Totally Twos! is a drop-in event for two-year-olds and their caregiver.  Join us for stories, music, movement, and fingerplay fun!  

Wee Ones is a drop-in event for Walkers through 24 months and their caregiver.  Join us for music, movement, stories, and fingerplay fun!  

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! 

Imagination Station is a drop-in event for children aged 3-5.  Participants will hear stories and make a craft or watch a literary-based video.

Adults, come to these sessions and learn the basics of yoga. Bring a yoga mat and a water bottle. Wear appropriate workout wear (comfortable but not restricting). Class is limited to 25 people.

Attendance is first come, first served for yoga classes.  When the limit of 25 people is reached, the door will be closed and a sign will be posted indicating that the class is full.

Struggling or reluctant readers between the ages of 5-10 will have the opportunity to practice reading out loud with Gracie, a certified Reading Education Assistance Dog.  Gracie is accompanied by her handler.  Children may bring a book to read from home or pick one out from the library beforehand. 

Each child is limited to one (1) appointment per session, maximum of two (2) sessions.  After the child signs up for two (2) sessions, they may be placed on a waiting list for additional dates.
 
This event requires an appointment.  To schedule a time, please stop by the Children's Services Desk or call the Children's Department at (203) 452-2850, ext. 4.   

Appointments are strictly 15 minutes (limit of seven participants per session). 

When most people think of archaeology, they think of Eygpt, Mexico and Peru.  However, our state of Connecticut has a wonderful archaeological heritage and many interesting sites.  Dr. Nicholas Bellantoni, CT’s State Archeologist presents a “potpourri” of the archaeological diversity of the state, including Native American sites dating to 11,000 years ago, Indian forts from the 17^th-century, Colonial homesteads, water-powered industrial mill ruins, cemeteries, underwater shipwrecks and, even two WWII plane crashes.  The “Greatest Hits” of Connecticut archaeology! 
 
As State Archaeologist, Dr. Bellantoni provides curatorial oversight of over 600,000 artifacts and maintains over 5,000 site files and map records. He is typically involved in over 20 field excavations, 300 municipal project proposals, and 150 field reviews each year. He also teaches anthropology classes at UCONN.

Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library. Registration required and begins May 27th.

At a time when Connecticut’s two mega-casinos face the prospect of heavy new competition nearby states and the growing political pressure to legalize Internet gambling, former CT Congressman, Robert Steele has written “The Curse: Big-Time Gambling's Seduction of a Small New England Town”.

Bob will discuss his research from the Pequot War , then jumps 350 years to create this "factional" novel, based on real events, when two Indian tribes built the world’s two biggest casinos in the southeastern corner of the state in the 1990s. He represented eastern Connecticut in Congress prior to the arrival of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, and subsequently lived on the edge of the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation, giving him a front-row seat to the events that led to the casinos and a first-hand view of their impact.

WNPR/Connecticut Public Radio’s John Dankosky calls the novel “fascinating” and Connecticut author Martin Shapiro has described it as “compelling and timely…an epic story of history, money and politics that will make you wonder where America is headed.”

Questions and answers follow talk. Books available for purchase. Registration required and begins July 1.

Composting is one of those super-easy, ‘no-brainer’ things we can all do to reduce the impact of Man’s effect on the Earth. Donna Katsuranis, Advanced Master Gardner,  returns to address the ‘Whys’ and ‘Hows’ - and ‘Dos’ and ‘Don'ts’ - of Composting, and the benefits for your garden, your lawn, and the Earth. Come and learn just how simple it is to let Nature do what she does – er – Naturally.

Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library. Registration required and begins July 8th.