positively More," which aims to give preteen girls the tools to avoid questionable situations, lessen the consequences of potential conflicts, and identify lessons learned by those challenges.

For questions, please email positivelymorejlg@gmail.com.

Upcoming Event: Greenwich Reads Together Book Discussion on THE BOYS IN THE BOAT

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT: NINE AMERICANS AND THEIR EPIC QUEST FOR THE GOLD AT THE 1936 BERLIN OLYMPICS, by Daniel James Brown, has been selected for our 2014 community-wide-reading experience, Greenwich Reads Together. Perrot is pleased to host a discussion of the book, led by Marcia Clay Hamilton, on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014, at 7:30 PM. 

ABOUT THE BOOK
Gordon Adam, Chuck Day, Don Hume, George "Shorty" Hunt, Jim "Stub" McMillin, Bob Moch, Roger Morris, Joe Rantz, John White, Jr.—these were the boys in the boat, the University of Washington's 1936 crew, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans in the depths of the Depression. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic Games in Berlin.

At the emotional heart of the story is Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in one another that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone, quite literally, pulls together—a perfect melding of trust, determination, and optimism.

Drawing on the boys' own diaries and journals, their photos and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, THE BOYS IN THE BOAT is a portrait of an era, a celebration of a historic achievement, and a chronicle of one extraordinary young man's personal quest.

WHAT IS GREENWICH READS TOGETHER?
Greenwich Reads Together is a community-wide reading experience which will engage all of Greenwich in exploring a single book. The goal of Greenwich Reads Together is to deepen engagement in literature through reading and  discussion and to build community connections. The Steering Committee leading this effort includes Greenwich Library, Greenwich Alliance for Education, Greenwich Arts Council, Greenwich Historical Society, Greenwich Pen Women and the Greenwich Public and Independent Schools.Visit our website, http://www.greenwichreadstogether.org, to find book, film and music suggestions for further exploration, as well as discussion guides, links to interviews with the author and much more.

Upcoming Event: James Beard Award-winning Author Paul Greenberg

Award-winning author Paul Greenberg will speak about his latest book, American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood, will speak at Perrot on Wednesday, October 1st, 2014, at 7:30 PM. 

In American Catch,: The Fight for Our Local Seafood, bestselling author Paul Greenberg tells the surprising story of why Americans no longer eat from local waters. In 2005, the United States imported twelve billion dollars’ worth of seafood, nearly double what we had imported ten years earlier. During that same period, our seafood exports rose by a third. Greenberg looks to New York oysters, gulf shrimp, and Alaskan salmon to reveal how it came to be that 91 percent of the seafood Americans eat is foreign. Despite the challenges, hope abounds. Mr. Greenberg proposes there is a way to break the current destructive patterns of consumption and return the American catch back to American consumers.

Mr. Greenberg writes regularly for the New York Times on fish, aquaculture, and the future of the ocean. His 2010 book, Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food, was a New York Times bestseller, and the winner of a James Beard Award for Writing and Literature. Mr. Greenberg has been both a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow and a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Food and Society Policy Fellow. He grew up in Greenwich and currently resides in New York City.

Upcoming Event: Pulitzer-prize Winning Journalist Gretchen Morgenson

Gretchen Morgenson, columnist and Assistant Business and Financial Editor at the New York Times, will speak at Perrot on Wednesday, September 17th, 2014, at 7:30 PM. Ms. Morgensen has covered world financial markets for the Times since May 1998, and won a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for her "trenchant and incisive" coverage of Wall Street.

Ms. Morgenson began her career in 1976 upon graduation from Saint Olaf College in Minnesota. She joined Vogue magazine as an editorial assistant and began writing the personal finance column for the magazine several years later. In 1981, she became a stockbroker, a job she held for three years. She joined Money magazine as a staff writer in 1984 and moved to Forbes magazine in 1986. In 1995, she became national press secretary to Steve Forbes when he ran for President of the United States. When Mr. Forbes withdrew from the race in 1996, Ms. Morgenson returned to writing and editing at Forbes. She was named assistant managing editor at the magazine in September 1997. She joined the New York Times eight months later.

Ms. Morgenson has been awarded two Gerald Loeb Awards: one in 2002 for excellence in financial commentary, and another in 2009 for her coverage of Wall Street. She has also served on two Pulitzer Prize juries, evaluating investigative reporting entries in 2009 and 2010.

Ms. Morgenson is the author, along with Joshua Rosner, of Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon, a bestseller about the origins of the 2008 financial crisis that was published in 2011 by Times Books.

Youth Services Fall Program Registration Is Going on Now!

Registration for Fall 2014 programs is going on now through Sunday, September 7th, 2014. View the Fall 2014 Program Schedule.

• Program registration is by lottery
• Pick up a registration postcard for the program(s) of your choice at the Youth Services Desk
• Please fill out ALL of the required information. Incomplete applications will not be considered
• For preschool-age programs, your child must be the appropriate age for the program by October 1st, 2014
• Twins may apply on the same registration card. Siblings who do not share a birthday must use separate registration cards, even if they are signing up for the same program
• Address the reverse of the card to yourself
• Affix a first-class stamp (49¢)
• Drop the registration card(s) off at the Youth Services desk by 5 PM on Sunday, September 7th
• Registration cards received after September 7th will automatically be placed on the waiting list
• Registration postcards will be mailed back to you shortly after the close of registration with your status (enrolled in a program or on the waiting list)
• Please call us if you do not receive your card back in the mail within a few days of the close of registration

Questions? Comment here or give us a call at 203-637-8802.

Countdown to Kindergarten Storytime

Perrot is again offering a special Countdown to Kindergarten Storytime--  with stories, songs, and a craft to help your child get ready for the first day of Kindergarten! This program is for children entering Kindergarten in Fall 2014 ONLY. Children attend independently, but parents and caregivers should remain in the Library
Monday, August 18th, 2014, at 1 PM

Sign up now at the Youth Services Desk!

Summer Reading Wrap-Up

Thanks to everyone who participated in Youth Services's 2014 summer reading program and weekly contests! This year's theme was "GET A CLUE- READ!"

368 kids signed up for our summer reading program this year and read 1,369 books in total- both new records at Perrot! Hooray! This year, Perrot made a donation based on each book read to Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., a non-profit organization that purchases protective vests for dogs working in law enforcement across the U.S.

If you were one of our very special signer-uppers, you can still keep track of the books you read, even though our "official" program has ended! You can either take your reading record home with you, or leave it here in the library. We will also continue to give out prizes for books read (while supplies last, so HURRY!).

We'd also like to give a special mention our teen volunteers, who helped record books for our reading program participants. This year we had 70 volunteers, who worked a combined total of 556 volunteer hours at Perrot. Thanks, guys!

And, please take a look at the happy winners of our weekly contests! They each won a cool prize pack for guessing which of our picture book characters was hiding incognito.

And remember, we still have another few weeks of summer left, so please KEEP READING!

Youth Services Fall Program Schedule Now Available

The Youth Services Fall 2014 Program Schedule [PDF] is now available!

Our program registration is by lottery. Pick up a registration postcard for the program(s) of your choice from the Youth Services Circulation Desk, beginning on Monday, August 11th. Registration ends on Friday, September 7th, so make sure you have returned your card by that day. [See detailed registration instructions]

If you have any questions on our children's programs or registration process, please comment on this post, or give us a call at 203-637-8802.

Upcoming Event: Author Talk with Emma Straub

Author Emma Straub will discuss her latest novel, THE VACATIONERS, at Perrot on Wednesday, July 30th, 2014 at 7:30 PM, in the Radcliffe Children's Wing (Doors Open at 7 PM). 

Emma Straub brings a vivid, contemporary setting to life in this irresistible, deftly observed novel about the secrets, joys, and jealousies that rise to the surface over the course of a family's two-week stay in Mallorca, Spain. Written with Straub's signature dry humor and tremendous heart, THE VACATIONERS is the richly satisfying story of a family in the midst of change, of the sides of ourselves that we choose to show and those we try to conceal, of the ways we tear each other down and build each other up again.

Children's Summer Program Openings

We still have spaces available in our Stuff & Nonsense and Spotlight programs during the summer!

Stuff & Nonsense is for kids entering Grade 1, and will meet Mondays at 4 PM on July 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th.

Spotlight (on The Mysterious) is for kids entering Grades 2, 3, and 4, and will meet Wednesdays at 4 PM on July 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th.

Please call us (203-637-8802) if you would like to sign up your child for either of these programs.

Perrot's Summer Reading Club and Contest for Kids

Summer is here! And that means it's time to sign up for Perrot's summer reading club! You can participate (and win prizes for reading!) starting today, June 23rd, through August 1st.Our Summer Reading theme this year is GET A CLUE... READ! 

To sign up for our summer reading club, simply go to our volunteer table by the computers in Youth Services. Our friendly teen volunteers will sign you up, tell you the rules and start a reading record for you. You'll also get to put your name up on our bulletin board! We'll keep your reading record here in the library. When you've read a book, just tell a volunteer next time you're in the library and they'll write it in your reading record. After you read your first, third, and fifth books, you get a prize! Also, this year, for each book you read, Perrot will make a donation to Vested Interest in K-9s, an organization group that purchases protective vests for police dogs.

Parents, you can take home a reading record for children who are not yet reading independently. We have special sheets to record books you have read aloud with your child. Children get a sticker for each book they've read with a grown-up.

We're also having a contest this summer! During the last 4 weeks in July, one of our stuffed animal book characters (Olivia, Arthur, Angelina, etc.) will be hiding IN DISGUISE! You will have to find the hidden character in the library and write down their name on a guess slip. We will have a random drawing from all our correct guess slips each week. We have 4 great tote bags full of prizes to give away, each which contains books as well as mystery and detective-themed prizes!

Be sure to join us at Perrot this summer!

Movies in the Park 2014

Perrot is pleased to present our eighth annual series of Movies in the Park in Binney Park. This year we are featuring The Red Balloon, Rear Window, and The Sound of Music. Bring your picnic, your chairs, and enjoy!

THE RED BALLOON (1956, Not Rated, 34 minutes)
Saturday, June 28th, 2014, 9:00 PM
[Rain Date: Sunday, June 29th]

In this deceptively simple, nearly wordless tale, a young boy discovers a stray balloon, which seems to have a mind of its own, on the streets of Paris. The two become inseparable, yet the world's harsh realities finally interfere. With its glorious palette and allegorical purity, this Academy Award winning movie has enchanted movie lovers, young and old, for generations.

**************************************************************

REAR WINDOW (1954, Rated PG, 112 minutes)
RESCHEDULED
Saturday, August 9th, 2014, 8:30 PM

Directed by the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is an edge-of-your-seat classic starring two of Hollywood’s most popular stars. When a professional photographer (James Stewart) is confined to a wheelchair with a broken leg, he becomes obsessed with watching the private dramas of his neighbors play out across the courtyard. When he suspects his neighbor of murdering his nagging wife, he enlists his socialite girlfriend (Grace Kelly) to help investigate the suspicious chain of events, leading to one of the most memorable and gripping endings in all of film history.

**************************************************************

THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965, Rated G, 174 minutes)
Saturday, August 23rd, 2014, 8:30 PM
NO RAIN DATE

When Julie Andrews sang "The hills are alive with the sound of music" from an Austrian mountaintop in 1965, the most beloved movie musical was born. Audiences fell in love with the struggling novice Maria (Andrews), the dashing Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), and, yes, the cute kids, all based on a real-life World War II Austrian family. Such songs as "My Favorite Things," "Do Re Mi," "Climb Every Mountain," and the title tune became part of the 20th century Zeitgeist.

Greenwich Reads Together 2014: The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown

Greenwich Reads Together is a community-wide reading experience which engages all of Greenwich in exploring a single book. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, by Daniel James Brown, has been chosen as the 2014 selection.

Out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant. With a team composed of the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew team was never expected to defeat the elite teams of the East Coast and Great Britain, yet they did, going on to shock the world by defeating the German team rowing for Adolf Hitler. The emotional heart of the tale lies with Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not only to regain his shattered self-regard but also to find a real place for himself in the world. Drawing on the boys’ own journals and vivid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, Brown has created an unforgettable portrait of an era, a celebration of a remarkable achievement, and a chronicle of one extraordinary young man’s personal quest.

Visit Greenwich Library's website for more information.

Register Now for Summer Programs in Youth Services

Registration for Youth Services' Summer 2014 Program Session is going on now through Saturday, June 21st. [View the summer program schedule]

Our preschool programs are drop-in during the summer, but registration is still required for our Stuff & Nonsense (for kids entering 1st grade) and Spotlight (for kids entering 2nd/3rd/4th grade) programs.

• Our program registration is by lottery
• You must have an active library card in good standing to register
• Obtain a registration postcard for the program of your choice from the Youth Services Circulation Desk
• Fill out ALL of the required information. Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Address the reverse of the card to yourself
• Affix a first-class stamp (49¢)
• Drop off your card at the Youth Services Desk by June 21st
• Registration cards will be mailed back to you a few days after the close of registration with your registration status

Questions? Please give us a call at 203-637-8802, or comment on this post.

Upcoming Event: Pat Wright- The Dog Listener of the East

Pat Wright: The Dog Listener of the East

Wednesday, May 14th, 2014

7:30 PM

Perrot Memorial Library Children's Wing

Pat Wright has been working with dogs for more than twenty years and seen just about every type of dog behavior there is. Wright will discuss why our dogs do what they do, and discuss how we can communicate with them in their language to let them come to peace in the human world. Some of the many topics to be discussed are: pulling on the leash, jumping up, aggression, separation anxiety, and excessive barking. There will be a question and answer period at the end of the talk.

Teens: Looking for a summer volunteer opportunity?

. . .Perrot needs you! Perrot is looking for teen volunteers for its Youth Services department to help run the summer reading program for kids.

Who can be a Perrot Library Summer Teen Volunteer?
Anyone who is going into Grades 7 and up, and who can volunteer at least 5 hours during the summer.

When do volunteers work?
From June 23rd to August 1st, whenever the library is open. You can set your own schedule and sign up for shifts during mornings, afternoons, or evenings.

Why volunteer?
• To help others
• To learn job skills
• To earn community service hours
• To meet other teens and have fun!

How do I become a Summer Teen Volunteer?
Easy! Just pick up an application at the Youth Services Desk (or download one here- PDF), have a parent or guardian sign it, and drop it off.

How do I learn what to do?
All volunteers must attend a 30-minute training session in June where we’ll teach you everything you need to know. (Even if you volunteered last summer, you must attend this year's training session.)

Have more questions?
Please call Kathy Jarombek, Director of Youth Services, at 203-637-3535.

Upcoming Event: Panel Discussion on Greenwich Community Gardens and Green Spaces

Panel Discussion on Greenwich Community Gardens and Green Spaces

Wednesday, May 7th, 2014

7:30 PM

Perrot Memorial Library Children's Wing

Perrot Memorial Library and the Greenwich League of Women Voters will present a panel discussion on Greenwich Community Gardens and Green Spaces, focusing on how the town utilizes, maintains, and beautifies its open spaces, and what we as citizens can do to help. 

Featuring the following panelists:

Patti Sechi: Founder and President of Greenwich Community Gardens
Terri Browne Kutzen: Chairman of Greenwich Community Gardens
Nancy Caplan: Chairman of the Greenwich Board of Parks and Recreation
Mary Hull: Executive Director of Greenwich Green and Clean, and Board Member of Greenwich Point Conservancy and Greenwich Tree Conservancy
Heidi Smith: Board Member of Greenwich Tree Conservancy

YCC's Favorite Book of 2013/2014 Is...

The Young Critics' Club (YCC), Perrot's book club for 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-graders, has declared that its favorite book of 2013/2014 is....

...It's a tie! The two winners are:


GOLDEN BOY
by Tara Sullivan

Thirteen-year-old Habo has always been different--light eyes, yellow hair and white skin. Not the good brown skin his family has, and not the white skin of tourists. Habo is strange and alone. His father, unable to accept Habo, abandons the family; his mother can scarcely look at him. His brothers are cruel and the other children never invite him to play. Only his sister Asu loves him well. When the family is forced from their small Tanzanian village, Habo knows he is to blame. Seeking refuge in Mwanza, Habo and his family journey across the Serengeti. His aunt is glad to open her home until she sees Habo for the first time, and then she is only afraid. Suddenly, Habo has a new word for himself: Albino. But they hunt Albinos in Mwanza, because Albino body parts are thought to bring good luck. And soon Habo is being hunted by a fearsome man with a machete. To survive, Habo must not only run, but find a way to love and accept himself.

AND

COUNTING BY 7s
by Holly Goldberg Sloan


Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life-- until now. Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read.

See the rest of YCC's favorite books from the last year!

Y2C2's Favorite Book of 2013/2014 Is...

The Young Young Critics' Club (Y2C2), Perrot's book club for 4th- and 5th-graders, has declared that its favorite book of 2013/2014 is...

ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO'S LIBRARY, by Chris Grabenstein

Kyle Keeley is the class clown, popular with most kids, (if not the teachers), and an ardent fan of all games: board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the building of the new town library. Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot to be one of the first 12 kids in the library for an overnight of fun, food, and lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors remain locked. Kyle and the other winners must solve every clue and every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route. And the stakes are very high. Readers will become enthralled with the crafty twists and turns of this ultimate library experience.

See the rest of Y2C2's favorite books for some great picks!

New Catalog Interface Allows Patrons To Create Reading Lists, Organize Groups, Rate Materials And Contribute Content

The Greenwich Public Libraries have partnered with software company Bibliocommons to completely transform our current online catalog, making it easier to discover the Library’s collections while also giving users the power to create reading lists, rate the latest books, and organize groups. The Greenwich Library system is the first library in Connecticut to offer this service.

Features include:

•     Greatly improved search engine performance
•     Personal “shelves” of books and reading lists for users
•     The ability to contribute reviews, tags and ratings
•     Shared content with all libraries using Bibliocommons (so, for example, a user can read a review a book from someone in Ottawa or Boston)

The new catalog is also available in a new mobile browser and a Library app, available for Apple and Android devices. To download, search "Greenwich Library" in the App Store or the Google Play Store.

Explore the new, improved catalog today! http://greenwichlibrary.bibliocommons.com/

Golden Y Award Winners, Spring 2014

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the Semi-Annual Young Young Critics' Club (Y2C2) Jeopardy Tournament!

The winning team, The Bookworms (L-R): Samantha B., Samantha Y., Fiona, Pip, and Davies

They are the current holders of the coveted Wonderful Golden "Y" Award! The winners have demonstrated their mastery of trivia questions related to the books that the Young Young Critics' Club (our book club for 4th- and 5th-graders) has read during the past year. (Yes, it looks like a lobster, but trust us, it’s also a wonderful golden ‘Y’-- stop by the Youth Services Department and see for yourself!)

Youth Services Summer Program Schedule Now Available

The Youth Services Summer 2014 Program Schedule is now available!

Please note that during our summer program session, all our preschool programs are DROP-IN, and most are 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 Tuesday, May 27th, 2014. Don't forget to bring a stamp! The registration period closes at 5 PM on Saturday, June 21st, 2014. Our programs are selected by lottery. You may view our complete registration instructions online and see descriptions of our program offerings.

If you have questions about our programs or registration process, please comment on this post, or give us a call at 203-637-8802.

Upcoming Event: Ecologist and Author Tom Wessels on Sustainability

The Foundational Principles of Sustainability 

with Ecologist and Author Tom Wessels

Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

7:30 PM

Perrot Library- Children's Wing

For 3.8 billion years, life has not only sustained itself, it has thrived on our planet. Ecologist and author Tom Wessels will discuss how our current path toward progress, based on continual economic expansion and inefficient use of resources, runs contrary to the foundational scientific laws that govern all natural, complex systems. It is a myth, he contends, that progress depends on a growing economy. Mr. Wessels makes scientific theory readily accessible, and will demonstrate how all environmental problems have their source in a disregard for the laws of sustainability based on the myth of progress. 

Tom Wessels is an ecologist and the founding director of the Master's Degree program in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England. Tom has conducted landscape ecology and sustainability workshops throughout the United States for over 30 years.

Perrot Newsletter

The Spring 2014 edition of Perrot's newsletter, Précis, is now available! Pick up a copy in the library, or read it online (in PDF format).

Author Jennifer Vanderbes returns to Perrot on April 9th to discuss her latest novel

Author Jennifer Vanderbes returns to Perrot to discuss her latest novel, 

The Secret of Raven Point

Wednesday, April 9th, 2014, at 7:30 PM  

Children's Wing, Perrot Memorial Library

1943: When seventeen-year-old Juliet Dufresne receives a cryptic letter from her enlisted older brother pleading for help, and then finds out he’s been reported missing overseas, she lies about her age and volunteers as an army nurse to find him. Shy and awkward, Juliet is thrust into the bloody chaos of a field hospital, living in a sprawling encampment north of Rome, where she forges new friendships with her fellow nurses and is increasingly consumed by the plight of her patients. One in particular, Christopher Barnaby, a deserter awaiting court martial, may hold the answer to her brother’s fate—but the trauma of war has left him unable to speak. Racing against the clock, Juliet works with an enigmatic young psychiatrist, Henry Willard, to heal Barnaby’s psychic wound before the authorities take him away and any clues as to her brother’s fate are forever lost. Plunged into the horrifying depths of one man’s combat memories, Juliet and Willard are forced to plumb the moral nuances of a so-called just war, and to face the dangers of their own deepening connection. Kirkus Reviews calls the novel "unusual and affecting."

Upcoming Event: Author Marta McDowell on Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life

Upcoming Event: 
Author Marta McDowell on Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life
Wednesday, March 19th, 2014, at 7:30 PM in Perrot's Children's Wing

Marta McDowell, author and past New York Botanical Garden Instructor of the Year, will discuss the origins of Beatrix Potter's love of gardens and plants, and show how this passion was reflected in her work. McDowell's book, Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children's Tales, is a biography, a season-by-season tour of Potter's gardens, as well as a traveler's guide. Rich with photographs and Potter's own charming watercolors, the book brings to light a delightfully different side of the celebrated author.

Donald Davis Family Storytelling Concert, Feb. 22nd

Perrot Memorial Library will present an afternoon of storytelling in memory of our beloved Children's Librarians, Kate McClelland ("Mrs. Mac") and Kathy Krasniewicz ("Mrs. K"). Those who knew Kate and Kathy know how much storytelling was a part of their lives and how they used it to enchant and educate the youth of our community.

We are delighted that Donald Davis, a nationally-known storyteller and a friend of Mrs. Mac and Mrs. K, will be returning to entertain us with more of his fabulous tales in a special family storytelling event. Please join us at the First Congregational Church of Greenwich at 3:00 PM on Saturday, February 22nd, 2014. No tickets are required, but seating is limited.

Donald Davis was born in a Southern Appalachian mountain world rich in stories. "I didn't learn stories, I just absorbed them," he says as he recounts tales learned from a family of traditional storytellers who have lived on the same Western North Carolina land since 1781. Davis grew up hearing gentle fairytales, simple and silly Jack tales, scary mountain lore, ancient Welsh and Scottish folktales and, most importantly, nourishing true-to-life stories of his own neighbors and kin.It was Uncle Frank, a man who "talked in stories," who helped Donald capture the real and daily adventures of life... and it was Uncle Frank who gave him the creative courage to tell about them. Davis remembers, "I discovered that in a story I could safely dream any dream, hope any hope, go anywhere I pleased, fight any foe, win or lose, live or die. My stories created a safe experimental learning place.”

For more information about Donald Davis, please visit his website: http://www.ddavisstoryteller.com/

Perrot staff in the news

Perrot's Youth Services Director, Kathy Jarombek, was a member of the 2014 Newbery Award Committee. The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery, and is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. This year's Newbery winner is Flora & Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo. Four Newbery Honor Books were named this year: Doll Bones, by Holly Black; The Year of Billy Miller, by Kevin Henkes; One Came Home, by Amy Timberlake; and Paperboy, by Vince Vawter. Read an interesting interview with Kate DiCamillo, that includes her experience receiving the call informing her of her Newbery win. And kudos to Mrs. J for all her hard work this year!

Part-time Youth Services Staff Member Annie Merrill has advanced to the finals of the Intel Science Talent Search! She will travel to Washington, D.C., in March to compete for the first-place prize of $100,000. Annie's research focused on the environmental benefits of pairing a form of charcoal known as biochar with worms. Read more about Annie's research in the front page Greenwich Time article, Greenwich High senior reaches Intel finals. Congratulations, Annie!

Kate McClelland and Kathy Krasniewicz Memorial Scholarship to the ALA Annual Conference

Random House Children's Books continues to honor the memories of Perrot's beloved librarians, Kate McClelland and Kathy Krasniewicz, with their annual scholarship for a new or student librarian to attend the American Library Association Annual Conference.

ALA Members: In 500 words or less, tell us about a new librarian or library student who has never attended an ALA Annual Conference, and in whom you see great devotion to the library community and promise in the field. Tell us how he/she would benefit from attending the ALA Annual Conference. The new librarian/library student could win a trip to attend the 2014 ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Visit the Random House Teachers & Librarians website for more information and to make a nomination.

Perrot Closing at 4pm, Tuesday, January 21st

Perrot Library will close early today, Tuesday, January 21 at 4 pm due to the inclement weather. 

Children's Winter/Spring Program Lottery/Program Openings

Registration cards for our Winter/Spring 2014 children's programs were mailed back today! If you don't receive your card in the next few days, please don't hesitate to call (203-637-8802) and we can check the rosters for you.

Also, we still have room in our Spotlight program (for 2nd & 3rd graders). The theme for Spotlight this session is Go For the Gold: Super Achievers, and it will meet on 1/29, 2/5, 2/26, and 3/5 (Wednesdays) at 4 PM. Please give us a call if you would like to sign up your child for Spotlight.

Upcoming Event: Observations of the Superintendent

Dr. William McKersie, Greenwich Superintendent of Schools, will be visiting Perrot to discuss Greenwich Public Schools today. This is part of our continuing series of Community Conversations.

Wednesday, January 15th, 2013
7:30 PM in the Children's Wing
Doors will open at 7 PM