ScienceTellers

Join us Saturday June 15, 2013

at 11:00 am

for the ScienceTellers presentation.

Make sure to register for this program 

by registering for summer read on the West Haven Library Home Page

westhavenlibrary.org

Attention Writers!

Come to the West Haven Library
next Wednesday, January, 23

for the first ever meeting of the


Writing Club!

Open to all ages, stop by with some of your
own ideas and stories, bring
written homework
or projects from school, 

and have some
fun fine-tuning your skills and

learning with others!


*refreshments will be served*

West Haven Public Library
300 Elm Street
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
6-7 PM


Connie Sacco Meeting Room
register at children's circulation desk

 

Bookmarks

Create Your Own Bookmarks

Save My Spot!!

Monday January 7, 2013

6:00-7:00pm

 

 

For more information call 203-937-4233

or visit the Children's Circulation Desk

The Holiday Party was a Success!

...Look at all the fun we had at the West Haven Public Library!

The Amazing Balloon Benders impressed everybody with their balloon-bending talents; look at the antlers and penguins!

Mayor Picard, along with a couple of the West Haven Main librarians, read aloud some great holiday stories, and even sang tunes for the party crowd!

And let's not forget about the wonderful gifts that were given, as well :)

We here at the West Haven Main Library truly enjoyed the community's company. Please visit again soon!
& Happy Holidays everybody!

December Family Event...

Holiday Party for Kids!!

Join us at the West Haven Main Library for some holiday fun! The Amazing Balloon Benders will twist up some fascinating characters! And Mayor Picard will read a holiday story!

Children 12 and under attending the event will receive a holiday gift!

Refreshments will be served.

All families are invited :)

Main Library

Connie Sacco Meeting Room

Saturday, December 8

12-2 pm

*gifts generously provided by the Friends of the Library*

Join us for our Teen Book Club tomorrow! (Thursday)

This book offers a harrowing and horrifying account of the forcible relocation of countless Lithuanians in the wake of the Russian invasion of their country in 1939. In the case of 16-year-old Lina, her mother, and her younger brother, this means deportation to a forced-labor camp in Siberia, where conditions are all too painfully similar to those of Nazi concentration camps. Lina's great hope is that somehow her father, who has already been arrested by the Soviet secret police, might find and rescue them. A gifted artist, she begins secretly creating pictures that can--she hopes--be surreptitiously sent to him in his own prison camp. Whether or not this will be possible, it is her art that will be her salvation, helping her to retain her identity, her dignity, and her increasingly tenuous hold on hope for the future. Many others are not so fortunate. Sepetys, the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee, estimates that the Baltic States lost more than one-third of their populations during the Russian genocide. Though many continue to deny this happened, Sepetys' beautifully written and deeply felt novel proves the reality is otherwise.* (Review from Amazon.com)

Don't forget to turn in your summer reading logs by Friday, August 3rd!

This Friday, August 3rd, is the last day to hand in your summer reading logs to be counted for West Haven Public Library's summer reading program.  There will be a prize for the top reader in each school level:  preschool (family readers), elementary, middle school/junior high, and high school.  There will also be raffles for other great prizes if you join us at the summer reading finale with Bob Conrad on Thursday, August 9th, at 11:00 AM in the Connie Sacco Community Room at the Main Library.  Also, everyone who has read at least five books and turns in their summer reading logs will get a participation prize.  So don't forget, Friday, August 3rd!

Family Movie Matinee at your favorite library. Please join us for a cool afternoon at the movies!!

Blue Moon Raptors event was held Monday night to a captive audience of children and adults. The gasp from the audience when Rose took out the first Eastern Screech Owl was amazing.  Rose Crisci gave an outstanding presentation about birds of prey.  The audience was held captive for an hour as Rose presented Cedar, Ash, Onyx and Aviana.  Rose gave an incredible presentation. She is very knowledgeable about the reptors and her passion for rehabilitating them is clearly noted as she speaks to us and to the raptors. A terrific program and would welcome Rose and her raptors back anytime.Rose gave detailed information how the birds were injured and how she rehabilitates these birds of prey.
This program was offered free by Blue Moon Raptors. Rose will gladly accept donations to help defray her cost so she may continue her rehabilitation work with injured birds of prey.

Items needed

¨ Soft sided dog crate

¨ Zip lock freezer bags:  large/small
¨ Non-latex/latex gloves
¨ 9% saline solution
¨ Sterile solution
¨ Anti bacterial wipes
¨ Clorox wipes
¨ Hand sanitizer
¨ Stamps
¨ Cash donations also helps to feed/house birds
You may contact Rose at :bluemoonraptors@gmail.com

Thank you to all who came.  Your support to library events is always appreciated. 

Come meet local teen author Kyla LoPresti today!

Author/Illustrator Janis Pacileo Event Recap

     On July 19th, local author/illustrator, Janis Pacileo read us her book, "A Shrimp Called PeeWee", and taught enthusiastic children and adults alike how to draw its main character.  This book uses rhyming verse and cute characters to relate to children the dangers of human pollution as well as the effects of being different for a young person.  In the story, PeeWee's mother seems unaffected by the Gulf Coast oil spill, until PeeWee is born weak and without a shell.  The sturgeon surgeons work hard to save him, and ultimately they build him a beautiful new shell.  At first PeeWee is proud that he is different, but then he starts to feel uncomfortable with all the stares and murmurs.  His family loves and supports him, however, he learns that it's okay to be different.
     After reading her book, Janis demonstrated how to draw not only PeeWee, but other animal characters as well, both from the land and the sea.  Children and adults present found themselves becoming instant artists under Janis' direction, and a few lucky winners were able to take home Janis' over-sized originals.  Janis stayed to answer questions and autograph smaller drawings of PeeWee for all the children.  We're looking forward to her second book, which is coming out in October.

Click on any picture to see a larger version.

Author Bonnie Feuer Event Recap

On July 7th, West Haven Public Library was lucky enough to have author Bonnie Feuer share her new book with us, "Wallaby the Wanna-be".  It is a delightful little story about a wallaby in Australia who wants to be every animal he meets, but in the end, he discovers that he is perfect just being himself.  The children had a great time listening to Bonnie tell her story, and she stayed and chatted with people who were curious about the book's creation process.

Click on any picture to see a larger version.

Birds of Prey     Blue Moon Raptors          Rose Crisci

Monday, July 23, 2012 at 6:00PM

Connie Sacco Room

This program is offer free by Blue Moon Raptors.

Rose will gladly accept donations to help defray her cost so she may continue her rehabilitation work with injured birds of prey.

Items needed

¨ Soft sided dog crate

¨ Zip lock freezer bags:  large/small

¨ Non-latex/latex gloves

¨ 9% saline solution

¨ Sterile solution

¨ Anti bacterial wipes

¨ Clorox wipes

¨ Hand sanitizer

¨ Stamps

¨ Cash donations also helps to feed/house birds

Join us this Saturday for a special story time!

Summer Reading Kick-off Event Recap

 Pictured here we have Mary-Jo Maichack rocking out with the kids for our summer reading kick-off event, which was held on June 19th.  Mary-Jo had the children and adults alike singing and dancing along with her musical story-telling.

Our summer reading theme this year is "Dream Big: Read!" and "Own the Night!".  Mary-Jo tailored her stories for the evening to fit our themes, with a song about a baby who didn't want to go to bed, a story about a thief who became part of the Milky Way, a story about a prince who wanted to touch the stars, and more.

Snacks were served, and everyone who attended got a summer reading goodie bag from the library.  Don't worry, though, you can still grab your own in the Graham Room by coming in and signing up to be a part of our summer reading program.  It's free, and you can win prizes just by reading books!

Below you can find more pictures of the event.  Click on any picture to see a larger version.

Summer Reading Kickoff tomorrow! (Tuesday, June 19th)

Join us for a special evening of family fun and get started with our summer reading program!

We'd also like to extend a big "Thank you" to our sponsors, who make the summer reading program and prizes possible.

Movie this Saturday!

Dream Big - READ! Join us for our summer reading kickoff!

If you have any questions or want to register, please feel free to stop by or call us at (203) 937-4233 ext. 117.

Also, don't forget, we still have our regular story times all summer at 10 AM Monday and Wednesday; Monday for ages 3-5 and Wednesday for ages 0-2. Drop-ins welcome.

Join us for the Hunger Games TODAY in the Graham Room!

Eleanor Estes

Eleanor Rosenfeld Estes, award winning children’s author was born in West Haven, Connecticut in 1906.  She is considered one of America’s best-known and well-beloved authors of children’s literature.

Estes grew up in West Haven at the turn of the twentieth century.  The town of West Haven became the setting for the fictional New England town of Cranbury, home of the Moffat children.  The Moffats, was the first book in a series of four.  Ginger Pye, Newbery Award winner and Pinky Pye were also set in the town of Cranbury.  The city of West Haven, Estes once explained, “had everything a child could want, great vacant fields with daisies and clover and buttercups and an occasional peaceful cow.  There were marvelous trees to climb, fishing and clamming in the summertime, ice and snow and sliding down hills in the wintertime.” 

Estes’ mother was most influential in her becoming a lover of books.  Her mother was a great storyteller and often recited poetry to Eleanor and her siblings.

After graduating high school Eleanor was a children’s librarian at the New Haven Free Public Library.  Four years later she was promoted to head of the children’s department.  In 1931 she was awarded the Caroline M. Hewins scholarship for children librarians who afforded  Eleanor to attend the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY where she studied library science and also met her husband, Rice Estes.  In 1932 she began working at the New York Public Liberty until becoming a full-time writer after The Moffats was published in 1941.

In 1944 The Hundred Dresses was published.  This book articulates the prejudice that exists in literature for children.  A young Polish immigrant, Wanda is ridiculed by her classmates.  Wanda tells them that the faded blue dress she wears every day is one of a hundred dresses hanging in her closet.  Wanda’s classmates are left feeling extremely guilty for their mocking as it drives Wanda and her family away.

In the 1950’s Eleanor returns to the town of Cranbury, this time we are introduced to the Pye family.  Ginger Pye is awarded the Newbery Medal in 1952, along with the sequel Pinky Pye. 

Estes published nineteen books in her lifetime.  Estes gave a lasting contribution to children’s literature with her “emphasis on the positive, her celebration of the child’s spirit, her faith in the family, her fondness for small daily events and details and her wonder over the miraculous tricks life plays.”