Holiday Closing

C.H. Booth Library will be closed Monday, February 21, in observance of Presidents’ Day.

Young Adult Programs

*Get Read To Read With A Reason: The Booth Library is getting ready for a Battle of the Books!

If you like trivia contests and you like to read, this is for you!

Read four great books: The Wanderer by Sharon Creech, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling, Searching for Dragons by Patricia Wrede, and Hippolyta and The Curse of The Amazon by

Jane Yolen & Robert Harris.

Then form a team of three to five friends in grades 5-8 and become experts on the stories.

The “Battle” – a trivia game with questions from these books – will be on Sunday, March 20. Prizes will be awarded to teams. First place is a Pizza Party at My Place Restaurant, and second place is a Movie Night at Edmond Town Hall.

Full details are available at the library in the Young Adult area. Sign up by March 1.

*Literary Competition: The 27th Annual Trumbull Arts Festival Literary Competition, for original

creative writing in areas of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, is up and running.

Cash prizes are awarded in four categories: Adult, High School (grades 9-12), Middle School (grades 6-8) and Elementary School (grades 3-5). There’s plenty of time to enter.

Pick up applications at the library in YA Department.

Adult Programs

*Film Series: Come in from the cold and enjoy some first-run, award-winning independent films on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm.

On February 22, the library will show Light of My Eyes, which tells the story of a precarious romance between two people cast adrift in a lonely urban landscape. This film is in Italian with English subtitles.

Upcoming films will include Wolves in the Snow on March 8, Falling Angels on March 22, and Witnesses on March 29.

Parents should be cautioned that these films are not rated and in general they are not recommended for audience members under the age of 17 without parental permission.

*Blood Pressure Screenings: A registered nurse will be at the library on Wednesday, February 23, from 10 am until noon, offering free blood pressure screenings. No appointments are necessary. Related information will also be available.

*Freedom Quilts and The Underground Railroad: On Monday, February 28, at 4 pm (for children) and 7:30 pm (for adults), Trish Chambers, a Civil War re-enactor, will offer a lively performance in period dress.

Her presentation will include a brief history of The Underground Railroad, and more detailed discussion of quilt patterns as a method of communication by slaves seeking freedom.

This event is free and is being co-sponsored by the library and Newtown Historical Society.

*Book Discussions: Upcoming discussions include Van Martel’s Life of Pi on Thursday, February 17, at 7:30 pm; and Edward Laxton’s The Famine Ships on Tuesday, March 1, at 1 pm.

Please note the discussion of Robert Olmstead’s A Trail of Heart’s Blood Wherever We Go has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 22, at 1 pm. (This discussion was initially scheduled for Monday, February 21, but was changed due to Presidents’ Day.)

*The Black Governors Of Connecticut: On Thursday, March 3, at 7:30 pm, New Milford historian Fran Smith will give a talk on “The Black Governors of Connecticut.” The talk is free and refreshments will be served.

*The Bluebirds are Coming: On Sunday, March 6, at 2 pm, “The Bluebird Man” – Fred Comstock – will be at the library to talk about how to attract bluebirds to your backyard.

Copies of his book Bluebirds and bluebird kits will be available for purchase at the time of the talk.

C.H. Booth Library, at 25 Main Street, can be reached at 426-4533. Winter hours are in effect: The library is currently open Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 8 pm, Friday from noon to 5 pm, Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday from 1 to 5 pm.