See You After School 2011!!

Fall FriBrary Time
Fall Footprint Friday
The library offers a regular series of after-school programs to fourth and fifth graders (FriBrary) and to second and third graders (Footprint Friday). Check out recently announced programs in our fall series.

Coming Up at Footprint Friday

September 30 (Ivy and Bean), October 21 (Tale of Despereaux), and November 4 (Alvin Ho)
Each program focuses on a popular book or series. Activities are based on characters, settings, and events that take place inside the pages. The programs offer a great opportunity for young readers to make new friends, socialize, talk about stories, and have some some fun, too!

Coming Up at FriBrary Time

Learn about a topic in the news, explore a new skill, bring your friends and make new friends, too! Reuse/Recyle on October 14 then have some Halloween fun on October 28.  Take part in a martial arts workshop on November 18 and on December 9, build a holiday craft that takes advantage of solar power.

Rethinking the Picture Book: Part Two

Brian Selznick's Latest
Autumn is near and we're sure you've seen the ever so slight change in the color of leaves. On the book front -- as in books for savvy kids -- the spectacular "colors" of great fiction arrived early.

If you enjoyed the remarkable, award-winning title, The Invention of Hugo Cabret  (soon to be a major motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese),  Wonderstruck offers another wild ride. Meet Rose and Ben, two kids living 50 years apart. Ben's story is told using words; Rose's story is told only in pictures.

Selznick's latest also salutes E.L. Konigsburg's 1967 classic, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Check Out the Book Trailer for Wonderstruck...


Check Out the Movie Trailer for Hugo...

Next New Museum Pass Added

Save Cash, Borrow a Pass!
If you would like to visit the Mark Twain House & Museum, located in Hartford, you can borrow a pass from the library and save money in the process. Pass admits one adult or two children with the purchase of one adult pass. Guided tours are available of this 19-room, Tiffany decorated mansion, where Mark Twain raised his family and worked from 1874-1891, writing many of his famous stories.

Also check out special events at the Twain House, many of them free or affordable.

The pass is funded via used book sales offered by and membership dues to the Friends of the East Hampton Public Library. Check out the used book sale shelves located in the library lobby for good deals on good reads! 

Shine on Brightly

Shel Silverstein
Today brought us a poetry collection by the late, great Silverstein (1930-1999).  Every Thing on It features drawings and poems from the author's extensive archive, selected for publication by his family.

Though we doubt any of you are new to the land of Silverstein's quirky, whimsical, strange, clever, and chuckle-filled poetry, don't forget to share anew the author's classic titles with your kids. Who knows? Shel's poems might very well inspire a new poet...

Surf's Up
Use the following links to read more about the author, his books and influence, courtesy of the following sources:
Shel Silverstein's official web site
NPR Morning Edition
Poets.org (Academy of American Poets)

Gearing Up for Halloween...

Fright-Free Events
Join us in October for holiday events featuring crafts, a workshop about healthy Halloween food choices, first in a sci-fi film series, and a fun music-filled party for families.  All events are free and open to the public.

Craft a Creepy Craft for Halloween
Saturday, October 1, 11 a.m.
What Halloween celebration would be complete without a creepy, crawly spider? Work with shapes, patterns, and mixed materials to make this spider your own. For ages 4-7; registration required.

Healthy Halloween with the Conscious Cook

Tuesday, October 4, 6:30 p.m.
Robin Glowa (right), a.k.a. The Conscious Cook, will present on how to make Halloween treats sure to satisfy your sweet tooth and urge to indulge, all without melting your molars. She'll talk about the health benefits of organic dark chocolate, natural but equally sweet alternatives to processed sugar, juicy/fruity delicacies and other fiber-licious treats.

If you are looking for a motivational boost to add "healthy" to your family's Halloween and/or are willing to share your healthy ideas with the group, please join us for DIY demonstrations and tasty samples!

Sci-Fi on the B-List
Tuesday, October 18, 6:30 p.m.
Our fall/early winter film discussion series for adults kicks off with a showing of Them!, a landmark 1954 sci-fi movie about a horror horde of giant crawl-and-crush radiation-mutated ants. Works as a just-before Halloween film, don't you think?

Plan to have some film history fun with this one.  Library staff member Phil Carr moderates the discussion.

Annual Halloween Party and Costume Parade
Saturday, October 29, 10:00 a.m.
Our annual Halloween shindig for little people will feature a performance by Lynn Lewis and Friends.  Plan to wear your fabulous costume (no masks, please) and prepare to sing, dance, and show off your best moves.

Good news is this year's event is open to preschool children, as well as their younger and older siblings: 6 months to 8 years.  Click here to register and join the family fun!

New England Air Museum Pass Now Available

Lockheed Electra, built
at the same time as
as Amelia Earhart’s plane

Family Fun at an Affordable Price
The latest addition to our menu of museum passes has arrived! Borrow a pass to the New England Air Museum and take advantage of discounted admission to New England's largest aviation museum. Enjoy regular exhibits and activities for families.

This pass brings the total number of library pass offerings up to 17 with three more on their way: Mark Twain House House & Museum, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, and Imagine Nation Children's Museum.

Save Some Cash and Borrow a Pass!
Our pass program is funded by the Friends of the East Hampton Public Library. You can help support the program by joining the Friends; an annual family membership costs $10.  

September 11, 2001

Ten Years Later
The anniversary of the attacks is tomorrow and calls for both remembrance and reflection. We offer links to and lists of a variety of online and print resources that may be helpful in forging a family discussion about 9/11.

Visit iCONN, a service of the Connecticut State Library. Explore links to the Connecticut Historical Society, the Library of Congress, and other digital news, photo, e-book, and oral history archives about 9/11.

The Sonic Memorial Project tells the story of 9/11 through sound. Listen to collected voice mails, home recordings, and audio clips that tell the first-person stories of WTC neighbors and neighborhoods, WTC workers, and 9/11 families.



Graphic by Kelly
Jensen-Mullins

The Heroes website offers information about how to talk to your child about 9/11; similar guidance can be found at the official 9/11 Memorial website. PBS offers a 9/11 timeline.
Books for discussion include:
September 11, 2001 by Wilborn Hampton
American Under Attack by Gail B. Stewart
9.11.01 by Pat Lalley
It's Still a Dog's New York by Susan L. Roth

One World, Many Stories : September Book Discussions

Save Your Comments for a New Day
Owing to nasty weather and its aftermath (need we say more?), our discussion of Paul Theroux's The Old Patagonian Express has moved from late August date to Wednesday, September 21.  Conversations over the front desk indicate readers have much to say about this book. Join us to share your insights and comments.

One World, Many Stories : Next Book Up
Copies of our scheduled Wednesday, September 28 discussion book, The Same Kind of Different as Me, are ready for checkout at the front desk. The book chronicles the friendship of two men from polar opposite walks of life. Find inspiration here.

Both book discussion sessions are moderated by library staff member Phil Carr. No registration is required and if you have independently read either book, please do drop in and join the conversation!  

H-Irene and Your Library

Rube Goldberg Meets Library
The library was without electrical power and the Internet service we would have used to conduct business during all of its open hours from Monday, August 29th through Thursday, September 1st.

On Thursday, the library borrowed a car battery from Public Works. Using the battery and a power inverter, a laptop and a broadband wireless air card, we connected to our online library business system.  From there we tackled the backlog of materials returned to our book and video drops while the library was closed. Interesting experience using different tools to do what seems so easy on a regular day... 

Please note no overdue fines will be charged for materials due on any of the four days the library was closed to the public. 

Town and Library News: Hurricane Irene

About H-Irene
The library will open at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 27 but will close at 4 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.

Town Government H-Irene News
Visit the Town of East Hampton's Facebook Page for info on town shelter and who to call.  As H-Irene moves up the East Coast, stay safe, everyone.

Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen

Illustration by Thorina Rose

 The Songwriter as Poet
Join us for a two-part, scholar-led discussion series focused on the poetry in the songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.  

Cultural Conversations @ your library
As artists, both Dylan and Cohen produced bodies of work that rank with the best popular music of the past half-century. We’ll explore the close relationship between music and poetry and sample sound recordings while we discuss the artistry, influence, and timelessness of these living legends of music and verse.

To Register
Click here to register for the Dylan program (Tuesday, September 13) and here for the Cohen program (Tuesday, October 11).  Bring your appreciation for the artists and a story to tell about how their lyrics and music influenced you.

Our Discussion Moderator
David Garnes is graduate of Brown University and Columbia University.  He taught English in NY private schools and served as a librarian at Columbia University and UConn, Storrs, retiring in 2001. David is a published author and facilitates literature programs for the Connecticut Humanities Council.  For the past decade, he has worked part-time at the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst.

Museum Pass Program Expands

Borrow a Pass and Save Some Cash!

In September, the library will add three new passes to its list of money-saving circulating museum passes. Other than Middletown's Kid City (pass unavailable for purchase), these are the three most-requested passes we've been asked to add to our menu.

New England Air Museum

The New England Air Museum has two huge display hangars housing more than 70 aircraft from all periods of history as well as an outdoor exhibit area. Discounted admission for 2 adults and 2 children (ages 6-11) free.

Mark Twain House & Museum

Guided tours are available of this 19-room, Tiffany decorated mansion, where Mark Twain raised his family and worked from 1874-1891, writing many of his famous stories. The pass admits one adult or two children with the purchase of one adult admission.

Harriet Beecher Stowe House
The Stowe Center is the home of the author of the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It includes three historic buildings surrounded by gorgeous gardens: the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, the Carriage House, and the Katharine Seymour Day House. Pass admits two.

More to come on new passes and do watch for forthcoming combo deals which will allow you to check out two complementary passes at a time.

Steampunk

Say What?
Experts at the Mark Twain House & Museum describe "steampunk" best:

"Steampunk"? Steampunk is the future as imagined through the eyes of the past. It is mechanical gears and boilers, dirtiness mixed with shininess of brass and copper with the deep red of cherrywood. It is a time for tea and gadgets, airships and ether. Steampunk is a trip to the moon through the barrel of a cannon. It is progeny of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells finding their voice in fiction, fashion and music. Steampunk is all of these things, none of them and more. Steampunk is "punk".

Coming this Fall to the Mark Twain House and Museum
Beginning October 1, 2011, visit the Steampunk Bizarre exhibit at the Twain House. Thanks to your ongoing support for the Friends of the Library "Second Hand Prose" summer book sale rack, we'll be adding the Twain Museum pass to our menu of money-saving pass options in early September, if not before.

Steampunk Art
If you are interested in the how-to end of steampunk art or the glory of major steampunk artists, click here and enjoy.

Steampunk Fiction and Films
Steampunk owes more than a short salute to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Time Machine.  Since you've asked, expect follow-up recommendations for steampunk books and films, both classic and contemporary...

One World, Many Stories : The Chocolate Story

"Candy doesn't have to have a point. That's why it's candy." ~ Charlie Bucket

Did you know that chocolate grows on trees?! In a matter of speaking it does. The beans of the cacao plant, mostly found in Central America, are ground up (then a few extra ingredients are added) to make chocolate. Central American natives drank the ground cacao powder in a drink sometimes with a dash of pepper, but never any sweetner. It was considered a luxury!

Read Chocolate (Kids)
A Chocolate Bar by Sarah Ridley
Chocolate by Hershey: A Story About Milton S. Hershey by Betty Burford
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
The Last Chocolate Cookie by Jamie Rix
Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith
The Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch

Read Chocolate (Adults)
Chocolate Wars by Deborah Cadbury
My Cooking Class : Chocolate Basics by Orathay Guillaumont
Lickin' the Beaters 2 : Vegan Chocolate & Candy by Siue Moffat

Surf Chocolate
Smithsonian Magazine
The Field Museum

Participate in Chocolate : Workshop for Kids
If you are entering grade 4-6 in the fall, join us on August 11th to learn how to make chocolate lollipops while you gain a little chocolate business savvy. Kim Larkin, of CT-based gourmet chocolate company Klassic Kreations, leads the workshop.  Click here to register for this free event.

Visit Chocolate
Here are but a few chocolate-makers located in our state:
Munson's Chocolates in Bolton, CT
The Little Chocolate Company in Greenwich, CT
Fascia's Chocolates in Waterbury, CT
Bridgewater Chocolate in Brookfield, CT

Video Game Update

Xbox 360 Added to the Mix...
About a year ago, we began putting together a collection of console video games.  The collection has grown more slowly than we (and you) would probably like. Much of this has to do with pricing and the fantastically large number of titles that disappear from the market shortly after issue.  (We like lowest price and titles likely to endure/hold gamer interest over time.)

Keep on Gaming
The number of circulating games hasn't yet impacted the popularity of our lending program and by request, August brings the introduction of circulating games for Xbox 360. Wii and PS3 titles will continue to lean toward E titles for Everyone;  Xbox titles will start with E titles and lean toward T for Teen titles by mid-autumn.  Suggestions for purchase are always welcomed at the front desk.

Circulation Conditions
Yes -- da-da-dah -- there are some rules.  Games are loaned to adult cardholders only.  The loan period is a very liberal 14 days, 1 per card, holds permitted, no renewals.

Click here for a quick list of available games.

News from the "Energy Challenge" Front

If You Haven't Yet Heard...
Our town is one of 14 municipalities in our state participating in the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy program, which challenges residents to reduce their energy consumption by 20 percent by 2013.

Marking Our Place
When you participate in the program, you help win points for our town. Total points may help our town earn energy-saving prizes.  As of mid-July, about 200 local households had signed up to participate and our current point total on the Energy Challenge Leaderboard is 11,000.  With a goal to involve 10 percent of homes, or 450 households, let's get busy!

Home Energy Solutions
Home Energy Solutions (HES) is the best way to fully understand how your home is wasting energy. Right now, you can participate in this state-sponsored service valued at around $750 for a co-pay of only $75! This in-depth assessment will not only provide you with weatherization, CFLs, and other energy improvements, but qualifies you for rebates and renewable energy (solar) incentives. Watch the video, below, to see what you get for $75.

If you like what you see in the video, click here to sign up for an HES assessment or pass the information on to a friend.  Please note, if you are on a fixed or limited income, you may qualify for this service for free.

Also check out latest news on green initiatives from our community's all-volunteer Clean Energy Task Force.

What's for Dinner?

Grilling, Chilling, and More...Though record temperatures probably means your kitchen scores lower on the favorite room hit parade, you still have to eat...

Here's a few titles new to our cookbook collection, accompanied by suggestions for grilling and chilling...

Eat Like a Man includes recipes collected by Esquire editor-in-chief, David Granger. People from both genders will recognize the names of many a recipe contributor.  On the lighter side, try Man with Pan from cartoonist and New Yorker editor, John Donohue.

BBQ afficianados may appreciate Smokin' with Myron Mixon; Mixon is a judge on TLC's Barbecue Pitmasters.  The Food Network's Guy Fieri (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) weighs in with Cookin' It, Livin' It, Lovin' It.  Also try Steven Raichlen's Planet Barbecue; Raichlen hosts Primal Grill on PBS.

On the beverage front, the Liquid Kitchen books by Hayden Wood include oodles of recipes for cocktails (without and without), accompanied by food recommendations and tips for entertaining.  A Cooking Well title showcases alcohol-free drinks; nutritional and calorie count info included.

Online Service Alert : BookNews
The library publishes over 20 monthly e-newsletters, one of which features recently added titles on the topics of food and cooking.  If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter alone, click here.  If you are interested in broader newsletter alerts, click here. 
Either way, have fun with your family and friends this summer and keep on reading!

Newsletters powered by Dear Reader   

Summer Reading with Dav Pilkey

Captain Underpants and Other Humorous Books for Kids


Dav Pilkey
Photo: Karyn Carpenter Baker

 
If you like author Dav Pilkey, of Captain Underpants, Ook & Gluk, and Ricky Ricotta fame, here's a few other series sure to tickle your funny bone :

Big Nate series -- George Brown, Class Clown series -- Lunch Lady series -- Knights of the Lunch Table series -- Riot Brothers series -- Dear Dumb Diary series -- Roscoe Riley Rules series --Stink series -- Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

Enjoy the spirited adventures of knights, clowns, captains, diarists, and otherwise imaginative (fictional) kids and as always, choose for yourself or for your children and family.

Content inspired by an article in Book Links, June 2011

Special Event : Bending Gravity

Wednesday, August 10, 1 p.m. @ Sears Park

Join us for a celebration of all that is summer : fast-paced, energetic, and filled with fun things to do...

See You at the Park!

Eric Girardi, a world-ranked yoyo player, a juggler, a fire-eater, and much more will perform at the park.  The performance is family-friendly, free, open to the public and co-sponsored by East Hampton Parks and Recreation.  Adults who might be thinking the performance is "just for kids" may want to reconsider the view; Girardi's program is truly for all ages.

About Bending Gravity

Girardi's September 2010 performance at the library

Bending Gravity website

Click here or here to see a sampling of Eric's skills on YouTube

Alice for Real...

Growing Up with Alice McKinley
More than 25 years ago, author Phyllis Naylor Reynolds wrote The Agony of Alice, the story of an eleven year-old girl trying to navigate early adolescence.  The book was a hit and led to a series.  Sequels were added along the way -- so were prequels -- owing to demand from readers who wanted to know more about Alice.

The series is still going strong.  The author promises to follow up Incredibly Alice, published in May 2011, with a new title in both 2012 and 2013.

Surf's Up
Visit Naylor's Alice blog, a good indication of Alice's impact on readers who got to know her...

Happy Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard!

Seventy Years Old and Still Quacking...
Robert McClosky's Caldecott award-winning title, Make Way for Ducklings, is celebrating it's 70th Anniversary.  The story has been immortalized in bronze by artist Nancy Schon at Boston's Public Garden; a duplicate was installed in Moscow's Novodevichy Park in 1991.

In 2009, the title was one of the inaugural inductees to the American Booksellers Association's Indies Choice Book Awards Picture Book Hall of Fame, along with Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems.

More ABA Picture Book Hall of Fame Nominees and Winners
The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is trade association for independent bookstores. Here's a quick sample of picture books nominated for Hall of Fame status.  Titles in bold were voted in as Hall of Famers in 2010 and 2011; all are available at the library.

If you are child of the boomer years or a Gen-Xer, many of these titles will be familiar to you and are well worth sharing with your children.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson
Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell & Lillian Hoban
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, Lois Ehlert
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Curious George by H.A. Rey
Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
The Napping House by Audrey & Don Wood
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Independent Booksellers in CT
Click here for list of independent bookstores located in Connecticut.

Road Trip! New Britain Museum of American Art

One World, Many Stories: East Hampton Library Takes a Road Trip

On August 4th, 2011 the East Hampton Public Library will sponsor a field trip to the New Britain Museum of American Art.

East Hampton kids entering grades 3-6 in Fall 2011 are invited to join us for a guided tour of the museum's paintings, sculptures, pictures, and illustrations from a wide variety of American artists. Works from numerous times periods and styles will be on display. Kids may even get to try their hand at some art of their own as they learn how people have told stories through pictures over the years.

About the Museum

The New Britain Museum of American Art was established in 1903 and was the first institution in our country devoted to collecting and exhibiting American art. The museum has a substantial permanent collection, but also hosts visiting pieces. The museum prides itself as an institution of learning and conservation.

Trip Details and Registration Information

This field trip is open to East Hampton children entering grades 3-6 in Fall 2011. Transportation is provided. The bus will leave the library at 9 a.m. sharp for a 10 a.m. tour and return at approximately 12 noon.

The program is free to participating kids with museum admission funded by the Friends of the East Hampton Public Library, who also fund our circulating Museum Pass Program.

Registration is required and may be done in person, by phone at 860-267-6621, or by using our online Events Calendar. Parents interested in chaperoning are encouraged to volunteer; contact the library for more information.

Crafts for Bibliophiles

Handmade Books
If you are looking for a great way to pass a rainy summer day, why not try making a book? Crafters, DIYers, artists, origami and book-lovers alike might enjoy exploring any of the following titles, most of which include interesting tidbits about bookmaking history.

At Home with Handmade Books : 28 Extraordinary Bookbinding Projects Made from Ordinary and Repurposed Materials by Erin Zamrzla

More Making Books by Hand : Exploring Miniature Books, Alternative Structures, and Found Objects by Peter Thomas

By Alisa Golden, handmade book blogger, who also teaches bookmaking and letterpress printing at California College of the Arts:

Making Handmade Books : 100+ Bindings, Structures and Forms or
Expressive Handmade Books

Adding Some Jazz to Your Projects
Also try titles about altered art and pop-up construction, which describe techniques you might like to integrate into your bookmaking or craft projects.

Baseball Milestones...

By the Numbers Champions
Saturday's Old Home Day festivities attracted a huge crowd and though we're certainly not sports reporters, we couldn't help overhearing many a conversation about East Hampton's very own EHHS Bellringers Baseball Team, who won our state's 2010-11 Class S championship!

Click here for a great recap of Bellringers' season, including stats and photos.

Also high on the conversation list was Derek Jeter, who yesterday joined the exclusive 3000-hit club.

Just for Fun
In the record books, Jeter met up with long-time Red Sox third baseman, former Yankee teammate, and Hall-of-Famer Wade Boggs, by joining the 3000 club with a home run.  Coincidentally, Boggs hit 3000 while playing for Tampa Bay and Jeter hit 3000 while playing against Tampa Bay...

Further Reading
For more about Jeter, books about the Yankee captain are available for both kids and adult readers.

Surf's Up on 3000-Hits
National Baseball Hall of Fame (search 3000-hit club for other members)
New York Times
ESPN New York
Boston.com

Hello, Lucy!

One World Many Stories : The Lucy Story
In 1974, half a world away in the Hadar Valley of East Africa, anthropologists made an exciting discovery. They found Lucy, an almost complete skeleton which gave the scientists clues as to what life was like over 3 million years ago.

To learn more about Lucy, try the kid-friendly biography about anthropologist Donald C. Johanson or for adults, try titles written by Johanson himself.  For 'surf's up' fans, visit ASU's Institute of Human Origins.

Fictional Stories Set in Africa
I Lost My Tooth in Africa by Penda Diakite (Set in Mali)
Kai by Leona Welch (Set in Nigeria)
Planting the Trees of Kenya by Claire Nivola
A South African Night by Rachel Isadora
One Hen : How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway (Set in Ghana)
The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John (Set in Southern Africa)

Anthropology & Archaeology!
Anthropologists study people and primates over time; archaeologists study the remains a society leaves behind.  Kids interested in these related scientific disciplines might enjoy:

DinoMummy by Phillip Manning
The Bone Detectives by John Townsend
Bodies from the Ice : Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past by James M. Deem
Mummies and Pyramids : a Nonfiction Companion to Mummies in the Morning by Mary Pope Osborne
Stones, Bones, and Petroglyphs by Susan Goodman
Written in Bone : Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M. Walker
The Big Book of Bones : an Introduction to Skeletons by Claire Llewellyn

For dinosaur fans, check out a previous post on the subject.

Surf's Up : Places to Go, Things to Do
Learn more by taking a trip to many special places, among them :
Dinosaur Park in Rocky Hill, CT *
Yale Peabody Mueum in New Haven, CT*
Mashantucket Pequot Museum in Mashantucket, CT*
Go to archaeology field school at UCONN
Visit the Connecticut Archaeology Center

*The library has a circulating pass that will save you some money; the pass program is funded by the Friends of the East Hampton Public Library.

Independence Day

Places to Go, Things to Do
Independence Day celebrations invariably include (legal) aerial fireworks displays sponsored by cities, towns, and other organizations.

If you would like to be able to identify the patterns you see in the sky, visit How Stuff Works.

For a list of fireworks display events in CT, both today and well into next week, WTNH has a list ready to go.

Creature Features?

Yeti and Yowie, Manimals & Merpeople
Six years after Stephenie Meyer popularized fictional teenage vampire angst -- and well in to the hugely successful run of the HBO series True Blood (based on the books by Charlaine Harris, latest titles here) -- the fascination with mythical creatures continues unabated.

The Big Picture
For a quick overview of the major players in centuries of folklore -- every 'thing' from Bigfoot, to swamp creatures, to aliens and their hybrids -- try Tracking the Man-beasts : Sasquatch, Vampires, Zombies, and More by Joe Nickell.

For Zombiephiles
While vampire fiction zips in and out our doors, we missed marking Zombie Appreciation Month (May 2011).  For adult readers who did 'observe' try:

The New Dead : a Zombie Anthology edited by Christopher Golden
The Zombie Autopsies : Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse by Steven C. Schlozman
Zombies : Encounters with the Hungry Dead edited by John Skipp

Slightly off the undead beat is Zombies vs. Unicorns.  Twelve writers, Meg Cabot, Garth Nix, and Scott Westerfeld among them, use genre bending short stories to debate who might win a fantasy vs. horror creature smack down.  For ages 14+...

Arts & Crafts
If you truly dig the whole zombie/monster thing during the off season (not Halloween) try:

Zombie Felties : How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead by Nicola Tedman & Sarah Skeate
Papier-mâché Monsters : Turn Trinkets and Trash into Magnificent Monstrosities by Dan Reeder

For Kids
Titles in the Captain Underpants, Bailey School Kids, and Dripping Fang series books tend to feature mythical beings. Scooby Doo's escapades with a variety of folklore's famous favorites are fun, too. "Rut Roh!"

On DVD
Plenty o' zombie films for adults, including the 'classics' by George Romero.

As Always
Choose for yourself or for your children...

One World Many Stories : A Very Famous Castle



Photo by library staff member
Marilou Overson at EPCOT
Orlando, November 2008

St. Ludwig's Castle: Disney Version
Did you know that a gorgeous German castle is the inspiration for the design of the Magic Kingdom Castle at Disney?

Kids might like to read more about the original castle in King Ludwig's Castle: Germany's Neuschwanstein by Lisa Trumbauer or about Germany in a Cultures of the World series title.  Families might like also like to share any of a number of European travel videos hosted by the Travel Channel's Samantha Brown.

More About Castles
If you are interested in what it took to build a castle centuries ago, try David Macaulay's Built to Last, a composite volume including updated content from Macaulay's classic trio: Castle, Cathedral, and Mosque.

Disney Travel
Thinking about visiting Disney? Check out our travel book collection before you go:
The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World for Kids by Kids
Frommer's Walt Disney World and Orlando
The Hassle-Free Walt Disney World Vacation

Surf's Up: In-State Travel and Ethnic Festivals
Want to travel the world without leaving Connecticut? Check out the CT Tourism site, click events on the right side panel, then check the box Ethnic Festivals.  Change the date parameters depending on when you're free to enjoy some in-state fun.