Apr
8
Fri
Family Story Time In-person and Virtual
Apr 8 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Family Story Time is officially back up and running in the Youth Department! We still have a couple of spots available for this Friday’s event. Each week will have a different in-person signup. There will also be a streamed version available for folks who can’t make it into the Library! Register online (tinyurl.com/HybridFamilyTime) for virtual access to all 5 of the upcoming Family Times between now and the end of November.

Apr
15
Fri
Family Story Time In-person and Virtual
Apr 15 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Family Story Time is officially back up and running in the Youth Department! We still have a couple of spots available for this Friday’s event. Each week will have a different in-person signup. There will also be a streamed version available for folks who can’t make it into the Library! Register online (tinyurl.com/HybridFamilyTime) for virtual access to all 5 of the upcoming Family Times between now and the end of November.

Apr
19
Tue
Author Talk with Carol Weis
Apr 19 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Author Talk with Carol Weis

Come join local author, Carol Weis, for a reading from her memoir, STUMBLING HOME: Life Before and After That Last Drink. Carol will also answer questions about the book, her writing process and her own personal journey, as well as sign copies of her book for those who are interested.

Masks are required at this event.

Author Bio:
Carol Weis, who became a writer when she got sober, has been an actor, teacher, professional cook and baker, and for years, ran poetry workshops in local schools. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, AARP, The Independent, ESPN, Good Housekeeping, OZY, Cosmo, Salon, and numerous other venues, and has been read as commentary on NPR. She’s also the author of the Simon & Schuster picture book, WHEN THE COWS GOT LOOSE, and the poetry chapbook, DIVORCE PAPERS.

To RSVP for this event, please email ehampton@cwmars.org with your name and the number of people attending.

May
6
Fri
Family Story Time In-person and Virtual
May 6 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Family Story Time is officially back up and running in the Youth Department! We still have a couple of spots available for this Friday’s event. Each week will have a different in-person signup. There will also be a streamed version available for folks who can’t make it into the Library! Register online (tinyurl.com/HybridFamilyTime) for virtual access to all 5 of the upcoming Family Times between now and the end of November.

May
13
Fri
Family Story Time In-person and Virtual
May 13 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Family Story Time is officially back up and running in the Youth Department! We still have a couple of spots available for this Friday’s event. Each week will have a different in-person signup. There will also be a streamed version available for folks who can’t make it into the Library! Register online (tinyurl.com/HybridFamilyTime) for virtual access to all 5 of the upcoming Family Times between now and the end of November.

Pollinators for KIDS!! Cancelled! Stay tuned for new date!
May 13 @ 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Join friends from the Hampden Hampshire Conservation District to explore the wonderful world of Pollinators! Listen to a book that describes how pollinators affect the environment, the threats these species face, and how people can help protect them with pollinator gardens. Inspect a flower up close and personal to see how it’s put together, and finally get your hands dirty by making seed balls that will attract pollinators!

May
18
Wed
Virtual Author Talk With Caroline Ailanthus
May 18 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Virtual Author Talk With Caroline Ailanthus

Register at tinyurl.com/ewml-authortalk-518

If you liked Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver or The Overstory, by Richard Powers

Caroline Ailanthus’ novel, Ecological Memory, is set twenty years after a catastrophic global pandemic. It is part scientific detective story, part post-apocalyptic travelogue. It is NOT a dystopia—although the author uses catastrophe as a starting point, her vision for the future is quite optimistic. The story explores how the characters, society, and the planet find ways to heal. It’s a book about what happens AFTER you lose everything. Caroline wrote the book well before our real pandemic, but now finds her story has become unexpectedly timely.

Caroline will briefly talk about the book’s plot, main characters, and other relevant points, then will read several excerpts and use them as starting points to discuss two themes:

1) creating a fictional pandemic vs. living in a real one

2) looking to the science of ecology as a source of perspective and hope in the face of loss

She’ll end with a question-and-answer period, and may read additional excerpts as part of the discussion.

Author Bio:
Caroline Ailanthus is primarily a science writer; even her fiction blends science and story. She is also the author of the Climate in Emergency blog. Ecological Memory is her second published novel. She grew up in Delaware and attended various small, odd schools, mostly in New England, earning BA in Environmental Leadership and an MS in Environmental Studies. She lives in Maryland with her husband and assorted animals.

May
20
Fri
Family Story Time In-person and Virtual
May 20 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Family Story Time is officially back up and running in the Youth Department! We still have a couple of spots available for this Friday’s event. Each week will have a different in-person signup. There will also be a streamed version available for folks who can’t make it into the Library! Register online (tinyurl.com/HybridFamilyTime) for virtual access to all 5 of the upcoming Family Times between now and the end of November.

Jun
1
Wed
Author Talk with Jennifer Brunton
Jun 1 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Author Talk with Jennifer Brunton

Jennifer will talk about what led her to co-author The #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Advocacy: Step-by-Step Advice on How to Ally and Speak Up with Autistic People and the Autism Community. She’ll go on to discuss general advocacy, then focus on family, work and educational topics. Q&A to follow.

This talk is in-person. Masks are required.

Please RSVP to slevine@ewmlibrary.org with the event name and number of attendees.

The #ActuallyAutistic Guide takes an in-depth look at the key elements of effective, respectful, inclusive advocacy and allyship. Every topic was chosen, shaped, and informed by #ActuallyAutistic perspectives. She and Jenna are currently writing, and collecting surveys for, their second collaboration, The #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Teen and Young Adult Advocacy and Activism: Step-by-Step Advice for Autistic Youth and Those Who Care About Them.

Author Bio:
Jennifer Brunton, Ph.D. is the co-author, with Jenna Gensic, M.A., of The #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Advocacy: Step-by-Step Advice on How to Ally and Speak Up with Autistic People and the Autism Community. A neurodivergent parent of an Autistic son and a neurotypical daughter, Jennifer is passionate about making the world a better place for people who think, learn, and experience life in unique ways. Her parenting blog, Full Spectrum Mama, has been advancing civil rights for all—with a focus on neurodiversity and intersectionality—for more than 10 years.

Jun
3
Fri
Family Story Time In-person and Virtual
Jun 3 @ 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Family Story Time is officially back up and running in the Youth Department! We still have a couple of spots available for this Friday’s event. Each week will have a different in-person signup. There will also be a streamed version available for folks who can’t make it into the Library! Register online (tinyurl.com/HybridFamilyTime) for virtual access to all 5 of the upcoming Family Times between now and the end of November.