Free Children's Concert with Marcie

Join us this Saturday, May 12 at 10:30 AM for a free performance by Boston area children's musician Marcie. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Pepperell Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

This concert kicks off our summer reading program. This year's theme is Libraries Rock!. Check back with us during the first week in June for more details on how you can rock your summer reading.

       

Be Kind, Please Rewind

Now on display at the library are hand-woven bags made by the Social Catalysts Charitable Foundation. What makes these bags unique? They are created with videotape "yarn" that is made from recycled videotapes.

Social Catalysts bags | Photos by Amy Lordan

 

Through Social Catalysts' partnership with CLASS and other human service agencies, disabled individuals are employed to disassemble videocassettes and hand-weave recycled videotape into cotton and other types of yarn. Members of the Weavers' Guild of Boston work with Social Catalysts to set up these weaving programs.

Photo courtesy of Social Catalysts

Social Catalysts brings the finished fabric to local fashion designers who then create these one of a kind accessories. A variety of these environmentally-friendly bags are available for purchase on Etsy.

On June 14 at 6:30 PM, Social Catalysts will present a program in our art gallery. Here's a description of the program, courtesy of Christine Wyman of Social Catalysts:

Are you an avid recycler? Would you like to learn about weaving? Christine Wyman of Social Catalysts, a local non-profit that creates employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, will talk about their weaving program and how they collaborate with weavers from the Weavers' Guild of Boston and local seamstresses to create unique products to help fund their program. 

The talk will be followed by a demonstration of weaving by Barbara Provest and sewing by Susan Thompson, as well as an opportunity for hands-on learning.

We hope to see you there!

Special Author Event with Bruce Robert Coffin

We are excited to welcome Bruce Robert Coffin for a book discussion and signing on Wednesday, May 16 at 7 PM. Bruce is a former detective sergeant and author of the best-selling Detective Byron mystery series.

Author and former detective Bruce Robert Coffin
Photo by Kelly Watters

At the time of his retirement from the Portland Police Department, Bruce oversaw all violent crime and homicide investigations for Maine's largest city. During his 27 years in law enforcement, he also spent four years working counter-terrorism with the FBI where he earned the Director's Award, which is the highest honor a non-agent can receive.

Bruce has used his extensive background to craft the Detective Byron series. He is also a regular contributor to both the Maine Crime Writers blog and Murder Books blog. Search our catalog for the first book of the Detective Byron series, Among the Shadows, or book two, Beneath the Depths. You can also look for his short story "Fool Proof," in Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Best American Mystery Stories 2016.

Please REGISTER for this event, which is sponsored by the Friends of the Lawrence Library.

Barbara Cooney Literary Landmark Dedication

Photo by Amy Lordan

The Lawrence Library Board of Trustees & the Friends of the Lawrence Library invite you to attend the Barbara Cooney Literary Landmark Dedication being held on Saturday, May 5 at 2 PM. We are delighted to celebrate former Pepperell resident Barbara Cooney, the beloved children's author and illustrator.

This Literary Landmark appellation was awarded by the Literary Landmarks Association. The Lawrence Library is featured in Ms. Cooney's picture book Miss Rumphius, which won the National Book for Award for Children's Books in 1983. Our Head of Youth Services, Shannon, applied for the designation.

The ceremony will take place in the Mahony Garden behind the library. Browse our catalog for more books by Ms. Cooney.

New at the Lawrence Library: LGBTQ+ Groups

We are thrilled to announce two new groups, one for youth and one for adults, to discuss LGBTQ+ issues and topics in a safe, welcoming environment. Pepperell resident J.D. Melendez has volunteered as the facilitator. For over 20 years, J.D. has been working with LGBTQ+ people, with a focus on transgender and LGBTQ+ youth communities. 

The first LGBTQ+ Youth Group meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 2 at 6:30 PM. The inaugural LGBTQ+ Adult Group meeting is being held on Wednesday, May 30 at 6:30 PM. 

In other LGBTQ+ news, our newest staff member, Amy (That's me!), is proud to identify an LGBTQ+ ally. I previously worked at the Bentley University Library where I was a member of the university's LGBTQ Ally Network. 

We hope that you will join us for conversation and snacks. And be on the lookout for more LGBTQ+ special events in the future. 

And the Winner Is ...

Congratulations to the winners of our 2nd Annual Peeps Diorama Contest! Lucy Marro won the Children’s Category, Noelle Dykstra won the Teen/Adult Category, and Sophia Yamanishi and Mason Mathe won the Group/Family Category. Thank you to everyone who participated. We have truly enjoyed all of your talent and creativity. Check out these photos of this year's entries, which were taken by our Program Coordinator extraordinaire Donna!

Enchanted Engineering and Playdough Monsters

Looking for something to do during school vacation week? Our Youth Services staff has two fun programs in store. Both are recommended for ages preschool and up.

On Wednesday, April 18, help fairy tale characters solve their problems by using your creative thinking at Enchanted Engineering. This week, we will be building a house for the Three Little Pigs. Will your house hold up to the Big Bad Wolf? Join us in the Activity Center at 10:30 AM to find out!

On Thursday, April 19, from 10:30-11:15 AM, you can make some marvelous and mischievous monsters using playdough and other craft supplies in our Activity Center.

Earth Day is Sunday April 22nd

Spring into nature with some earthy books!

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Pepperell Green-up

Saturday, April 14th  through Sunday, April 29, 2018
The Green-Up is a town-wide volunteer clean-up of litter and trash on roadsides and public lands in Pepperell. Anyone can participate, and everyone's efforts make a difference! A map of Pepperell and a sign-up list will be posted in Lawrence Library. Stop by to sign up and pick up some garbage bags. Filled bags can be left curbside. The Pepperell Highway Department will pick them up. Thank you for participating and for taking pride in Pepperell!

Holiday Happenings!

Thanksgiving is over and, with only one full day left in November, it's safe to say we have officially entered the Holiday Season! As the weather gets colder and forecasts of snow begin to loom on the horizon, we here at the Lawrence Library have been busy cooking up a fun and festive month of holiday programs for patrons of all ages.

It all kicks off on Friday, December 1st with our annual Holiday Tree Lighting and Visit From Santa! The outdoor celebrations begin at 6:45PM on the front steps of the library; be sure to bundle up it's sure to be chilly. This event is free and open to the public. All we ask is that guests bring a non-perishable food item to donate to PACH to help spread the joy this season!

Then, on Sunday, December 3rd, we have Holiday Music with Wendee Glick and Pamela Hines at 2:00PM. This musical duo will perform many classic holiday favorites as well as newer festive tunes. Light refreshments will be provided, as well as Starbucks coffee.

If you're itching to get crafty, we have a Decorate Your Own Gingerbread House night on Wednesday, December 6th at 6:30PM. Materials and refreshments--including hot cocoa!-- will be provided for all adult participants. Teens 13 and older are welcome to join in as well, so long as they are accompanied by an adult.

Speaking of gingerbread houses, the library is hosting our very first Gingerbread House Contest this year! We invite patrons to decorate and bring in their own gingerbread houses anytime before December 9th. Houses can be entered into one of three categories: Children, for ages 12 and under; Teen/Adult, for ages 13 and up; and Families, for anyone who wants to make it into a family endeavor. Each category will have a winner, and all winners will be announced on December 16th.

On Thursday December 14th we're bringing another musical group to the library: A Goodlie Companye. This well-known and well-loved traveling group brings the historic sounds of madrigal music to Massachusetts while also speaking to the history and customs behind the songs. This concert is free and open to the public, and is slated to begin at 7:30PM.

The following week we're celebrating the winter solstice with a Solstice Henna and Tarot Reading program. At 6:00PM on Wednesday, December 20th, both activities will be available for any and all patrons to partake in.

Down in the Children's Room, there's even more fun to be found for the month of December! Here's a list of our Saturday morning programs:

December 2nd: Holiday Card Crafts for Kids
December 9th: Kid Crafting (Ornaments)
December 16th: Cookie Decorating!
December 23rd: Holiday Happenings
December 30th: Welcome, New Year!

Each program is free and open to the public, and will begin at 10:30AM down in the Children's Activity Center. More information about these programs--and any other programs at the Lawrence Library-- can be found online at our website.

Each and every one of us here at the library looks forward to a cozy, safe, and happy holiday season, and we extend those same wishes to all our patrons and their families. Thank you for helping us make our library such a great place for the community; happy holidays, and here's to the upcoming year!

Enchanted Engineering

Update from the Children's Room!

In honor of this year's theme for the national summer reading program, Build A Better World, Miss Shannon and I decided to curate a schedule of activities and events for our calendar that all feature a focus on STEAM; that is, Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. One such program that we ran yesterday, to much success, was Enchanted Engineering.

In this program, our youngest patrons were tasked with helping the Three Little Pigs build a house strong enough to withstand the respiratory force of the Big Bad Wolf. We started out by reading a version of the classic fairy tale that many of the kids were familiar with, following our three porcine protagonists through their experiments at home durability with a straw house, stick house, and finally, a brick house. After that the kids were given free rein to gather supplies and get building! We provided Popsicle sticks, playdough, Legos, and corn-starch packing peanuts. Everyone got to work and built some great homes!

Once construction was complete, the kids switched sides, coloring and cutting out a wolf mask so they could try and blow their houses down. I'm happy to report that all the residences stood strong and sturdy, despite our wolves' best efforts!

All said, there were about 15 kids who participated in the program with the help of their adult caregivers. Everyone had a blast!

We hope to see our budding architects again on Wednesday, August 16th @ 10:30AM for our second installment of Enchanted Engineering, where we'll help Jack build a beanstalk tall enough to reach the clouds.

Take a look at some of the creations!

Introduction!

Hello avid library fans!

The blog officially has a new caretaker! My name is Miss Meredith; if you or your family have visited the Children's Room recently, you might recognize me as Miss Shannon's smiling and bubbly assistant. Or, as one of our younger patrons noted, "the girl with the thing in her nose". Referring, of course, to my septum piercing, which is a constant source of joy and curiosity to kids the world over.

I originally started working at the Lawrence Library back in the winter of 2015, primarily on Saturday mornings with a night shift here or there. However, in the last few months I've taken on more hours! I now get to come in and enjoy the mornings here in the library, whether they're quiet or hectic or somewhere in between, as well as my typical evening and Saturday shifts. I've never been happier!

The summer months mean hot days, lazy thunderstorms, vacations, and of course, lots of reading time. Miss Shannon and I have been busy with book recommendations for our younger library-goers, helping them pick out the new series or old familiar favorite to keep them busy during their school break. Upstairs, my colleagues have been just as busy keeping us up to date with the newest novels, non-fiction selections, movies, graphic novels, and of course, a shiny new encyclopedia set! (It really is a beauty; be sure to check it out!)

We're also smack-dab in the middle of our Summer Reading Program. This summer our goal is get Pepperell to read 1000 BOOKS!!! Joining us in our pursuit of 1k literary conquests is easy: simply sign up on Wandoo Reader's website and log the books you read to yourself or others. Then, at the end of the summer, join us for a celebratory ice cream party on Wednesday, August 23rd at 11:00AM. Who doesn't love ice cream?!

I'll be posting and updating here frequently, now that I've been given The Power. I hope to make this a space where you, our loyal patrons, can come to get updates, craft ideas, book recommendations, literary news, and all sorts of jazz! Please feel free to leave comments here, or pop on in to say hello and let us know what you think. We value and appreciate your feedback; this library is yours as much as it is ours, and our goal has always been to work with our public to create a space for all.

Thanks for taking the time to check this all out. Stay tuned for all the fun and excitement to come, and please, have a safe and wonderful summer!

Book Treasure Box

I suppose it goes without saying that here at the Lawrence Library, we love books. We love to hold them, we love to organize them, we love to read them and we love to share them with you.

But once in awhile, an idea comes along that is so delicious and delightful, we can't help but sacrifice one of our beloved books just to have it.

Here is one of them.....A book treasure box:

How fun is this? You can use it to store your secret stuff, so your brother can't find it....

Or you can use it to stash your phone or tablet so your parents think you are reading....

Or you can leave it on a bookshelf and send private notes back and forth with someone in your family!

 I want to tell you that this treasure box is easy to create, but the truth is that the process requires a little time and a lot of patience. All you will need is a sharp exacto knife and some ModPodge or glue.

With the knife, carefully start to remove rectangle shapes, a few pages at a time. Once you get to the desired depth, it is time to stop and use the glue to paint on a few layers, which will secure the pages to each other.

If you prefer, you could like the inside chamber with felt or fabric.

VOILA! It's your little secret, and you can keep it forever.

Fun with Hot Chocolate!!!

MISS SHANNON'S HOT COCOA PLAY-DOUGH
1 1/2  cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of cocoa
1/2 cup of salt
1 1/2 Tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 cup of boiling water

Mix the dry ingredients together and add the oil and boiling water. Throw a healthy of handful of flour onto your work surface and knead the dough thoroughly. Add glitter if you want! And whatever you do, DON'T TRY TO EAT THE DOUGH!!! It smells so good but it tastes like YUCK.

Allow me to introduce myself...my name is Mandy Roberge (formally known to children everywhere as "Miss Mandy") and I am the new Library Assistant in the Children's Room here at Lawrence Library. And it bears mentioning that I am pretty happy about that.

Because I love to write, I have pleaded with the powers-that-be to let me take over this blog for awhile until they kick me out and let someone else do it. So for now, you are stuck with my words, my pictures, my thoughts as I tell you about all the awesome things we have going on here and about reading, literacy, kids -- basically whatever I feel like talking about when I sit down at this desk and imagine who might be out there reading. Moms? Teens? Our senior-est patrons? Whoever you are -- I'm talking to YOU!

Today I want to let you know that despite the distinct lack of white amid the outdoor landscape, it's full-on winter here in the Children's Room. We have a serious winter theme running through the room, with not only lots of snowman related activities but also plenty of books that will tickle your coldest funny bones.

With a new focus on teens and tweens, I am also pleased to announce that I will be here on:

 January 17th from 2 to 4 p.m. to offer FREE HENNA TATTOOS to patrons! 

 

Prior to coming to the library, I have worked as a traveling henna artist for the better part of a decade and I have been offering library workshops for as long. I am excited to show the Lawrence Library patrons this unique art form and maybe if you are feeling brave, you will come get a tattoo. I hope you will stop by and introduce yourself to ME!

Warmly,
Miss Mandy