Pequot Library Announces February Programs

Press release from Pequot Library:

Jan. 30, 2023

Pequot Library presents a range of February programs for patrons of all ages, the majority of which are free and open to the public. Of particular note is the February 18 Opening Reception for their forthcoming exhibition, Alphabets, Bedtime Stories, and Cautionary Tales: Children’s Books and the Shaping of American Identity and the first of several programs developed in conjunction with this exhibition, a February 23 lecture from Joan DiMartino, Curator of the Prudence Crandall Museum, on boundary-breaking educator and abolitionist Prudence Crandall. The crowd-pleaser Mid-winter Book Sale also returns on February 18 and 19. Read on for more details.

On February 4 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Pequot Library celebrates Take Your Child to the Library Day. Youngsters can sign up for a 15-minute slot to read to Coco, the Library's bunny and reading ambassador, browse the books in our collection, learn about upcoming programs, and take home their very own library cards. Next up on February 8 at 11 a.m., join a book club led by Adult and University/College Programs Manager Charlie McMahon and inspired by the Library's remarkable Shakespeare collection. Explore Shakespeare’s plays by viewing their earliest publication within the folios and reading and comparing his original works and their modern interpretations. The discussion this month focuses on Macbeth by Jo Nesbo.

The Sowing Bee with Fairfield Pollinator Pathway program invites participants to take home their own Milk Jug Greenhouses. Leave it outside until spring and reap a dozen or more native seedlings to start in the garden. This program takes place on February 11 at 12 p.m. Magician, balloon sculptor, flea circus ringmaster and funny storyteller, Ed Popielarczyk appears for a magical Valentine’s Day performance at 4:30 p.m. Ed often enlists his audience, providing fun for the whole family. This program is intended for children ages three-plus. Adults can enjoy a show of their own on February 15 at 12 p.m., when Play with Your Food presents irresistible short playreadings, lively talkbacks with the actors and director, and delicious boxed lunches from popular local restaurants (to stay or to go). Play with Your Food does require a ticket; all other Pequot Library programs in February are free and open to the public.

February 18 at 3 p.m. marks the Opening Reception for the Library's newest exhibition, Alphabets, Bedtime Stories, and Cautionary Tales: Children’s Books and the Shaping of American Identity. Their featured speaker will be Cecily Dyer, Special Collections Librarian. Scroll down for further information on this exhibition. In honor of this theme, children ages three to five can cuddle with their favorite stuffed animal and join Children's Librarian Jane Manners for a few bedtime stories via Zoom on February 22 at 6:30 p.m. In addition, join Joan DiMartino, Curator of the Prudence Crandall Museum, for a lecture on boundary-breaking educator and abolitionist Prudence Crandall on February 23 at 6:30 p.m. In 1830s Canterbury, Connecticut, Crandall opened the first integrated school in the United States. Stop by and learn more about her sizable impact on the culture and values of early American education.

The Midwinter Book Sale returns on February 18 and 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s the little sister of the Library’s nationally-known Summer Book Sale; smaller but more intimate, with many treasures and bargains to be found in the Library’s historic Auditorium. Admission is free.

Proceeds support Pequot Library’s annual programs for adults and children, serving more than 33,000 participants a year. All books will be priced at $2 or less. Categories this year include: art, gardening, history, children’s books, mystery, spy novels, classics, cookbooks, biographies, science fiction, craft, and more. Also look for DVDs and CDs.

Pequot Library also boasts four virtual author talks, including the February 7, 12 p.m. Meet the Author and technology discussion with Dr. Heidi Forbes Öste. Dr. Öste is a behavioral scientist, best-selling author of Digital Self Mastery series and executive producer of the Evolving Digital Self and Global Nomad Hacks podcasts. In addition, in partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium, Pequot Library hosts three digital talks with bestselling authors. Lana Harper appears on February 9 at 7 p.m. in celebration of the enchanting third installment of her immensely popular The Witches of Thistle Grove series, Back in a Spell. Next, on February 16 at 1 p.m., Grace M. Cho discusses her memoir, Tastes Like War. Cho grew up as the daughter of a white American merchant marine and the Korean bar hostess he met abroad who later experienced the onset of schizophrenia, a condition that would continue and evolve for the rest of her life. On February 28 at 4 p.m., Sadeqa Johnson speaks about her novel, In The House of Eve, in which fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, until a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed onto her like a birthright.

Pequot Library also offers a number of ongoing programs for children and adults, from Genealogy Roundtable to Great Lawn Astronomy, a children and teens' drop-in program on Thursday nights.

ABOUT Alphabets, Bedtime Stories, and Cautionary Tales: Children’s Books and the Shaping of American Identity:

The 18th and 19th centuries witnessed the emergence in England and America of new attitudes toward children and education at the same time that America was casting off its royal authority. The result was a booming market of print materials that, for the first time, contained text and illustrations geared toward a young audience. This exhibition draws from Pequot Library's extraordinary Children's Historical Collection to explore how children's books published in the years following American independence reflect the changing political, economic, and social climate of the young nation.. This exhibition will be on view from February 18 to May 6, 2023.

This press release was produced by Pequot Library. The views expressed here are the author's own.