Summer Reading is coming soon!

Get ready, get set, read! Summer reading is just around the corner.  In fact, it starts June 1. Sign up to belong to this summer's club, One World, Many Stories. All children are welcome to participate. Pick the club that's right for you!
- Read to Me club for children not yet reading independently. Complete 10 activities to receive an invitation to the party with singer Melissa Green. 

- Summer Reading club for children up to grade 7. Complete 5 books to receive an invitation to see funny man Keith Munslow.

See you starting June 1st for Summer Reading!

First Teen Volunteer Orientation this Saturday

The Children's Department is seeking responsible teens grades 8 to 12 who wish to help with this year's summer reading program. Interested teens should plan to attend one of the orientation sessions. At orientation, teens will learn about scheduling, summer reading, and other aspects of the program.

The 3 dates are:
Saturday, May 14, 10:30-12 p.m.
Wednesday, June 15, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Friday, June 24, 2:30-4:00 p.m.

Please register by calling 203.385.4165

Decorative Arts Makes Birdhouses

The ever popular Decorative Arts class will be constructing birdhouses Saturday, May 7 from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. and I think* this is going to be the style they will make. The materials fee is $5 and due at the time of registration. Ages 7 to 12.

To sign up, stop by the Children's Department desk. For more info, call 203.385.4165.

Vacation Week programs

Hi, everyone!

Well, we had a rousing Toddler Time this morning to start off vacation week (even though the school children aren't out until tomorrow), so a few announcements:
- Tuesday - no storytime - storytime resumes April 26
- Wednesday - Spring Crafts ages 3 to 12; 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Pajamarama storytime at 6:30 p.m.
- Thursday - Spring Crafts ages 3 to 12; 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Movie Making (which is pretty much full) from 1 to 4 p.m.
Friday - Library Closed
Saturday - we're open!
Sunday - Library Closed

Save Our Stratford Library

The proposed budget for Stratford Library for 2011-2012 includes drastic cuts to the Library's budget. This will result in:

• Library closures on Sundays, Saturdays, weekdays, and evenings
• Cancellations for programs for ALL ages including Story Hours, Summer Reading, and Homework help
• Fewer books, DVDs, audiobooks, and databases
• A reduction of 20% in library staffing

Please help us serve you. Share a brief note or conversation with your council person. Tell them what you love about the Library and why we are important to you.

Opportunities to address Town Council include: 

• Monday, April 11, 6:00 p.m. Town Hall
• Wednesday, April 13, 6:30 p.m. Bunnell High School
• Thursday, April 14, 6:30 p.m. Stratford High School.

Please consider attending one of these public forums (wear red!), write to your council person, and sign a petition at the Library.  Thank you for showing your support of the library.

Moms over Coffee this Friday

We have several sold out programs this week (which I won't mention to tempt you!), but we have a little space left in our Moms Over Coffee program which meets this Friday at 2:15 p.m. It's pretty low key; show up, bring your kids, hear about new books for adults in a relaxed setting.

Want to join? email us at childrens [at] stratfordlibrary.org or call us at 203.385.4165

Big Nate

This series, Big Nate, seems to be the next 'big thing,' so some extra copies have just entered the building (Look for them soon, on a shelf near you!). Some of them are comic books, and some of them are hybrids, which means a chapter book with doodles or comics interspersed.

It's based on a comic strip that has been around for a while, and it follows a middle schooler as he does his everyday-kid type stuff, including, surprise, surprise, doodling!  I have a big feeling that fans of Wimpy Kid won't mind at all reading this series.

Enjoy!