Magical Musical Me canceled for February 11

There will be no Magical Musical Me on Saturday, February 11. The March class will meet Saturday, March 10. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Doggie Dos and Don'ts Program

Therapy Dogs International Evaluator Dona Campbell and her dog Hana

The Trap Falls Kennel Club of Fairfield County, Connecticut, will be at the Stratford Library on Saturday, January 28 at 2:00 p.m. to present "Doggie Dos and Don'ts."

Children ages 5 and up and their grown-ups (but not your pets!) are invited to learn about Dog Ownership and Training. Discover how to communicate with dogs and how to encourage proper behavior. Certified Therapy Dogs will demonstrate Obedience and Rally techniques. To register, please call the Stratford Library at 203.385.4165.

Trap Falls Kennel Club (TFKC) is a certified all-breed dog club and a member club of the American Kennel Club, located in Upper Fairfield County, Connecticut. TFKC sponsors an annual all-breed point show, and Obedience, Rally, and Agility Trials. TFKC also participates in public education, library READ programs (Reading Education Assistance Dogs), and hosts training classes to start your puppy off on the right paw.

We Love Art Group Predicts Children's Book Winners

The We Love Art Children's Book Group has chosen their picks for this year's Caldecott Award, an award for excellence in children's illustrations.  Their top choices are:

Tied for first place: Mouse and Lion by Rand Burkert and Nancy Ekholm Burkert and Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

 What the Children Had to Say: 

Wonderstruck is awesome. The charcoal and pencil illustrations are in black and white, but it's 'still interesting.' The changing perspective shows us the story close up and far away. They all wanted to check it out and read the entire story.

Mouse and Lion looks like colored pencil, but it's watercolor.  It is so detailed and fine.  The colors are calm, except when the lion and the mice are moving. We really like the color palette and the fine detail.








 Caldecott Honor Choice: Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell

What the Children Had to Say: This story is watercolor with india ink and antique engravings. We love the photograph of the real Jane Goodall at the end and we love that her childhood dream came true when she was an adult and she visited Africa. The colors are bold and bright and the illustrations are in a cartoon style. The numerous, pale engravings are interesting to look at.

Great Books for Early Elementary Readers

I saw this super duper booklist - Great Early Elementary Reads -  from the American Library Association and had to post it for our young readers in Kindergarten, First, Second, and Third Grade.  We hope you find some books here to enjoy.

http://www.ala.org/alsc/compubs/booklists/greatreads/greatearlyelemreads

New Ways to Use the Library

Judging from the people walking through the Library today, some of you may have received e-readers like the Nook or the Kindle as gifts.

Remember! You can check out free ebooks (and audiobooks and more) from the Stratford Library! Just visit our Overdrive downloadable page and use your Library card to check out ebooks. 

Want to learn more about your new 'toy'? Then attend one of our sandboxes where Library staff will demonstrate a variety of new gadgets including the iPad and several ereaders. Dates and times can be found here.

Storytime with Lola the Dog Cancelled

Friday's storytime with Lola the Newfoundland dog has been cancelled due to illness. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We WILL have reading with Siena & Drago on Thursday, December 29 at 3 p.m. Please call to sign up for a spot at 203.385.4165

No Storytime with Lola Tomorrow

Due to illness, there will be no Storytime with Lola the Dog tomorrow, December 2.  (Lola is fine). Storytime will take place Friday, December 16 at 10:30 a.m. We apologize for any inconvenience.