Back-to-School Books

Youth Services has several lists of picture books to help your kids with the back-to-school process! Take a look at the lists below, or stop in to the library-- we have back-to-school books displayed in both our picture book area and our fiction section.

• Our latest staff picks list: Stories About School
• Books about riding the school bus
• Get Ready for School: Books About Starting Preschool, Kindergarten, and Grade School
• Ready, Set, Go! Books About Starting School

Have any of your own favorites you'd like to share? Please comment on this post!

Upcoming Event- Breaking In: How to Get Published in the 21st Century

Breaking In: How to Get Published in the 21st Century

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

7:30 P.M.

Radcliffe Children's Wing, Perrot Memorial Library

A panel of authors and a literary agents will share their experiences and advice on getting your book published.

Panelists include:

• Lucy Hedrick (moderator): fiction author of Premarital Assets as well as a five-time non-fiction author
• Jessica Bram: non-fiction author of Happily Ever After Divorce: Notes on a Joyful Journey
• Nina Nelson: author of middle-grade children's book, Bringing the Boy Home
• Denise Marcil: president and founder of Denise Marcil Literary Agency, New York, NY, who has sold almost 2,000 books to publishers

"Free Entertainment, for Life" at Your Public Library

Free Entertainment, For Life
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/21/greene.books/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

There are so many wonderful books that have been written over the centuries, books that will thrill you and make you cry and change you and bring laughter to you and keep you up all night. Even if you did nothing else for the rest of your life but read, you would only be able to get to the most infinitesimal percentage of books that you would be destined to adore. They're just waiting for you -- waiting to be found, right now.


And in most cases, even in these rugged and scary economic times, they're free.

Children's Program Registration Is Going on Now!

Registration for Youth Services' Fall 2011 Program Session is going on now through Friday, September 2nd, 2011. [View the fall 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 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 (44¢)
• Drop off your card at the Youth Services Desk by September 2nd
• 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.

Youth Services Graphic Novel Pick

A great new graphic novel we just had to share--


Bad Island, by Doug TenNapel

When Reese is forced to go on a boating trip with his family, the last thing he expects is to be shipwrecked on an island-- especially one swarming with weird plants and animals! What starts out as a bad vacation turns into a frantic adventure, as the castaways must find a way to escape while dodging the island's lethal inhabitants. With few resources, and a mysterious entity on the hunt, each secret unlocked could save them. . . or spell their doom.

New Graphic Novels in Youth Services

Sidekicks [ click here to place a hold on this book ] *****Staff Pick*****
Captain Amazing, hero of Metro City, is so busy catching criminals that he rarely has time for his pets at home. He doesn't even notice when they develop super powers of their own. So when he announces he needs a sidekick, his dog, hamster, and chameleon each decide to audition. Then archvillain Dr. Havoc returns to town, and suddenly the Captain's in serious trouble. Can the warring pets put their squabbles aside and work together to save their master?

Mameshiba: On the Loose! [ place hold ]
Meet Mameshiba, the cute little bean dogs with bite! Starring in their first ever adventures, they rescue friends, explore outer space, and offer interesting bits of trivia when you least expect it!

Atlas [ place hold ]
After commanding the Titans in their war against the Olympians, Atlas was forced to hold up the heavens on his shoulders. His life was a tragic story of a long God fighting boredom on Mount Olympus. While monitoring from above, Atlas tracked the emergence of super-powered beings donning capes and tights. Growing restless and craving adventure, Atlas decides to take the world in his hands and become one of the Earth's newest heroes!

The Never-Weres [ place hold ]
Late in the next century, the human race faces extinction. An incurable virus has left the world with no new births since the last generation. Doom is all but certain, yet three of the world's last surviving teens are determined to carry on. When the friends stumble upon the decades-old mystery of a missing girl, it leads them deep into a shocking secret. It will take all their skills to uncover the truth the just might save the world.

Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity [ place hold ]
Hakata Soy, former space hero, is doing his best to keep his head down at Astronaut Academy. Things aren't going so great, though. The most popular girl in school has it in for him. His best friend won't return his calls. And his new roommate is a complete jock. Hakata just wants to make a fresh start. But how will he find time to study Anti-Gravity Gymnastics and Tactical Randomness when he's got a robot doppelganger on its way to kill him?

Have a graphic novel or manga series you'd like to see at Perrot? Please comment on this post or e-mail webmaster@perrotlibrary.org!

Youth Services Fall Program Schedule Now Available

The Youth Services Fall 2011 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 15th, 2011. The registration period ends on Friday, September 2nd, 2011, so make sure you have returned your card by that day.

[See detailed registration instructions]

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

Summer Reading Wrap-Up

Thanks to everyone who participated in Youth Services's 2011 summer reading program and weekly contests! This year's theme was "BE A SUPER STAR- READ!"

Please take a look at the four happy winners of our weekly contests! They each won a neat prize pack for finding a little star that was hiding in a different spot in the children's room each week in July.

Over 300 kids signed up for our summer reading program and read over 900 books in total! This year, Perrot made a donation based on each book read by our summer readers to the Greenwich Alliance for Education. The Alliance helps get books to kids in Greenwich who can't afford them. So thanks, readers-- each book you read helped support a great cause!

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 62 volunteers, who together worked nearly 500 volunteer hours. Thanks, guys!

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

Greenwich Time Article About Harry Potter

Kathy Jarombek, a.k.a Mrs. J, head of Youth Services at Perrot, was quoted in a recent article in the Greenwich Time about the final Harry Potter film: "Final Potter film works its magic in Greenwich theaters"

Upcoming Event: Page-Turners

PAGE-TURNERS
What to Read on a Rainy Sunday Afternoon

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011, at 7:30 P.M.
Rand Room
Perrot Memorial Library

If you like to read for fun, come talk about easy reading books and rattlin' good stories. Here are a few authors of thrillers, true adventures, and stories of dangerous women in danger-- Jennifer Crusie, Suzanne Collins, Stieg Larsson, Linda Howard, C.S. Forester, Anne Mustoe, Daniel Silver, John Sandford, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Nevada Barr, and J.K. Rowling.

To learn of other books you might enjoy, Kevin McCarthy, Lucy Hedrick, and Karen Watt will lead an exchange of information about good books for women (the girl winds up with the right guy) and men (the bad guy gets his).

And who are your favorite page-turning authors?

Bring along your own list and take home new suggestions!

Single Stream Recycling Begins August 1st

Single stream recycling comes to Greenwich on August 1st, 2011! Singe Stream Recycling permits combining an expanded list of household recyclables in one bin. This single weekly collection program replaces blue bin and mixed paper collection.

What type of container is required for Single Stream Recycling?
Choose any large clean bin that best fits your needs. It must have a lid to keep paper from blowing away. Recyclables MUST be loose (recyclables CAN’T be in bags)!

What should I recycle?
It is easier now to define the few items you can’t recycle because there are so many items that you can recycle using single stream recycling. See the List of Recyclables. Place any of your single stream recyclables into your one large container.

What can’t I recycle?
Anything that is not listed on the List of Recyclables for single stream AND/OR is not accepted for recycling at the Holly Hill Facility. Trash and garbage are not recyclable (Definitions of Trash and Garbage). Tissues and plastic wrap (sandwich wrap) are not recyclable. Anything contaminated with food or chemicals are not recyclable.

Who will collect my Single Stream recycling?
Each week, your waste hauler will collect recycling one day and trash on another. He will coordinate with you. The Town will discontinue blue bin and mixed paper pick-ups when Single Stream Recycling begins.

What do residents without a waste hauler do with their recyclables?
Holly Hill will accept household trash and single stream recyclables from residents with a Holly Hill Facility dumping permit sticker or a current year’s beach parking sticker. There is no charge for residential trash or recyclables delivered to the Holly Hill Facility but every vehicle MUST display one of the aforementioned permits.

How will Single Stream impact me or my family?
The town estimates the average household will increase its recycling volume by 4 fold and inversely decrease trash volume. Experiences vary, but citizens in other single stream municipalities have seen their total waste go to 80% recyclables and 20% trash by volume.

2011 Kathy Krasniewicz Memorial Scholarship Winners

Perrot Library Announces the 2011 Recipients of the Annual
Kathy Krasniewicz Memorial Scholarships

The Perrot Memorial Library Board of Directors is pleased to announce Jenn Florence and Billy Mills as the winners of the second annual Kathy Krasniewicz Memorial Scholarships. These scholarships, in memory of Perrot’s beloved Children’s Services Librarian Kathy Krasniewicz, are two $2500 cash prizes awarded to high school seniors who either participated in the library’s Young Critics Club or were employed in its Youth Services Department. Both this year’s award winners were recognized for their active membership in the Young Critics Club as Middle School students.

Jenn Florence, a graduate of Greenwich High School, will be attending Skidmore College in the fall and is also the recipient of the 2010 Columbia Book Award and the 2011 Greenwich Arts Council Creative Achievement Award. Several of her poems were published in the 2011 Greenwich Literary Magazine.

A graduate of Rye Country Day School, Billy Mills was a sportswriter for his school newspaper, a singer in various performing groups at school and church, as well as a National Merit Finalist and an Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction. He will be attending Pomona College. Billy Mills summed up the influence Young Critics had on him “I was immediately lured to the Young Critics by the book discussions and advanced galleys … Mrs. K's passion for reading was contagious and made the program fun for all of us. In fact, I became so interested in books that I began writing book reviews for Just Books Too.”

Storyteller/Musician/Cartoonist Keith Munslow- sign up for tickets today!

Keith Munslow will be presenting a family show for ages 5 and up at Perrot on Thursday, July 28th, 2011, at 4 P.M. Keith is an award-winning performer who combines rock solid funky piano playing, soulful singing, hilarious stories, and lightning fast cartooning! He has entertained thousands of children (and adults!) at schools and festivals throughout New England-- and beyond.

Sign up for FREE tickets at the Youth Services Desk!

More information about Keith Munslow at his website: http://www.keithmunslow.com/

Youth Services Graphic Novel Picks

Anya's Ghost [click here to place a hold on this item ] *****Staff Pick*****
Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who’s been dead for a century. Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya’s normal life might actually be worse. She’s embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she’s pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend— even a dead one— is just what she needs. But Anya’s new B.F.F. isn’t kidding about the “forever” part. . .

Mal and Chad: The Biggest, Bestest Time Ever [place hold] *****Staff Pick*****
Mal is a super kid genius and Chad is a talking dog, but no one knows it. What's it like to be so extraordinary and yet so invisible? Not even Megan, Mal's secret crush, has any idea that Mal is anything more than a dork. Fortunately, Mal and Chad are best friends with a penchant for adventure. . . even if the time-traveling does get them grounded by Mal's mom. Introducing the first in a series of illustrated chapter books by talented newcomer Stephen McCranie.

We've also been getting in some new Pixar graphic novels-- look for books with new adventures with the characters from The Incredibles, Cars, Wall-E, and Finding Nemo. Since books in these series are often written by different authors, we're trying to put these in by title so they're easier to find (for instance, look for The Incredibles under J GN INCRE).

Have a graphic novel or manga series you'd like to see at Perrot? Please comment on this post!

Movies in the Park 2011

Perrot is pleased to present our fifth annual series of Movies in the Park in Binney Park. This year we are featuring Rudy and Millions. Bring your picnic, your chairs, and enjoy!


Rudy (Rated PG-13, 98 minutes)
Saturday, July 23rd, 2011, 8:30 P.M.
[No rain date]

Rudy Ruettiger wants to play football at the University of Notre Dame, but has neither the money for tuition nor the grades to qualify for a scholarship. Rudy redoubles his efforts to get out of the steel mill where his father works when his best friend dies in an accident there. Overcoming his dyslexia thanks to his friend and tutor, D-Bob, Rudy gains admission to Notre Dame and begins to fight his way onto the school's fabled football team. -Synopsis from Fandango


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Millions (Rated PG, 114 minutes)
Saturday, August 20th, 2011, 8:30 P.M.
[Rain date Sunday, August 21st]

When 9-year-old Damian finds a bag of money in his back yard, he and his brother Anthony decide to try to spend it without telling their father. Seeking advice from the imaginary saints with whom he converses, Damian struggles with his own morality, and attempts to spend his money in a more altruistic way. News of the mysterious loot inevitably attracts attention, however, and Damian is faced with an increasingly hairy situation. Based on the book by Frank Cottrell Boyce. -Synopsis from Fandango