Perrot's Summer Reading Club and Contest for Kids

We have a new program this summer at Perrot-- a summer reading club for children entering grades 1 and up! You can participate in our summer reading club (and win prizes for reading!) from from June 30th through July 30th.

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 the 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 will win a prize!

Parents, you can also take home a reading record for your little one. We have special sheets for books you 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! Each week in July, one of our littlest bears will be HIDING somewhere in the children's room. You'll be able to tell him apart because he will be eating an ice cream cone! When you know where the bear is, come to the desk to fill out a guess slip. (Try not to yell it out so you don't give it away!) We will have a random drawing from all our correct guess slips each week in July. We have 4 great prize bags to give away, which will contain books as well as ice cream-themed prizes!

Be sure to join us at Perrot this summer and SCOOP UP A GOOD BOOK!

Family Ties: Talented Writing Families

We have a new display in the Rand Room of writing families: these are wives, husbands, sisters, brothers, and some children all in a family who have been published. There are John Updike and his son, David; Stephen King and his son, Joe Hill; mystery writers Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carol Higgins Clark; P.J. Tracy (a mother and daughter team who write together),Maeve Binchy and her cousin Dan– okay, that one’s a stretch! Many others are also featured. So, make sure to stop and take a look at our Family Writers (and check some out) next time you're in the library!

Byram Book Sale, June 11-13

The Byram Book Sale is this weekend! This sale includes a guesstimated 25,000 books, CDs, DVDs, videos, and audiobooks, including loads of brand new items, as well as many antiques. You will find a wide selection of goodies, including fiction, thirty-something categories of non-fiction, and TONS of incredible children's books. If you're a true bibliophile, come to a special preview sale on Friday, June 11 from 5:30-8:30 pm. For $15, you can attend the preview and get the best selection- it's well worth the entrance fee! On Saturday, June 12th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm the sale is open to all. On Sunday, June 13th from 12:00 to 4:00 pm will be the bargain hunter's delight "bag and box" sale ($3/bag or $5/box). All proceeds from the sale benefit the branch library's programs and events. For specific questions, please contact the Byram Shubert Library at (203) 531-0426.

Movies in the Park 2010

Perrot is pleased to present our fourth annual series of Movies in the Park in Binney Park. This year we are featuring Bend it Like Beckham and Born Free. Bring your picnic, your chairs, and enjoy!

Bend it Like Beckham (Rated PG)

Saturday, July 17th, 2010, at 8:30 PM
[Rain date: Sunday, July 18th]

Jess Bhamra is a teenager with only one real passion in her life: soccer. She daydreams of being a great soccer star and her hero is David Beckham. She soon strikes up a friendship with Juliette Paxton, Jules to her friends, and joins a girls' team coached by the rather handsome Joe. She comes from a traditional, close-knit and loving Sikh family. Her parents only want the best for both of their daughters, but Jess' fascination with sports doesn't fit into their idea of a young woman's future. Jess isn't comfortable sneaking about, and she and Jules have a falling out when they both take an amorous interest in Joe. With her sister's wedding on the same day as the football final, where a U.S. college scout will be present to assess her performance, Jess must decide if she will support her family or her friends. -Synopsis from IMDb

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Born Free (Rated PG)
Saturday August 14th, 2010, at 8:30 PM
[Rain date: Sunday, August 15th]

The heartwarming story of a British couple who teach their pet lioness how to survive in the wilds of the African jungles. Joy and George Adamson involuntarily domesticate several lions while living in Kenya. They keep one, named Elsa, until she is fully grown, and rather than turn her over to a zoo, they decide to train her to live like a wild animal so that they can release her into her natural habitat. The film, based on Joy Adamson's book, is poignant and emotional without ever becoming banal or overly sentimental. -Synopsis from Fandango

Connecticut Trails Day 2010

Find Your Happy Place on June 5th and 6th!

Dust off your favorite hiking shoes and grab your water bottle. Connecticut Trails Day 2010 is almost here! This year's celebration will be held Saturday and Sunday, June 5th and 6th, 2010, as part of National Trails Day. The theme is "Find Your Happy Place," which shouldn't be hard to do considering more than 160 Trails Day events are scheduled in 88 towns across Connecticut!

View the extensive list of events here. Take a look now, as some events require pre-registration!

Youth Services Summer Program Registration Starts Mon., June 7th

Registration for Youth Services Summer Programs starts on Monday, June 7th, 2010, and runs through Saturday, June 26th, 2010. [View the summer program schedule]

Please note that during the summer, all of 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. For complete registration instructions, click here. Descriptions of our program offerings are also available.

If you have other questions, please comment on this post, or give us a call at 203-637-8802!

Perrot Marched in the Memorial Day Parade!

Perrot marched in Old Greenwich's 2010 Memorial Day Parade!

Staff were joined by members of our Young Critics and Young Young Critics Book Clubs.

We promoted our summer reading theme, Scoop Up a Good Book!

Seeking Paperback Donations for Our Beach Box

The Perrot Library beach box has been repaired and installed in its old spot next to the snack bar at the far end of the beach. The library is accepting donations of ‘gently used’ paperbacks for the beach box. Please drop off any book donations at the library. Thank you.

Borrow our museum passes for free or discounted admission!

Youth Services has a growing collection of museum passes for you to borrow-- our passes get you either free or discounted admission to many popular places! This year, we have the following passes available:

• AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY, http://www.amnh.org/: FREE general and special admission for two adults and up to four children. Discounts on Space Show, IMAX, and seasonal live animal exhibits for two adults and up to four children. The Natural History Museum is renowned for its exhibitions and scientific collections, which serve as a field guide to the entire planet and present a panorama of the world's cultures.
• BEARDSLEY ZOO, 1875 Noble Avenue, Bridgeport, CT, http://www.beardsleyzoo.org/: FREE admission for two adults and up to four children. See more than 300 animals representing primarily North and South American species. Featuring a South American rainforest with free-flight aviary; a prairie dog exhibit with "pop-up" viewing areas; a New England Farmyard with goats, cows, pigs, and sheep; and a trail featuring bison, pronghorn, deer, and more.
• CONNECTICUT STATE PARKS AND FORESTS PASS, http://www.nochildleftinside.org/: FREE family admission and parking at ALL Connecticut State Parks and Forests. More than 800 miles of hiking trails, 2,000 miles of rivers and streams, 1,300 campsites in 14 parks, 9 historic sites, and 237 lakes and ponds-- all without leaving Connecticut!
• EARTHPLACE: THE NATURE DISCOVERY CENTER, 10 Woodside Lane, Westport, CT, http://www.earthplace.org/: FREE admission for a family of four. Offers a 62-acre wildlife sanctuary with trails, an interactive natural history museum with wildlife dioramas, and live wildlife.
• MARITIME AQUARIUM, 10 North Water Street, Norwalk, CT, http://www.maritimeaquarium.org/: DISCOUNTED admission: Our pass entitles you to $2 off a combination Aquarium/IMAX ticket for up to 6 people. Watch sharks, jellies, sea turtles, and more than 1,000 other marine animals-- and enjoy a film in the IMAX movie theater.
• MYSTIC AQUARIUM, 55 Coogan Boulevard, Mystic, CT, http://www.mysticaquarium.org/: DISCOUNTED admission: $4 off adult and $3 off child admission, good for up to 2 adults and 2 children. Reach in and touch a ray, go beak-to-nose with a penguin and feel the splash of a beluga whale. Watch the California sea lions during a live show, and meet a variety of animals, from African penguins and Steller sea lions to sharks and blue-tongued skinks.
• NEUBERGER MUSEUM OF ART, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY, http://www.neuberger.org/: FREE family admission. The museum’s collection comprises more than 7,000 works and embraces 20th-century American and European art, traditional and contemporary African art.
• STAMFORD MUSEUM AND NATURE CENTER, 39 Scofieldtown Road, Stamford, CT, http://www.stamfordmuseum.org/: FREE admission for 2 adults and 2 children. The SMNC includes a 10-acre working farm, a maple sugar house, vegetable garden, and farm animals; a museum featuring both a permanent collection and rotating exhibits; an otter pond; and a playground built with nature themes.
• STEPPING STONES MUSEUM, 303 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT, http://www.steppingstonesmuseum.org/: BUY ONE TICKET, GET ONE FREE: one free admission with each regular paid admission (maximum of three free admissions per day). Exhibits and educational programs 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.
• WADSWORTH ATHENEUM MUSEUM OF ART, 600 Main Street, Hartford, CT, http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/: FREE admission for 2 adults and 2 children. The Wadsworth Atheneum's permanent collection features a wealth of treasures sure to keep you coming back. The Wadsworth is also America's oldest public art museum!

Please ask for our passes at the Youth Services Desk. We also have information and brochures on these locations available for you to browse. Passes may borrowed for one week. Late fees are $1/day.

Donald Davis at EMS, Friday 5/21

Reminder:

Perrot Memorial Library will present an evening 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 Eastern Middle School auditorium at 7:00 PM on Friday, May 21st, 2010. No tickets are required, but seating is limited.

Don't Forget-- PJs tonight (Tues.) and Thursday!

The last PJs at Perrot for the winter/spring session are happening this week! Join us tonight and Thursday, 5/18, at 6:30 PM for some stories! Feel free to wear your PJs! For kids ages 3-6 and their families.

Greenwich Household Hazardous Waste Collection

The Town of Greenwich's Household Hazardous Waste Collection will be held this Saturday, May 15th, 2010, from 8 A.M. until 1 P.M. in the parking lot of Greenwich High School.

This is an opportunity for all town residents to properly and safely dispose of many toxic products that can’t go into the general waste system (some examples: gasoline, oil-based paints and stains, thinners, spray paints, pesticides/herbicides/fungicides, chemical fertilizers, household cleaners and polishes, mercury thermometers, pool chemicals, fluorescent bulbs).

Please take advantage of this opportunity! Toxic chemicals that are not disposed of properly can leak from hazardous products and eventually find their way into our water sources and soil.

New Book Recommendations From the Reference Desk

What We're Reading at Perrot

THE BOY FROM BABY HOUSE 10: FROM THE NIGHTMARE OF A RUSSIAN ORPHANAGE TO A NEW LIFE IN AMERICA, BY ALAN PHILPS AND JOHN LAHUTSKY

[Non-Fiction] What a timely book! We have just followed, in horror, the story of the adoptive mother who put a Russian child on a plane to send him back because she couldn’t cope with him. This is the story of another Russian baby boy born with cerebral palsy. Abandoned by his mother, he was put into a nightmare of an orphanage called Baby House 10. Two women reached out to him and ultimately he was adopted by a single woman in the U.S. This story will warm your heart and counteract the terrible story of the other little boy from Russia.

Read the rest of our list of recommendations!

New This Year!: Beardsley Zoo Pass

Perrot now has a pass for the Beardsley Zoo for our patrons to borrow. Our pass gives FREE admission to 2 adults and up to 4 children! The pass can be borrowed for one week (no renewals, late fee is $1/day) from the Youth Services Desk.

More about the zoo:
Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is a wonderful place to visit-- alone or with your family. Spend an hour or the whole day, and see more than 300 animals representing primarily North and South American species. Come learn about our many endangered and threatened species, which include the Amur (Siberian) tiger, Andean condor, Ocelot, Red wolf, Andean (spectacled) bear, Maned wolf, and Golden lion tamarin. Come see our South American rainforest with free-flight aviary, then walk through the prairie dog exhibit with "pop-up" viewing areas. Visit the New England Farmyard with goats, cows, pigs, sheep and other barnyard critters. Take a walk along the hoofstock trail featuring bison, pronghorn, deer and more. Before you leave grab a bite at the Peacock Café, eat in the Picnic Grove and take a ride on our colorful carousel. We can't wait to see you!

website: http://www.beardsleyzoo.org/

The Votes Are In!

The Young Critics' Club (YCC), Perrot's book club for 6th-, 7th- and 8th-graders, has declared that its favorite book of 2009/2010 is....

IT'S A TIE! Between:

INCARCERON, by Catherine Fisher
Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible. And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside-- she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don't realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know.

and

THE MAZE RUNNER, by James Dashner
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he's not alone. When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade-- a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they've closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up-- the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind...

See the rest of YCC's favorites from 2009/2010!