The White Garden, and Other Great Reads

The White Garden: A Novel of Virginia Woolf, by Stephanie Barron
The author is known for her mysteries featuring Jane Austen, and now has a literary mystery featuring Virginia Woolf. The action features Jo Bellamy, an American gardener doing research at Sissinghurst Castle’s famous White Garden. It’s a good read if you like historical and literary mysteries. There are study questions at the end of the book, so this is a sure bet for book groups!

For more great books, take a look at the new Great Reads from the Reference Librarians list for December 2009.


Our Great Reads archives have moved-- please update your bookmarks. See the New to View page for a complete list of previous editions of Great Reads: http://www.perrotlibrary.org/new_to_view.htm

Children's Program Registration Is Going on Now!

Registration for Youth Services' Winter/Spring 2010 Program Session is going on now through Sunday, January 10th, 2020. [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 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¢)
• Leave the card at the Youth Services Desk
• 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.

Kate McClelland and Kathy Krasniewicz Memorial Scholarship to ALA

Random House Children's Books is honoring the memory of Kate McClelland and Kathy Krasniewicz with a special scholarship for a new or student librarian to attend the American Library Association Annual Conference.

From Random House's Website:
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 wina trip to attend the 2010 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.!

More information, as well as the application, are available at this website: http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/librarians/KateandKathyScholarship.html

Repair to front entrance

Please use caution-- the entrance to Perrot's adult wing is closed temporarily while damage from a car accident this fall is repaired.

Golden Y Award Winners Fall 2009

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the Semi-Annual Young Young Critics' Club (Y2C2) Jeopardy Tournament! They are the current holders of the coveted Wonderful Golden "Y" Award! (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!).

The winners-- Team We Don't Know: Akira, Michael, Elizabeth, Lydia, Amanda, and Ellie

Shakespeare Colloquy: Hamlet

Anne Gilhuly is scheduled to lecture at Perrot on Shakespeare's Hamlet on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009, at 7:30 P.M. The event will also feature dramatic readings from the work by Shakespeare players Florence Phillips and Dick Leonard.

National Book Award Winners 2009

The 2009 National Book Awards were presented on Wednesday.

Fiction Winner:
Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann

In the dawning light of a late-summer morning, the people of lower Manhattan stand hushed, staring up in disbelief at the Twin Towers. It is August 1974, and a mysterious tightrope walker is running, dancing, leaping between the towers, suspended a quarter mile above the ground. In the streets below, a slew of ordinary lives become extraordinary in McCann's stunningly intricate portrait of a city and its people.

Non-Fiction Winner:

The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, by T.J. Stiles
A gripping, groundbreaking biography of the combative man whose genius and force of will created modern capitalism. Founder of a dynasty, builder of the original Grand Central, creator of an impossibly vast fortune, Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt is an American icon. This is a sweeping, fast-moving epic, and a complex portrait of the great man.

Poetry Winner:
Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy, by Keith Waldrop
In these quasi-abstract, experimental lines, collaged words torn from their contexts take on new meanings. These powerful poems, at once metaphysical and personal, reconcile Waldrop's romantic tendencies with formal experimentation, uniting poetry and philosophy, and revealing him as a transcendentalist for the new millennium.

Young People's Literature Winner:

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, by Phillip Hoose

On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation, refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated as Rosa Parks would be just nine months later, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery. Hoose presents the first in-depth account of an important yet largely unknown civil rights figure.

Youth Services Winter/Spring '10 Program Schedule Now Available

The Youth Services Winter/Spring 2010 Program Schedule is now available.

Our program registration is by lottery. Pick up a registration postcard for the program of your choice from the Youth Services Circulation Desk, beginning on Monday, December 14th, 2009. Don't forget to bring a stamp!

Complete registration instructions are available on our website, as our descriptions of all our program offerings.

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

Tellabration! 2009

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 TELLABRATION!

Check out all local Tellabration! 2009 events here, find out more at Tellabration!'s website, or call 860-439-2764.

Youth Services' Holiday Gift-Buying Guide 2009

It's here! Each year our Youth Services Librarian and young readers put together a list of recommended books to buy for holiday gifts. Our list features picture books, books for beginning readers, books for middle graders, and books for ages 12 and up.

View our list online here. The list is also available at the Youth Services Desk as a paper brochure.

DVD Diva: Cary Grant

Once told by an interviewer, "Everybody would like to be Cary Grant," Grant is said to have replied, "So would I."

Here are some of his movies available at Perrot:

• In the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, North by Northwest, Grant plays a hapless New York advertising executive who is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive.


• In The Philadelphia Story a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage and she begins to learn the truth about herself. With Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart.


• A bishop trying to get a new cathedral built prays for guidance in The Bishop's Wife. An angel (Mr. Cary Grant) arrives, but his guidance isn't about fundraising. With Loretta Young and David Niven.

Book Recommendation: Emily's Ghost

Emily’s Ghost, published by Norton, and written by Denise Giardina, is a fabulous book. The premise that Emily Bronte’s tale needed telling because all her papers were destroyed (except for Wuthering Heights) was an excellent basis for this type of story. Emily's Ghost was well-written and captivating-- this is one of the best books I have read all year!

There's more about the book on the author's website: http://www.denisegiardina.com/emily.htm

-Barbara Glass

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.

Fruits are available for purchase at Perrot (ask at the Adult Circulation Desk). Grapefruits are $16 per case, and juice oranges are $17 per case.

Photo of the Perrot cupola

click to see a larger version

Klara Zimmerman, a junior at Greenwich High School, took this neat photo of Perrot's cupola for an art class. Klara says, "I am a frequent user of the library and I thought it would be cool to take some pictures there for my class. The photography assignment was called Angle of View." Thanks for sharing, Klara!

Tomorrow Night: Tracy Kidder

Perrot Event Reminder:

New York Times best-selling author Tracy Kidder will discuss his books, Mountains Beyond Mountains and Strength in What Remains, tomorrow, Thursday, November 5th, 2009, at 7 P.M. at the First Congregational Church of Old Greenwich.

The author will sign books at 6:30 P.M., and a reception will follow the talk at 8 P.M. in Perrot's children's wing. Please arrive early for this event, as seating is limited!

Please visit Tracy Kidder's website for more information about the author and his books: http://www.tracykidder.com/

Two Articles About Perrot in the Greenwich Citizen

The Greenwich Citizen ran two articles about Perrot recently. One article profiled Perrot's Young Critics' Club (YCC) [http://www.greenwichcitizen.com/localnews/ci_13674114] and a second article remembered Mrs. Mac's "Hag of Old Greenwich" and talked about this year's Nightmares show [http://www.greenwichcitizen.com/localnews/ci_13678187].

Terrible Tales from... NIGHTMARES

Excerpts from our evening of fear, on October 26th, 2009...

Scary Stories

I just attended a wonderful reading of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” It took place at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow, where else? It was lit by candlelight only, with the narrator telling the story in a way that was fascinating, funny and spellbinding. What more could you ask for? I skipped going into the cemetery after the reading. This seems like the perfect time to catch up on some older, scary stories– not just for Halloween, but for the fall, with the dark descending on us earlier each evening. We have some books on the table in the Rand Room and have short story collections on the second floor.

-Linda

Youth Services Drawing Contest!-- Win IMAX Tickets

Youth Services has a special drawing contest going on now! Pick up an entry form at the Youth Services Desk, and draw us your version of a "wild thing." The creators of our five favorite drawings will win each win two tickets to the IMAX theater at the Maritime Aquarium, to see their choice of Where the Wild Things Are or Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs! The contest is open through Friday, November 13th, 2009.

We can't wait to see your creations!

National Book Award Finalists 2009

The National Book Awards present the best in four genres of published works: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. They recognize the best in literature, from both emerging and established writers.

The National Book Awards finalists were announced on October 14th, 2009 and are as follows:

For Fiction:
American Salvage, by Bonnie Jo Campbell
Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, by Daniyal Mueenuddin
Lark and Termite, by Jayne Anne Phillips
Far North, by Marcel Theroux

For Non-Fiction:
Following the Water: A Hydromancer’s Notebook, by David M. Carroll
Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of the Species, by Sean B. Carroll
Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City, by Greg Grandin
The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy, by Adrienne Mayor
The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, by T.J. Stiles

In addition, there are finalists in Poetry and Young People’s Literature categories. A special award to acknowledge a distinguished contribution to American Letters will name Gore Vidal as its recipient. A Literarian award will go to Dave Eggers. The winners in each of the categories will be announced at the 60th National Book Awards Benefit Dinner on November 18th, 2009.

-The Reference Librarians

Perrot Is on AOL Instant Messenger

Perrot is now available to answer your reference and circulation questions via AOL Instant Messenger. Our screen names are AskPerrot (for reference questions), AskPerrotCirc (for questions about your library account), and AskPerrotYS (for questions about your library account or children's programs).

If you don't use AOL IM, you can still chat with us live via Meebo on our website: http://www.perrotlibrary.org/askperrot.html

DVD Diva: Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford wanted a career in show business because it was much more glamorous than the odd jobs she was working. She won a dance contest which landed her a job in a chorus line. After two years, she moved to the movie colony of Hollywood. She felt movies might afford her a chance of fame and glory. She was determined to succeed and succeed she did.

One of my favorite Joan Crawford movies is Mildred Pierce. After her cheating husband leaves her, Crawford's character proves she can become independent and successful, but she still can't win the approval of her spoiled daughter.

In The Women, released in 1939, Crawford plays the ruthless and husband-stealing Crystal Allen. The movie also stars Rosalind Russell and Norma Shearer. This movie has been remade several times, most recently in 2008 with Meg Ryan and Annette Bening.

Also available at Perrot is The Joan Crawford Collection Volume 2, which includes A Woman's Face, Flamingo Road, Sadie McKee, Strange Cargo, and Torch Song.

--The DVD Diva

Event Reminder: Mary Ann Hoberman

The National Children's Poet Laureate, Mary Ann Hoberman, will give a talk at Perrot tomorrow, Wednesday, October 14th, 2009, at 7:30 P.M. in the children's wing. She will speak about the importance of poetry in children's lives. (Although the talk will be aimed at adults, children are welcome to attend.)

2nd Annual Greenwich Awesome Tree Contest

The Greenwich Tree Conservancy and the Town of Greenwich are sponsoring the second annual "Awesome Tree Contest"!

Residents can nominate their favorite tree in the following categories:

• Best Climbing Tree
• Favorite Shade Tree
• Best Wildlife Tree (please describe what wildlife lives in the tree)
• Favorite Park or School Tree
• The Fattest Tree

Entries are due on Friday, October 16th, 2009, and prizes will be awarded at a celebration at the Garden Education Center on Sunday, November 15th, 2009. Join in the fun and take the kids, grandparents and the whole family out for a fall walk in search of the most Awesome Trees in Greenwich. Perhaps the winner is right in your own yard!

Entry forms are available in the Library, or online at http://www.greenwichtreeconservancy.org/

Photos from Critter Caravan's visit

Kathryn of Critter Caravan visited our Stuff and Nonsense and Spotlight program participants on September 30th.

She brought a bunch of neat animals, told us all about where they're from, what they eat, and how they live... and then EVERYBODY got to touch them and see them close up! See all the fun we had here.

Perrot's Got Kindles

Perrot now has two Kindle readers-- one that can be borrowed (loaded with fiction), and one to enjoy in the Library (loaded with a variety of newspapers).

Come see the Kindle DX at the Reference Desk. It’s loaded with news from around the nation and the world: The New York Times, The Time (London), The Irish Times, The Washington Post, and more. All you need is your driver's license to check it out for in-library use.

Mr. Miody and his dahlias

(click to view a larger version)

Pictured next to two of his amazing Double A dahlias is Stanley Miody, a frequent patron of the Perrot Library. Mr. Miody was kind enough to bring these fresh cut dalias, picked from his garden, to brighten up our front desk. He was a pilot in WWII, and has been married to his wife, Claire, for 65 years.

Author Tracy Kidder: Two Books, One Night

New York Times best-selling author Tracy Kidder will discuss his books, Mountains Beyond Mountains and Strength in What Remains, on Thursday, November 5th, 2009, at 7 P.M. at the First Congregational Church of Old Greenwich. The author will sign books at 6:30 P.M., and a reception will follow the talk at 8 P.M. in Perrot's children's wing.

Please arrive early for Mr. Kidder's talk, as seating is limited.

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

For those of you who loved Mountains Beyond Mountains, and ran to the book store for Tracy Kidder's new book Strength in What Remains, the author will be sharing his experience of writing about two incredible men.

Mountains Beyond Mountains
In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life’s calling: to cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Kidder’s magnificent account takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that “the only real nation is humanity.” At the heart of this book, is the example of a life based on hope and on an understanding of the truth of the Haitian proverb “Beyond mountains there are mountains"—as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too.

Strength in What Remains
Kidder once again delivers the masterful story of a hero for these modern times. Deo grew up in the mountains of Burundi, and survived a civil war and genocide before seeking a new life in America. In New York City he lived homeless in Central Park before finding his way to Columbia University. But Deo’s story really begins with his will to turn his life into something truly remarkable; he returns to his native country to help people there, as well as people in the United States.

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

Please visit Tracy Kidder's website for more information about the other and his books: http://www.tracykidder.com/

Book Recommendation: Stitches

Stitches: A Memoir, by David Small
741.5973 SMALL





Award-winning children's book illustrator David Small (Imogene's Antlers, So You Want to Be President?) recounts his nightmarish childhood in this amazing and disturbing memoir, which takes the form of a graphic novel. The text and illustrations are spare, but so evocative. You will be inspired by Small's escape from his repressive and angry household, as well as by his growth into a successful and talented adult. This book is not for the faint of heart, but is most definitely a rewarding read.

-Vicky

Children's Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman to Speak at Perrot

Perrot is pleased to host the national Children's Poet Laureate, Mary Ann Hoberman, on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009, at 7:30 P.M. She will speak about the importance of poetry in children's lives.

Mary Ann Hoberman has written many children's books and won a number of awards, including the National Book Award for Children's Literature.

In Hoberman's own words:

“I have always loved language and particularly language as manifested in poetry. From as far back as I can remember, I was making up little songs and stories and verses for my younger brother, my dolls, and most particularly for myself. And from my earliest childhood I knew I wanted to be a writer.But it was only when I had children of my own that my desire found a focus in writing poetry for children. This is the vocation that allows me to bring together everything that delights me about language-- rhyme, rhythm, repetition, word play-- and to pass it along to new generations of children. I'm now an old woman but the children are always young!”

For more information please visit Mary Ann Hoberman's website at:
http://www.maryannhoberman.com/

New Magazine Subscriptions!

Perrot now has subscriptions to Entertainment Weekly, Runner's World, Men’s Fitness, and Women’s Health.

Reminder: Our magazines (aside from the current issue) circulate for 1 week. Current issues may be enjoyed anywhere in the library.

Our Picks: Dogs & Libraries

Take a look at Youth Services' Our Picks! lists for August 2009 (woof woof! all about dogs!) and September 2009 (our faves about the library).

Spaces Available in 4s and 5s and Spotlight

Spotlight, our after school story and crafts program for 2nd and 3rd graders, still has spaces available for the fall! The theme for this program session is Natural Wonders. The program meets Wednesdays at 4 P.M. on September 30th, October 7th, October 14th, and October 21st. Participants also receive tickets to our evening of scary stories, NIGHTMARES, on October 26th at 7 P.M. Call the Youth Services Desk to sign up your child (637-8802).

We also have spaces available in both sessions of our Fun for 4s and 5s program: one session meets on Mondays at 1 P.M.; the other meets on Thursdays at 11 A.M. Again, simply call to sign up your child!

Latest Graphic Novels in Youth Services

The Hobbit: An Illustrated Edition of the Fantasy Classic [place hold]
First published in the U.S. more than sixty years ago, J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit has become one of the best-loved books of all time. Tolkien's fantasy was then adapted into a fully painted graphic novel, which became a classic in its own right.

Warriors: Tigerstar & Sasha, Volumes 2 and 3 [place hold- vol. 2] [place hold- vol. 3]
In Volume 2, Sasha has decided to forge a life outside of the Clans and away from Tigerstar's evil plots and plans. But life as a rogue is much harder than she expects, and Sasha soon starts to lose hope. In Volume 3, Sasha return to the forest to raise her kits but fears that Tigerstar will return.

Ponyo [place hold- vol. 1] [place hold- vol. 2]
You've seen the movie, now read the graphic novelization of the latest Hayao Miyazaki classic. We have volumes one and two, with three and four coming soon. HAM!!!!

Look for these and other great new graphic novels in the new book bin in Youth Services.

Have a graphic novel series you'd like to see at Perrot? Comment on this post or email webmaster@perrotlibrary.org!

Book Recommendation: Old Is the New Young

Old Is the New Young: Erickson’s Secrets to Healthy Living, by Mark Erickson, et al.

I took this out at first because the title intrigued me-- is old the new young? This book takes many of our myths about aging and turns them around. It covers how to be healthier, happier and more active. Financial considerations are also discussed. Featuring many interviews with people in adult communities and retirement homes, the book captures the best about growing older. . . or should I say younger?

-Linda

September is Library Card Sign-up Month

September is Library Card Sign-up Month, and Perrot wants to make sure that all children have the smartest card of all– a library card. Studies show that children who are read to in the home and who use the library perform better in school and are more likely to continue to use the library as a source of lifetime learning.

Sign up for a library card (or just use your library card) at the Youth Services Desk during September and you will receive a sweet treat!

Don't forget-- program registration

Don't forget-- registration for fall children's programs is going on now through August 31st. Pick up a registration card for the program of your choice at the Youth Services Desk (don't forget to bring a stamp).

View the Fall 2009 Program Schedule. For complete registration instructions, click here.

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

See Our Summer Reading Contest Winners!

Youth Services' Summer Reading Contest has ended, and now you can see all of our winners! We gave away one prize each week, plus a very special GRAND PRIZE.

Please have a look at our winners here!

Thanks for playing. :)

Photos From Lou Del Bianco's Performance

The afternoon of July 30th saw Perrot friends and family of all ages gather in our beautiful Radcliffe Green to clap, sing, and play along with children's storyteller and musician, Lou Del Bianco. See all the fun we had!

You can also borrow several of Lou Del Bianco's CDs from the Library... take a look here.

P.S. This event was made possible by the generous donations of the members of the Perrot Memorial Library Association. Are you a member? THANK YOU!

The Kindles are coming, the Kindles are coming!

Perrot Library is adding two Kindle readers to its collection for the public to use.

We will have one Kindle that is preloaded with popular fiction and non-fiction. Patrons can check this unit out for one week. Think of it– lots of books all together in one small package!

We also have a Kindle DX, the larger edition, which will have daily newspapers pre-loaded– including The New York Times-- as well as some papers that we don’t normally subscribe to: The Times (UK), The Boston Globe, The International Herald Tribune, and more.
It’s a great way to catch up with global news in one sitting. This Kindle will be available for in-library use only. The Reference Desk will hold your driver's license or passport until the Kindle is returned.

Both Kindle readers will be available at the Perrot Reference Desk beginning on Monday, August 3rd!

Don't Miss It-- Movie in the Park This Saturday!

Perrot is pleased to host another summer movie at Binney Park in Old Greenwich!

We will be showing the 1987 film The Princess Bride (rated PG) in the park this Saturday, August 1st, 2009, at 8:30 P.M.

[Showing is cancelled in the event of inclement weather.]

Youth Services Fall Program Schedule Now Available

The Youth Services Fall 2009 Program Schedule is now available.

Our program registration is by lottery. Pick up a registration postcard for the program of your choice from the Youth Services Circulation Desk, beginning on Monday, August 10th, 2009. For complete registration instructions, click here.

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

New Resource: Live Online Help for Job Seekers

Perrot Library has a new resource available to its patrons! JobNow provides live interactive online help combined with online resources to guide you through the necessary tasks to get a job.

JobNow offers the following services:

• Find a Job: Informative, easy-to-use, and free Internet resources for job seekers; including personality and career assessments
• Write the Resume: Featuring "Resume Lab": Resume Builder provides the resources you need to craft a winning resume
• Resume Lab: Send your resume to a JobNow expert, and receive expert analysis within 24 hours
• Resume Templates: To help patrons get started, JobNow includes downloadable templates for four of the most common resume types
• Internet Resources for Resumes: Search carefully selected sites for more information on resume writing
• Ace the Interview: Featuring JobNow’s Interview Coach service, this section provides resources to help you prepare for an interview
• Live Interview Coaching: Connect with a live interview coach to brush up on interview skills
• Interview Tips: Offers tips and common interview questions to help you prepare for an interview.
• Internet Resources for Interviewing: Use carefully selected sites to help prepare for an interview

JobNow is only accessible within Perrot Library-- follow this link. Sign up is quick and simple!

The Great American Staycation

The Great American Staycation: How to Make a Vacation at Home fun for the Whole Family (and Your Wallet!), by Matt Wixon (917.304 WIXON)

This book gives you all the tips you need to enjoy a vacation close to home. The staycation phenomenon is not new, but Mr. Wixon gives a revitalized version of how to enjoy your local area. Take a look and take a break from running for a plane, paying for expensive hotels, etc.!

-The Reference Librarians

Don't miss Storytime in Chinese tomorrow, Weds. 7/22

The best time to learn a foreign language is between birth and age 7! [More here: "Unraveling how children become bilingual so easily"]

The non-proft Chinese Language School of Connecticut is hosting Storytime in Chinese at Perrot on Wednesdays in July (July 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th) at 1 P.M. The program is aimed at children ages 3 to 5 (and their siblings). This is a free program and no registration necessary!

Please stop by for the last two classes and watch for more dates during our fall programs.

Our Picks for July: 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing

The Apollo 11 astronauts set out from Earth on July 16th, 1969; they landed on July 20th, 40 years ago today. NASA plans to send another mission to the moon within the next 10 years.

In honor of the moon landing, Youth Services' Our Picks! list for this month features some of our favorite books about the moon.

Look here for more kid's books about the moon at Perrot: fiction and non-fiction.

Summer Reading in YS, Week 2

This is the second week of the Youth Services Summer Reading Contest! Make sure you check out a book at the YS Desk this week to receive your guess slip!

This summer, you have to guess which SILLY book the Perrot bears are acting out! They will be acting out a different READiculous ('cos remember, the theme for this year is "DO SOMETHING READICULOUS!") book each week in July. You can go here to check. Once you know which book they're reading, come into the Library (and check out some books!) to receive a guess slip. You can guess as many times as you check out books during the week!

Each week, we will put all of our correct guesses in a hat, and draw a winner [click here to see our winners so far!]. They will receive a super-cool gift bag full of books, toys, and silly stuff! At the end of July, we will draw from among all the correct guess slips from all four weeks to select a GRAND PRIZE winner-- four tickets to Lake Compounce amusement park in Bristol, CT!

Painting in Adult Non-Fiction

The 2nd floor of the adult wing (non-fiction) is being painted. Please ask the Reference librarian for assistance in accessing materials. Please use caution in the area. Your patience is appreciated!

New Graphic Novel Pick in Youth Services

GUNNERKRIGG COURT, VOLUME 1, BY THOMAS SIDDELL [click here to place a hold]

Gunnerkrigg Court does not look much like a school at all. It closer resembles a large industrial complex than a place of learning. Within the first week of my attendance, I began to notice a number of strange occurrences. The most prevalent of these oddities being the fact that I seemed to have obtained a second shadow. . .

Antimony Carver is a precocious young girl starting her first year of school at gloomy Gunnerkrigg Court, a very British boarding school that has robots running around alongside body-snatching demons, forest gods, and the odd mythical creature. The opening volume in the serires follows Antimony through her orientation year: the people she meets, the strrange things that happen, and the thing she causes to happen as she and her new friend, Kat, unravel the mysteries of the Court.

NEW Museum Pass-- Stepping Stones Museum for Children

Now available to borrow from the Youth Services Desk-- a museum pass for Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk. You may borrow the pass for one week, and it entitles you to one free admission with each regular paid admission (maximum of three free admissions per day).

Exhibits and educational programs at Stepping Stones 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. More information at: http://www.steppingstonesmuseum.org/

See a list of all the museum passes Perrot has for you to borrow here.

Do You Have Tickets to Lou?

Children's storyteller and musician Lou Del Bianco will give a family show at Perrot on Thursday, July 30th, 2009, at 4 P.M. Do you have your tickets? Sign up now for FREE at the Youth Services Desk!

Family Fun magazine calls Lou Del Bianco "fresh, funny, [and] highly entertaining," while Billboard magazine raves, "we’ve never seen any kid’s performer who more effectively interacts with his audience"!

Find out more about Lou at his website: http://www.findlou.com/

Movie in the Park

The Perrot Memorial Library is pleased to host a summer movie in the park in Binney Park in Old Greenwich! We will be showing the 1987 film The Princess Bride (rated PG) in the park on Saturday, August 1st, 2009, at 8:30 P.M. [Showing is cancelled in the event of inclement weather.]

More about the movie:
When a young boy falls ill, his grandfather pops round to visit him. To cheer his grandson up, Grandpa has brought a storybook; The Princess Bride, a tale of the love between the beautiful Buttercup and the besotted Westley, a love cruelly interrupted by Westley's tragic apparent death at sea when seeking his fortune. Heartbroken, Buttercup has sworn never to love again, but accepts the marriage proposal of the rich and handsome Prince Humperdinck, heir to the throne of Florin; but death is no barrier to true love, and in a story filled with exotically-accented swordsmen, big-hearted giants, genius kidnappers, sadistic torturers, vile swamps, Rodents of Unusual Size, the Dread Pirate Roberts and a somewhat embittered miracle worker, the love between Westley and Buttercup twists and turns on a path filled with adventure. Will the True Love of Westley and Buttercup win the day? Will Inigo Montaya find the six-fingered man who murdered his father? Will Humperdinck's evil plans come to fruition? And, more importantly, will Grandpa be able to tell the story without any of the yucky kissing? --Scott Nisbet, IMDb.com

Looking for more book recommendations this summer?

Here’s a listing that includes thriller, light reads, biographies and mysteries: http://abcnews.go.com/gma/books There is also a link to to Parade Magazine and their picks.
Perrot Library already has most of these in their collection, with new titles arriving every day.

-The Reference Librarians

The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund, and More Great Reads

THE EX-MRS. HEDGEFUND, BY JILL KARGMAN
[Fiction] This novel defines vacation read: quick to run through, fun to read, and full of likeable characters. With recent hedge fund stories in the news, this is also a timely book about a lifestyle many New Yorkers live. The title character, Holly, is living her dream as the stay-at-home wife of a hedge fund founder. Her world crashes as she discovers her husband’s infidelities, then Holly must start again. This is her tale of finding herself after the bottom drops out of her life. You’ll be cheering her on the whole time.

For more great books, take a look at the new Great Reads from the Reference Librarians list for July 2009.

Youth Services' Summer Reading Contest Starts Today!

This is the first week of the Youth Services Summer Reading Contest! This year, you have to guess which SILLY book the Perrot bears are acting out! They will be acting out a different READiculous ('cos remember, the theme for this year is "DO SOMETHING READICULOUS!") book each week in July. You can go here to check. Once you know which book they're reading, come into the Library (and check out some books!) to receive a guess slip. You can guess as many times as you check out books during the week!

Each week, we will put all of our correct guesses in a hat, and draw a winner. They will receive a super-cool gift bag full of books, toys, and silly stuff! After this week is over, we will draw from among all the correct guess slips from all four weeks to select a GRAND PRIZE winner-- four tickets to Lake Compounce amusement park in Bristol, CT!

Perrot Has Paperbacks!

Perrot has added a collection of about 200 new adult paperbacks, including reissues of many old favorites, in a paperback carousel behind the CD and DVD collections in the Watt room. There are mystery, romance and fiction titles arranged by category. They circulate for three weeks like our other books.

Please come and browse!

Painting

Painting is taking place this week in the Youth Services vestibule. Please use caution when entering or exiting the children's wing. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

Quick Takes on Some Quick Reads

Quick recommendations from the Reference Desk:

• The Gate House, by Nelson DeMille: Finally, a sequel to Gold Coast
• Terminal Freeze, by Lincoln Child: Long frozen ancient animal – thawed on TV!
• True Colors, by Kristin Hannah: Love, betrayal, sisterhood make up this touching tale
• Summer Affair, by Elin Hilderbrand: All her books take place on Nantucket. Fun at any time
• The 8th Confession, by James Patterson: This New Women’s Murder Club title takes place on the seamier side of the “street” in San Francisco
• Lethal Legacy, by Linda Fairstein: Set at the New York Public Library. Lots of mystery and history
• Fed Up, by Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant: This new “Gourmet Girl” mystery mixes romance, murder and a reality TV show about chefs
• The Associate, by John Grisham: Brilliant Yale Law school grad is blackmailed into accepting a position with an unscrupulous NY City law firm
• Just Take My Heart, by Mary Higgins Clark: Eerie and suspenseful story about a heart transplant recipient who experiences symptoms of her donor during a trial

Sunday Closings

Just a reminder... Perrot is closed on Sundays during the summer, from this Sunday (June 21st) through Labor Day weekend. Our next Sunday open will be September 13th.

Just Added for Summer- Drop-in Storytime in Chinese!

The non-proft Chinese Language School of Connecticut will host Storytime in Chinese at Perrot on Wednesdays in July (July 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th) at 1 P.M. The program is aimed at children ages 3 to 5 (and their siblings). This is a free program and no registration necessary!

CLSC is a fully-accredited organization, which teaches Chinese as a second language to children ages 6 months and up in their various weekend and weekday Chopstix preschool classes, regular programs for children and adults, and private tutoring programs. Please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or e-mail info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org for more information.

DVD Diva: Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor, who turned 77 in February, is one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses. Here are a few of her movies available at Perrot:

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof: This 1958 movie is a story of the deception which is destroying a patriarchal Southern family as its members gather for the imminent demise of their "Big Daddy." Also starring Paul Newman.

Life With Father: In this 1947 film, William Powell plays a Wall Street broker who tries to run his family like a bookkeeper only to realize his wife, played by Irene Dunn, actually rules the roost.

A Place In The Sun: With Montgomery Clift as a poor young man determined to win a place in respectable society and the heart of beautiful socialite. He is ultimately driven to a desperate act of passion that unravels his world forever. Originally released in 1951.

Taylor also starred with her husband, Richard Burton, in these movies:

The Taming of the Shrew: In this play by Shakespeare, Richard Burton plays Petrucio, a fortune-hunting scoundrel from Verona who arrives in Padua hoping to capture a wealthy wife.

Coming soon to Perrot on DVD is Cleopatra– with Richard Burton as Marc Anthony and Rex Harrison as Caesar– who can resist the ultimate love triangle? Also coming soon-- The Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton Film Collection on DVD. It includes The Sandpiper, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Comedians.

For more details about this famous actress, her 2002 biography, Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry is available on the 2nd floor.

Things to Do This Weekend

Friends of the Byram Library Book Sale: Saturday, June 6th and Sunday, June 7th. At St. Paul's Lutheran Church. A wide selection of goodies, including fiction, over forty categories of non-fiction, and thousands upon thousands of incredible children's books. More info.

Connecticut Trails Day 2009: Whether you’re interested in a long or short hike, a history walk, kayaking, tree identification, horseback-riding, orienteering, letterboxing, trail maintenance, or cycling, Connecticut Trails Day offers a large variety of events for you and your family to enjoy! Saturday, June 6th, statewide. View the list over 190 events. Participate in trail maintenance (9 AM to noon) or go on a moderate hike (10 AM to 2 PM) Saturday at Greenwich and Stamford's Mianus River Park.

New-- Stamford Museum and Nature Center Pass

NEW MUSEUM PASS TO BORROW! Free admission to the Stamford Museum and Nature Center for 2 adults and 2 children. Borrow the pass from the Youth Services Circulation Desk; it circulates for 1 week.

The Stamford Museum and Nature Center is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of art, history, and the natural and agricultural sciences. Its facilities include: Heckscher Farm, a 10-acre working farm with barns, a maple sugar house, organic vegetable garden, and farm animals; the Henri Bendel Mansion Museum building, featuring both a permanent collection and rotating exhibits; an otter pond with two river otters; and Nature's Playground, a playground built with nature themes.

[While the SMNC's Planetarium and Observatory are not included in the pass, admission is just $3 for adults and $2 for children.]

This Just in from YS

Summer Registration is going on NOW through June 20th. Please note that all morning preschool programs for the summer 2009 session will be drop-in (limited to the first 20 children and their caregivers to sign in before each program). Stuff & Nonsense and Spotlight are still by registration only.

Also-- our new Our Picks! list for June is up. The theme is Summer Specials: http://www.perrotlibrary.org/ourpicks-jun09.html We also have a bunch of sports and games book on display. Stop by and visit us, then take a walk at the park-- see you soon!

New Library Event: The State of the Job Market for Today's Graduates

"The State of the Job Market for Today's College Graduates"

Perrot Library

Monday, July 27th, 2009 at 7:00 PM

Christine Bolzan, who recently appeared on NBC’s Today Show (view a clip of her appearance), will speak at Perrot about ways that the 1.5 million new graduates entering the job market each spring can prepare themselves for the real world. She will lead a free lecture on the very timely topic of recruiting for today's college graduates. With the recent economic downturn, how have hiring projections and starting salaries been affected? Which industries continue to hire? What can college students do to secure employment in this economic environment? These questions and many others will be answered. Current students, recent graduates and parents will find this evening interesting and helpful.

Christine Bolzan brings extensive recruiting, interviewing, training and development experience to her chosen specialty. As a Vice President with JP Morgan, Ms. Bolzan managed global recruitment for the Emerging Markets in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Africa. Ms. Bolzan also oversaw Intern and Analyst recruitment, training, development and internship programs for Sales and Trading. In this capacity, Ms. Bolzan coordinated JP Morgan's annual seminar for college Career Center Directors, training staff from the leading universities on how best to prepare students for the job market.

Subsequently, Ms. Bolzan was a Managing Partner of CPI, an executive recruiting firm specializing in private equity, venture capital and investment banking placements. Her client list of leading firms included The Blackstone Group, KKR, Morgan Stanley, and Warburg Pincus, among others. Most relevant to the founding of her company, GCC, however, was her own initial job hunt: application senior year at Wesleyan University to JP Morgan's analyst training program, a job for which she felt wholly unqualified, yet still managed to land.

Visit Christine Bolzan's website at: http://www.graduatecareercoaching.com

Borrow our museum passes for FREE or discounted admission!

Youth Services has a growing collection of museum passes for you to borrow-- loan time is one week, and our passes get you either free or discounted admission to many popular places!

• FREE family admission and parking at ALL Connecticut State Parks and Forests with our State Parks and Forests Day Pass! 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! View a list of all of CT's State Parks
• FREE admission for a family of four to Earthplace, The Nature Discovery Center, in Westport. Offers trails, an animal hall, and a natural history museum
• FREE family admission to the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, NY. The museums' collection comprises more than 7,000 paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculptures, installations, and videos, and embraces 20th-century American and European art, traditional and contemporary African art.
• FREE admission for 2 adults and 2 children to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford. 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!
• DISCOUNTED admission to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk. Watch sharks, jellies, sea turtles, and more than 1,000 other marine animals-- and enjoy a film in the IMAX movie theater. Our pass entitles you to $2 off a combination Aquarium/IMAX ticket for up to 6 people.
• DISCOUNTED admission to the Mystic Aquarium and Center for Marine Exploration in Mystic. 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. Dig into the new interactive exhibit Prehistoric Creatures of the Sea, where kids can uncover the fossils of sea creatures from 600 million years ago! Our pass entitles you to $4 off adult and $3 off child admission, good for up to 2 adults and 2 children.

You may borrow our museum passes from the Youth Services Desk, and also browse more information about any of these locations.

More passes coming soon--- watch our blog for more updates!

Memorial Day Closing Reminder

Don't forget. . .

The libraries will be closed for Memorial Day Weekend: Saturday, May 23rd, Sunday, May 24th, and Monday, May 25th, 2009.

Have a great weekend!

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and More Great Reads

HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET, BY JAMIE FORD

[Fiction] Alternating between the 1940’s and the 1980’s, Henry Lee goes to the Panama Hotel and sees a crowd gathering at the uncovering of possessions that were left behind when the Japanese were sent to the evacuation camps. He had forged a friendship with a young Japanese girl, Keiko, when he was the only Chinese boy at school. Their initial bond was one of being excluded from the other students. He sees a parasol that he is sure belonged to Keiko and this serves as the gateway to all that happened forty years prior. A love story and a family story of different times and differing cultures, this is truly a bittersweet tale.

For more great books, take a look at the new Great Reads from the Reference Librarians list for May 2009.

2009 Greenwich Music Festival

The 2009 Greenwich Music Festival will run from June 9th to 14th. This year's festival features music written by prisoners in the Terezin concentration camp during the Second World War. Composers Viktor Ullmann, Gideon Klein, Pavel Haas and Hans Krasa, whose works will be performed throughout the week, were all active members of the vibrant Terezin musical community. All four were sent to Auschwitz on October 16, 1944; they died in the camp. They left, though, a rich legacy of opera, chamber music, choral music and much more. Join us for an amazing week of performances featuring rising young artists from around the world.

More information at: http://www.greenwichmusicfestival.org/

Y2C2's Favorite Book of 2008-2009 Is...

Perrot's Young Young Critics' Club (Y2C2) has declared that its favorite book of 2008/2009 is....

I, LORELEI

by Yeardley Smith

When her favorite cat, Mud, dies, Lorelei starts a journal to him, chronicling her daily life as a sixth grader so that he can continue to follow her rise to fame and fortune as a beloved actress, celebrated chef, and/or bestselling author. She figures it's also a good way to make sure her future biographers don't get anything wrong about her. But when her parents' marriage starts to unravel, Lorelei's lighthearted daily log becomes a poignant and defiantly humorous account of a family in distress, as Lorelei grapples with the ground shifting under her feet.

See the rest of Y2C2's favorites here (click on the link on the Favorites Books of 2008-2009 link on the left), and learn more about the club while you're at it!

Golden Y Award Winners Spring 2009

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the Semi-Annual Y2C2 Jeopardy Tournament! They are the current holders of the coveted Wonderful Golden "Y" Award! (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!).

The winning team: Olivia, Mary Kate, Charlotte, JC -- and Cole in front

2009 Ezra Jack Keats Award Winners

The Ezra Jack Keats Award is dedicated to fostering the talent of the new generations of children, artists, and authors who have succeeded Ezra Jack Keats. Keats was the distinguished author-illustrator of the classic Caldecott Award-winning The Snowy Day. The EJK award recognizes and encourages developing, talented authors and illustrators of children's books.

The 2009 Award Winners are....

New Writer Award Winner
Garmann's Summer
by Stian Hole
As the summer ends, six-year-old Garmann's three ancient aunts visit and they all talk about the things that scare them.

New Illustrator Award Winner
Bird
illustrated by Shadra Strickland
Bird, an artistic young boy, expresses himself through drawing as he struggles to understand his older brother's drug addiction and death, while a family friend, Uncle Son, provides guidance and understanding.

Genre Fiction Award Winners

The American Library Association's annual Genre Fiction awards were announced in the April 15th edition of Library Journal. Perrot Library is pleased to have a staff member, Mirja
Johanson, on this Reading List Council.

This year’s winners are:

Adrenaline:
Blue Heaven, by C.J. Box
A twelve-year-old girl and her younger brother go on the run in the woods of North Idaho, pursued by four men they have just watched commit murder. . . Also an Edgar Award winner.


Fantasy:
The Veil of Gold, by Kim Wilkins
When the statue of a golden bear is found walled up in a dilapidated St. Petersburg bathhouse owned by her family, Rosa Kovalenka knows in her heart that this is no trick of fate. Her uncle thinks of treasure, but Rosa fears the bear is much more.


Historical:
The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II, by Jeff Shaara (historical)
A fictional account of D-Day and the Allied invasion of Europe chronicles the events of the World War II campaign and the personalities who took part, from the ordinary soldiers on the land and in the air, to such leaders as Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, and Omar Bradley.


Horror:
Sharp Teeth, by Toby Barlow
An ancient race of lycanthropes has survived to the present day, and its numbers are growing as the initiated convince L.A.'s down and out to join their pack. Paying no heed to moons, full or otherwise, they change from human to canine at will-- and they're bent on domination at any cost.


Mystery:
Garden of Evil: A Nic Costa Mystery, by David Hewson
In a deserted artist's studio in the heart of Rome, detectives stumble upon a scene of shocking brutality: two bodies, freshly killed. Looming over them is a painting that bears all the hallmarks of a Caravaggio: a brilliantly colored canvas depicting a violent tableau of beauty and depravity.


Romance:
Spymaster’s Lady, by Joanna Bourne (romance)
She's braved battlefields. She's stolen dispatches from under the noses of heads of state. She's played the worldly courtesan, the naive virgin, the refined British lady, even a Gypsy boy. But Annique Villiers, the elusive spy known as the Fox Cub, has finally met the one man she can't outwit.


Science Fiction:
Hunter’s Run, by George R.R. Martin
Police, fugitive aliens, and a human murderer weave a web of shifting alliances as Ramón, a luckless prospector, enters the greatest manhunt the alien world of São Paulo has ever known. If he is to survive, Ramón must overcome inscrutable aliens and deadly predators, but his greatest enemy is himself.


Women's Fiction:
Every Last Cuckoo, by Kate Maloy
At age seventy-five, Sarah thought that her life was settled and assured: she and Charles would live out their days in the quiet comfort of their rural Vermont home. But now, with Charles gone, Sarah is unable to find peace. That is, until her home unforeseeably becomes an unruly refuge for wayward souls.

Historic Landscape Reports and Preliminary Master Plan for Greenwich's Parks

Greenwich Department of Parks & Recreation

Announces the Presentation of

Historic Landscape Reports
and
Preliminary Master Plan
for Greenwich’s Formal Parks:
Bruce Park
Binney Park
Byram Park
Montgomery Pinetum Park

Presented By
Martha Lyon, Landscape Architect, ASLA
Specializing in the preservation of Cultural and Historic Landscapes

Wednesday May 13th, 2009
7:00 pm in the Town Hall Meeting Room
101 Field Point Road
Greenwich, CT

Open to all Greenwich residents


The formal parks of Greenwich require professional planning that is considerate of the park's historic "reason for being" and their original design and intent. The report and management plan recommendations will be responsive to the ideals and philosophy of the Department of Parks & Recreation goals and will also be responsive to the expectations and needs of the Park's constituency.

Martha Lyon, a licensed landscape architect specializing in the planning, preservation and design of historic landscapes, has prepared the Historic Cultural Landscape Reports for Greenwich's four major "formal parks." This final product will be used to guide the future maintenance, restoration, and/or rehabilitation of these parks being mindful of their original intent while striving to provide up to date facilities for the use and enjoyment of the parks.

Free Blood Pressure Screenings and Info on May 27th

Did you know that up to 80% of strokes are preventable, yet it is expected that nearly 795,000 people in the United States will have a stroke this year? The majority of those who survive a stroke will need some form of rehabilitation in their recovery process. This May is National Stroke Awareness Month, a time to raise public awareness about important stroke facts to reduce the incidence and impact of stroke.

A nurse from Greenwich Community Health will be available in Perrot's Rand Room on Wednesday, May 27th, between 10 A.M. and 2 P.M., to provide educational information about strokes, and to conduct free blood pressure screenings.

Read more about stroke prevention at the National Stroke Association website.

Shakespeare Colloquy: A Midsummer Night's Dream

Anne Gilhuly will give a talk on William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Monday evening, June 1, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. in the Library. Actors Elizabeth Atkeson and Dick Leonard will read scenes from the play.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world. The play is a romantic comedy about the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors, and their interactions with the Duke and Duchess of Athens, and with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest.

Anne Gilhuly, a Classics teacher at Greenwich Continuing Education, leads the continuing series of Shakespeare talks at Perrot, which have included Henry V, Othello, The Tempest, As You Like It, Richard II, Richard III, Twelfth Night, and Edward III, among others. This is the eleventh year that Perrot has sponsored these programs about Shakespeare's plays.

Note also that Shakespeare on the Sound will be performing the play in Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, from July 4th-12th, 2009 (except Monday the 6th), at 7:30 p.m. A representative from the company will be at the June 1st event to tell the audience about the performances.

We invite you to attend this free event, made possible by contributions from the members of the Perrot Memorial Library. We appreciate their support. Further information about this and other programs is available by calling 637-3870.

Our Picks: Audio Favorites

Check out our brand-new Youth Services' Our Picks! list for May 2009. This month's list features the Youth Services Staff's favorite listenables-- from books on CD to book/CD kits to music CDs-- they're all worth a listen!

Good Publicity

Perrot's blog was the receipient of a 2009 Connecticut Library Association Publicity Award for Best Blog. Thanks to all of our staff contributors and our readers!

Also, Perrot's new Twitter feed was featured in an April 29th Greenwich Time article about local Twitter users: "Greenwich Catches Twitter Bug."

Notes from the New Bin

New to Perrot's picture book collection:

POSY

by Linda Newbery

illustrated by Catherine Rayner

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

Experience the Sound at Greenwich Point

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

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

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

Read About Moms in Youth Services

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

Bring Mom to the Kentucky Derby

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

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

-The Reference Librarians

YS Summer Program Preview

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

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

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

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

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

THE VOTES ARE IN!

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


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



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

Pulitzer Prize Winners

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


Prize-winners for non-fiction:

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

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

-The Reference Librarians

Earth Day Is This Wednesday, April 22nd

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

Included are:

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

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

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

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

A couple of new travel books

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

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

--The Reference Librarians

Easter Closing Reminder

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

Youth Services' Our Picks! for April

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

We're on Twitter

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