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 going into Grade 7 and up who can volunteer at least 5 hours during the summer.

When do volunteers work?
From June 22nd to July 27th, whenever the library is open. You can set your own schedule and sign up for shifts any hour that the library is open—mornings, afternoons and 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), have a parent or guardian sign it, and drop it off.

How do I learn what to do?
All volunteers must attend a 1-hour training session in June where we’ll teach you everything you need to know.

Have more questions?
Please call Kathy Jarombek, Director of Youth Services, at 203-637-8802.

Upcoming Event: Author Talk with Patti Callahan Henry

Patti Callahan Henry, the bestselling author of eight novels, will discuss her latest book, Coming Up for Air, at Perrot on Wednesday, May 16th, 2012, at 7:30 P.M. Coming Up for Air reveals the link between a mother's secret past and a daughter's hope for a new future. This is an affecting tale about second chances and banishing the ghosts of regret. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Upcoming Event: Greenwich Reads Together Discussion of Zeitoun at Perrot

This year, Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, has been selected for Greenwich Reads Together, a community-wide reading experience which engages the entire town in exploring a single book through discussions, programs, and lectures. Zeitoun is the true story of one family, caught between America's two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina. Perrot is pleased to host a discussion of Zeitoun on Wednesday, April 18th, 2012, at 7:30 PM. The discussion will be facilitated by Kathleen D. DiGiovanna, a recognized artist, photographer, and a recent recipient of the Greenwich Pen Women's Owl Award, honoring her outstanding talent and achievements.

How to Clean DVDs

If a DVD you've checked out from the library does not play properly (and is not scratched) it may just need a quick cleaning. If you do decide to clean a DVD, please do so in the proper manner: How to Properly Clean a DVD.

Upcoming Event: Cupcakes, Cookies, & Pie, Oh My! with Author Karen Tack

Perrot Library is pleased to host author Karen Tack on Saturday, March 31st, 2012, at 2:00 PM. Playing with your food has never been so much fun! Karen Tack, food stylist and best-selling co-author of Hello, Cupcake! and What's New, Cupcake? will be at Perrot applying an over-sized imagination not just to cupcakes but to cookies, pies, cakes, and other treats. With the easy-to-follow techniques in her new book, Cupcakes, Cookies, & Pie, Oh My!, even the most kitchen-challenged among us can create masterpieces using just a zipper lock bag and common candies and snack items. Come join the fun!

First Sunday Science: Free educational programs for children at Greenwich Point

The first Sunday of each month this year The Bruce Museum, and other non-profit organizations in the area, will be holding FREE fun educational programs for children and families at the Seaside Center at Greenwich Point! Check out the list below for the First Sunday Science activities for the next few months. If you would like more information on these programs, please call 203-413-6742.

Sunday, March 18th, 2012, 1:30 – 4:00 PM: Living on the Edge: Surviving the Intertidal Zone Family Day. Presented by the Bruce Museum and co-sponsored by Greenwich Shellfish Commission. Join us for an exciting hands-on day of activities at the Innis Arden Cottage. Spend some time at the marine touch tank, join in guided beach explorations, and create environmentally sustainable crafts! A presentation will be held at 3 p.m. by Dr. Frank Cantelmo of St. John’s University, Department of Biological Sciences. All activities are free and suitable for people of all abilities and ages. Remember to dress warmly: optional segments of the day will be held outside!

Sunday, April 1st, 2012, 1:30-3:00 PM: Earth Month Kick-off.
Greenwich launches Earth Month with an Open House at the Floren Family Environmental Center at Innis Arden Cottage in Greenwich Point Park. The official Earth Day proclamation by First Selectman Peter Tesei will be made at 2 pm. Stop by for an afternoon full of fun family activities and meet local environmental organizations such as the Greenwich Conservation Commission, Shellfish Commission, Bruce Museum and more.

Sunday, May 6th, 2012, 1:30 – 4:00 PM: Greenwich Point– an International Crossroads of Bird Migration
Join us at the Innis Arden Cottage and discover how many different types of songbirds, hawks, and waterbirds use the habitats of Greenwich Point for nesting, wintering, or a migration rest and refueling stop.

Sunday, June 3rd, 2012, 1:30-4:00 PM: Tag a Horsehoe Crab: Project Limulus
The day will be full of exciting opportunities to participate and learn more about Project Limulus, an ongoing study of the Horseshoe Crab. Don’t miss this opportunity to spot and tag Horseshoe Crabs on the Greenwich Point Beach, discuss the research project with people involved, and hear a presentation on the ecology of this often seen but not well known creature. There is a chance that participants will get wet during some segments of this program, please dress accordingly! We will be meeting at the Innis Arden Cottage, located on Greenwich Point. Presented by the Friends of Greenwich Point, Town of Greenwich, Sacred Heart University, and the Bruce Museum.

Perrot Newsletter

The Spring 2012 edition of Perrot's newsletter, Précis, is now available!

Watch for your copy in the mail, pick up a copy in the library, or read it online (in PDF format).

Upcoming Event: Have an Idea For a Website?: With Co-Founders of BabyNameWizard.com

BabyNameWizard.com Founders Laura Wattenberg and Jennie Baird

Perrot Library is pleased to host “Have an Idea for A Website?” on Thursday, March 22nd, 2012, at 7:30 PM. Find out how two moms turned a typical parenting conflict into a multi-platform media business, starting the popular baby naming website BabyNameWizard.com. Laura Wattenberg, best-selling author of The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby, and her business partner, Jennie Baird, will discuss the origins of their business, including tips and tactics for turning an idea into a successful website. Ms. Wattenberg is a writer, researcher, and software designer who developed the name analysis software after becoming frustrated in her search for names for her two daughters. Co-founder Jennie Baird spent 15 years as a digital media executive working for companies like Dow Jones, AOL and NBC.

52nd Annual Lions Club Pancake Fry- March 10th

The Old Greenwich Lion's Club is holding its 52nd Annual Pancake Fry on Saturday, March 10th, 2012 from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Greenwich Civic Center at 90 Harding Road, Old Greenwich. Fun for the whole family! There will be door prizes, our delicious bake sale and entertainment for all. $7.00/per person in advance or $8.00 at the door, $1.00 discount for children ages 6-11 and FREE admission for kids 5 & under. Advance tickets can be purchase at Perrot, or call 203-918-8666 to inquire.

New Book Recommendations from the Reference Desk

What We're Reading at Perrot- New Book Recommendations from Our Reference Desk

ON CANAAN'S SIDE, BY SEBASTIAN BARRY
[Fiction] As the story opens, 89-year-old Lilly Beve sits in the guest cottage of a Bridgehampton estate, desolate after receiving the news that her grandson, Bill, is dead. She has nothing left to live for. Her life is over and lonely. She decides to end it all, but only after going back and looking at what brought her to this place. In Ireland, during "the troubles," Lilly’s father was identified as an informer with a price on his head. Together they fled to New York and then on to Chicago. The tale unfolds from this hopeful start. How beautifully written this book is. The language is so thick with Irish lyricism that it winds and weaves its way around the reader. Ultimately, we come to a rather surprising ending. Enjoy the fabulous prose and fascinating plot.

Read the rest of our list of recommendations!

Bargain Magazines

Beginning this week, we will be discarding all 2010 magazines. They will be available for sale for 25 cents each (please pay at the Adult Circulation Desk) on Perrot's For Sale shelf, located to the right of the bulletin board in the main building. We also have discarded books available for 25 cents; all other items are $1.00.

Youth Services Graphic Novel Picks

Chi's Sweet Home [ click here to place a hold on this book ] *****Staff Pick*****
This ongoing series chronicles the adventures of Chi, a michievous kitten who, while on a leisurely stroll with her family, finds herself lost. Separated from the warmth and protection of her mother, and overcome with loneliness, Chi breaks into tears in a large park, when she is suddenly rescued by a young boy named Yohei and his mother. The kitty is then quickly and quietly whisked away into the warm and inviting Yamada family apartment. . . where pets are strictly not permitted.

The Secret World of Arrietty [ place hold ] *****Staff Pick*****
Arrietty isn't your ordinary fourteen-year-old girl-- she's small enough to make her home under the floorboards of a typical house, “borrowing” what she and her family needs from the giants in whose shadows they live. A young boy named Sho befriends Arrietty, but when adults discover the Borrowers, Arritty and Sho must work together to save her family. This is the graphic novelization of the upcoming Hayao Miyazaki film, which is based on the classic book The Borrowers by Mary Norton.

Mal and Chad: Food Fight! [ place hold ] *****Staff Pick*****
Mal and Chad are back in a hilarious new adventure! When talking dog Chad begins having scary dreams, Mal, his kid genius friend builds a dream portal to defeat Chad's nightmare beast once and for all. Something goes wrong, though, and the beast follows Mal back to reality. Now Mal's not-so-secret crush Megan and her friends are in danger. . . but luckily Mal is there to come to the rescue.

Pandemonium [ place hold ] *****Staff Pick*****
Acclaimed author Chris Wooding's first graphic novel-- fun fantasy-adventure with a macabre twist! As captain of the local skullball team, Seifer Tombchewer is the envy of his peers. He's fast, he's strong, and he flies circles around the competition. But Seifer's always dreamed of more-- of leaving his tiny, remote village for a new life beyond the mountains. He just never dreamed it would happen like this. Knocked unconscious and abducted, Seifer awakens in the royal palace to learn that Prince Talon Pandemonium has gone missing. And since Seifer is a ringer for Talon, it's his duty to replace the missing royal in his roles of diplomat, warrior, and Lord Defender of the Realm. He might fool Talon's sisters. He might fool Talon's army. But Seifer has little hope of fooling Talon's enemies. . .

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

Spaces Still Available in the Free Balloon Sculpting Workshop on 2/15!

Magician Ed Popielarczyk will be offering a balloon sculpting workshop for kids in grades 3 and up at Perrot on Wednesday, February 15th, from 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM. We still have plenty of space available in this program! Call us today to sign up your child, 203-637-8802. Ed will bring enough balloons for everyone, and will cover balloon safety, the different balloons that can be used, how to tie a knot in the balloon, and how to make assorted balloon animals.

This workshop will follow Ed's magic show on 2/15, which starts at 2 PM. You may also still sign up for magic show tickets. The magic show is for families with children ages 3 and up.

Hope you can join us!

Take Your Child to the Library Day- Saturday, February 4th

Take Your Child to the Library Day

Saturday, February 4th, 2012

Stop by the Youth Services Wing all day!

Bookmarks, toys, and sweet treats! * Make a craft * Get a library card * Read a book about the library * Snuggle with our bears

 

A few months ago, Nadine Lipman, Waterford Public Library Children’s Librarian, saw an advertisement for “Take Your Child to the Bookstore Day,” and thought, “Why Not a ‘Take Your Child to the Library Day?’”? The idea multiplied and now the children’s departments of many public libraries in Connecticut, and some beyond, have decided to celebrate the first Saturday in February as Take Your Child to the Library Day!

In memoriam

Perrot Library staff warmly remember our beloved librarians, Kathy Krasniewicz and Kate McClelland, today on the eve of the third anniversary of their deaths.

An illustration of Kathy and Kate by award-winning children's author and illustrator Brian Selznick, which is displayed in Perrot's children's wing