Author Talk with Stephanie Cowell

Historical novelist Stephanie Cowell will discuss her book, Claude and Camille: A Novel of Monet, the love story of the young, unknown, and impoverished painter Claude Monet, and his muse, the privileged Camille. Ms. Cowell will accompany her talk with a presentation on Monet's work, life, and friends, and an overview of the Impressionist movement. This event will coincide with the exhibit, Monet's Garden, now showing at the New York Botanical Garden. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event.

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012, at 7:30 PM
Perrot Memorial Library

Upcoming Event: Free Blood Pressure Screenings

Have your blood pressure checked and your health questions answered by an experienced Community Nurse Educator from Greenwich Hospital.

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012, 11 AM to Noon at Perrot Memorial Library

For more information about this program, please call Community Health at Greenwich Hospital at 203-863-4444.

Upcoming Youth Services Event: Jester Jim

Jester Jim has been performing his amazing juggling and beatboxing show for over 12 years now. Jim performs over 200 shows a year and was voted best family entertainment by the Boy Scouts of America! Jester Jim will be performing on Thursday, July 26th, 2012, at 4 P.M. in Perrot's Children's Wing. Show is for families with children ages 5 and up. Free tickets are available now at the Youth Services Desk!

NEW Museum Pass-- Yale Peabody Museum

Now available to borrow from the Youth Services Desk-- a museum pass for the Yale Peabody Museum in New Haven! You may borrow the pass for 3 days, and it entitles you to $5 off each admission for up to four admissions.

The Yale Peabody Museum spans 4 billion years of Earth history. Exhibits range from prehistoric mammals and reptiles to rare gems and minerals, from Egyptian mummies to modern day birds. The world's largest and most famous dinosaur painting, Rudolph Zallinger's The Age of Reptiles, dominates the Great Hall. The Discovery Room lets kids experience the natural world firsthand. A revolving exhibition hall and busy event schedule complement the permanent offerings. More information at: http://www.peabody.yale.edu/

[See a list of all Perrot's museum passes]

Movies in the Park 2012

Perrot is pleased to present our sixth annual series of Movies in the Park in Binney Park. This year we are featuring Dr. No and Miss Potter. Bring your picnic, your chairs, and enjoy!

Dr. No (Rated PG, 110 minutes)
Saturday, July 21st, 2012, 8:30 PM
[Rain date: Sunday, July 22nd]
Sean Connery sets the standard by which all future takers must measure themselves as the insouciant and devil-may-care James Bond. The story concerns Bond being sent to Jamaica to investigate the murders of a British agent and his secretary. During his investigation, he comes into contact with the evil and unscrupulous Chinese scientist Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) who, living on an island called Crab Key, is hard at work in a nuclear laboratory. Dr. No's scheme is to divert rockets being fired from Cape Canaveral off their charted course and to blackmail the United States to get their rocket launches restored to normal. Helping Bond is Ursula Andress (mostly undressed in a bikini throughout most of the film), as well as bad gals like Zena Marshall, who almost leads Bond to his death in her bedroom, and Eunice Gayson, a Bond pickup in a London gambling house who proves herself a greater adversary than even James Bond can handle. [Summary from RottenTomatoes]

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Miss Potter (Rated PG, 92 minutes)

Saturday, August 18th, 2012, 8:30 PM

[Rain date: Sunday, August 19th]

The true story of the woman who created some of the most beloved characters in children's literature comes to the screen in this drama leavened with elements of comedy and romance. Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger) is a imaginative but gently eccentric woman living in the socially and intellectually confining circumstances of Victorian England. Potter's wealthy parents are eager for her to marry a successful man and settle down, but she has ideas of her own, and has been writing and illustrating a series of stories for children centered around a character she calls Peter Rabbit. Potter's efforts to find a publisher for her stories prove difficult, but in time she finds a firm who agrees to give her book a chance, and Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor) is put in charge of the project. A strong personal bond grows between Potter and Warne, and in time he asks her to marry him; however, Beatrix's parents do not approve of Norman, and she is forced to choose between her mother and father and the man she loves. [Summary from RottenTomatoes]

Perrot's Summer Reading Club and Contest for Kids

Summer is here! And that means it's time to sign up for Perrot's summer reading club! You can participate (and win prizes for reading!) from June 22nd through July 27th.

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

Parents, you can also take home a reading record for your littlest ones. We have special sheets for books read aloud with your child. Children get a sticker for each book they've read with a grown-up.

We're also having a contest this summer! Our summer reading theme is WILD ABOUT READING. Each week in July, you will have to find a small stuffed giraffe that will be HIDING somewhere in the children's room. When you know where the giraffe is, come to the desk to fill out a guess slip. (Try not to yell it out so you don't give it away!) We will have a random drawing from all our correct guess slips each week in July. We have 4 great prize bags to give away, which will contain books as well as jungle-themed prizes!

Be sure to join us at Perrot this summer and show us you're WILD ABOUT READING!

Summer Sunday Hours- Reminder

Don't forget- Perrot is closed on Sundays during the summer. We will be closed beginning this Sunday, June 24th, 2012. We will resume our Sunday hours (1 PM to 5 PM) on Sunday, September 9th, 2012.

Children's Summer Registration Cards/Program Openings

Registration cards for summer children's programs have been mailed back. Expect to receive your card in the next day or two. Just a reminder that programs for pre-school age children will be drop-in during the summer.

We do still have room in our Stuff & Nonsense and Spotlight programs! Stuff & Nonsense is for kids entering Grade 1, and will meet Mondays at 4 PM on July 3rd, July 10th, July 17th, and July 24th. Spotlight (on Going Wild) is for kids entering Grades 2, 3, and 4, and will meet Wednesdays at 4 PM on July 11th, July 18th, and July 25th. Please call us (203-637-8802) if you would like to sign up your child for either of these programs!

Byram Library Book Sale This Weekend

Friends of the Byram Library Book Sale This Weekend-- June 8th/9th/10th
Friday, June 8th, 2012 5:30 PM-8:30 PM (SPECIAL PREVIEW SALE: $15 ADMISSION CHARGE)
Saturday, June 9th, 2012, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM (SALE OPEN TO ALL)
Sunday, June 10th, 2012 12:00 PM-4:00 PM (BAG AND BOX SALE)
Location: St. Paul's Lutheran Church

The upcoming sale includes a guesstimated 30,000 books, CDs, DVDs, videos, and audiobooks, including loads of brand new items, as well as many antiques. You will find a wide selection of goodies, including fiction, thirty-something categories of nonfiction, and TONS of incredible children's books.

If you're a true bibliophile, come to a special preview sale on Friday, June 8th from 5:30-8:30 PM. For $15 admission, you get the best selection-- it's well worth the entrance fee! On Saturday, June 9th from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM the sale is open to all. On Sunday, June 10 from 12:00 to 4:00 PM will be the bargain hunter's delight "bag and box" sale ($3/bag or $5/box).

All proceeds from the sale benefit the branch library's programs and events. For specific questions, please contact the Byram Shubert Library at (203) 531-0426.

Connecticut Trails Day 2012-- June 2nd and 3rd

Celebrate Connecticut Trails on Saturday, June 2nd and Sunday, June 3rd, 2012! This year’s theme is “America’s Largest TRAILgating Party.” Grab a friend and join in the fun. With 193 Connecticut events to choose from, there will be outdoor activities for everyone—including hiking, biking, trail running, horseback riding, trail maintenance, kayaking, educational walks, bird watching, letterboxing, and more. These events are guided by knowledgeable volunteers from local hiking clubs, parks and recreation departments, state agencies, conservation organizations, historic groups, naturalists, educators, and land trusts.

Don't miss out on this fun-filled weekend, which will provide many opportunities to discover new places and experience the outdoors with family, friends, and neighbors.

See an electronic version of the events booklet, or pick up a copy at Perrot (at our bulletin board).

School Visit Books-- Get some great recommendations!

During the month of May, our Youth Services librarian, Mrs. Jarombek, visited our local elementary schools to talk about new and exciting books and to promote our book clubs for kids.

You can see the full list for some great recommendations here: http://www.perrotlibrary.org/schoolvisitlist12.html

Children's Program Registration Starts Tuesday, 5/29

Registration for Youth Services' Summer 2012 Program Session starts Tuesday, May 29th, and runs through Saturday, June 16th, 2012. [View the summer program schedule]

Our morning preschool programs are drop-in during the summer, but you still need to register for Stuff & Nonsense (for kids entering 1st grade) and Spotlight (for kids entering 2nd/3rd/4th grade).

• 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 (45¢)
• Drop off your card at the Youth Services Desk by June 16th
• 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.

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 and 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 contact Peter Linderoth at 203-413-6742 or by e-mail at plinderoth@brucemuseum.org.


Tag a Horsehoe Crab: Project Limulus, Sunday, June 3rd, 2012 1:30 PM-4:00 PM
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.

Fish Frenzy!, Sunday, July 1st, 2012 1:30 PM-4:00 PM
Join us as we explore the diversity of fish that make the Long Island Sound their home-- whether permanently or just passing through. Activities will include seining for fish in the waters off Greenwich Point; observing fish nose to nose at our large marine tanks; observing fish scales under microscopes; a fun, fishy, and sustainable craft; and more! We will be taking trips to the water as part of this program so please dress accordingly.

Turtles of Long Island Sound, Sunday, August 5th, 2012 1:30 PM-4:00 PM
Be sure to drop in to the Center for this First Sunday Science as we present the sea turtles and the Diamondback Terrapins that can be found in the Sound. Visitors will be able to observe turtle specimens and artifacts, participate in a sustainable art project, view footage of these magnificent reptiles, and much more!

The latest book recommendations from the Reference Desk

What We're Reading at Perrot: New book recommendations from our Reference librarians

THE LOST EMPIRE OF ATLANTIS: HISTORY'S GREATEST MYSTERY REVEALED, BY GAVIN MENZIES 

[Non-Fiction] Did we ever get over the idea of Atlantis really existing long, long ago? Not I. As a true believer, a trip to Santorini and Akroteri brought it home. Historian Gavin Menzies has taken the lore and lure surrounding this fabled civilization and brought it into more detail. He has gone from Minoans to Mayans, from the Mediterranean to the Great Lakes. Using DNA, metallurgy, navigation techniques, etc., he traces a fascinating path that connects so much of early history. This thoughtful book will stir your imagination. One reviewer says it is "as riveting as an Indiana Jones adventure."

Read the rest of our recommendations here!

Shakespeare Colloquy: The Tempest

Anne Gilhuly will give a talk on William Shakespeare’s The Tempest on Wednesday, June 6th, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in the Library. Actors Florence Phillips and Dick Leonard will read scenes from the play.

Anne Gilhuly, a Classics teacher at Greenwich Continuing Education, leads our continuing series of Shakespeare talks. This is the fourteenth year that Perrot has sponsored these programs.