Brookfield
Connecticut
The Brookfield Library Newsletter - May 2023
Schools and Libraries
May 2, 2023
From: Brookfield LibraryLetter from the Director
Happy Spring!
For many, "April showers bring May flowers!" Whether you're a master gardener, or just starting out getting your green thumb dirty, you'll be excited about our newest offering, the Brookfield Shares & Grows Seed Library! Come check out a few seed packets and see what you can grow! This is a great way to try a new hobby and even support the Brookfield Food Pantry with your harvest. Many thanks to Zanny Stowell, our Teen Librarian, for getting this program started! See our website for more details.
We have other fun flower activities this month as well. Kids can make a string-art flower on May 11, or plant a flower and make a decorative pot for Mother's Day with Brookfield Girl Scouts on May 13. Teens are invited to come plant a mini-herb garden on May 20 and adults can make some pretty flowers in our May Needle Felting class!
The Career Coach is back teaching computer basics, or you can learn how to make a PowerPoint presentation in a two-part class. And our Alien Invasion art exhibit by Pamela Hanks runs through May 30. If you haven't had a chance to see it, you'll want to make plans to stop by. It's colorful, and bright and fun!
The Annual Town Meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 2 at 7 pm at the Brookfield High School Auditorium. This is your chance to review the proposed 2023-2024 budget. The Budget Referendum date will be set at the meeting, and is expected to be Tuesday, May 16. Please stay informed and make a plan to get to the polls to vote.
Lastly, the Library will be open on Sunday, May 28 during the Memorial Day parade. The Friends of the Brookfield Library will be offering free bottled water for parade spectators on the library lawn, and our staff will be on hand with information about our services and upcoming programs. Hope to see you there!
Best regards,
Debbie Brooks, Acting Director
Introducing
Brookfield Shares & Grows
Seed Library
For beginner gardeners and expert green thumbs alike, The Brookfield Library now has its own Seed Library, where patrons can "check out" seed packets. We have a variety of herbs, vegetables, and flowers for patrons to pick from. Patrons with active Connecticut library cards are permitted to take up to 8 seed packets per month. Stop by to learn more!
Current Library Hours and Holiday Closings
Library hours are:
Monday and Wednesday 10 am–6 pm
Tuesday and Thursday 10 am–8 pm
Friday and Saturday 10 am–5 pm
Sunday Noon–4 pm
Please note: The Library will be closed on Monday, May 29, in observance of Memorial Day. However, we will be open on Sunday, May 28. Come watch the parade on our lawn. The Friends of The Brookfield Library will have water bottles available for parade viewers.
The Brookfield Library Foundation invites you to:
Purchase tickets here!
The Brookfield Library Art Gallery
Pamela Hanks
Alien Invasion on view until May 30
The Brookfield Library Art Gallery continues to present Alien Invasion, an exhibition of whimsical aliens created by illustrator Pamela Hanks on view until May 30. Pamela Hanks’ beloved aliens began as monster illustrations for a children’s book, but she soon discovered that her joyful creatures tell a deeper story. Her colorful artwork in this exciting exhibition celebrates neurodiversity and the alien in each of us. This show also incorporates interactive elements for the audience.
A virtual version of the exhibition is available on The Brookfield Library’s website, www.brookfieldlibrary.org/art-gallery,.
The Brookfield Library Art Gallery is located in the Library's Community Room and is open during the Library’s regular operating hours. Please check in at the Circulation Desk before entering the Gallery.
Area artists interested in being considered for future shows in The Brookfield Library Art Gallery are invited to submit samples of their work by emailing The Brookfield Library Art Gallery Committee at[email protected]. The Committee will review all submissions.
For more news and updates on our Art Gallery, follow us on Instagram @brookfieldlibraryartgallery.
Adult Services
Head of Adult Services Librarian, Sarah-Ruth Tasko (left), Adult Services Librarian, Joy Devorsetz (middle), Reference Librarian, Nancy Treuer (right)
Three-Dimensional Card Making for Spring Occasions
Wednesday, May 3, 12:00–1:30 pm
In the Community Room
Gather with us and create a three-dimensional card for graduation or another special event. You'll also build an adorable froggy card for spring. All supplies are provided.
Chess Club for All Ages
Thursday, May 4, 4:30–5:30 pm
Thursday, May 11, 4:30–5:30 pm
In the Community Room
Registration Required
This month’s Chess Club is open to all ages!
Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or expert player, young or not-so-young, join us for some fun and challenging multi-generational play!
Oscar Series Movie Matinee: The Batman
Friday, May 5, 1:00–4:00 pm
In the Community Room
When a sadistic serial killer begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, Batman is forced to investigate the city's hidden corruption and question his family's involvement.
Starring Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell and Paul Dano.
Rated PG-13 for strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive materials. 176 minutes.
Snacks will be provided!
Unraveled: Knitting & Crocheting Circle
Sunday, May 7, 2:00–3:30 pm
and Sunday, May 21, 2:00–3:30 pm
In the Community Room
Registration Required
The Unraveled Knitting and Crocheting Circle meets each month to knit and crochet personal creations or community service projects, while enjoying some wonderful social time. Participants guide newbies, share project ideas, and show each other their beautiful creations.
Oscar Series Movie Matinee: Empire of Light
Monday, May 8, 2:00–4:00 pm
In the Community Room
Hilary (Olivia Colman) is a cinema manager struggling with her mental health, and Stephen (Micheal Ward) is a new employee longing to escape the provincial town where he faces daily adversity. Together they find a sense of belonging and experience the healing power of music, cinema, and community.
Starring Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, and Colin Firth.
Rated R for sexual content, language, and brief violence. 113 minutes.
Snacks will be provided!
Women & Money Roundtable
How to Make Sense of Today’s Financial Markets
Wednesday, May 10, 1:00–2:00 pm
on Zoom
Join us for this monthly roundtable for women on money led by financial professionals Julia Strayer and Liz Maccarone. They’ll cover the latest market news and how that might affect your decision making. They’ll also give you background and context for understanding why market movement occurs and share strategies for keeping ahead of what might come. The roundtable series is open to women with any level of financial knowledge.
Meditative Watercoloring Series: Spring Clouds
Wednesday, May 10, 4:00–5:00 pm
In the Community Room
We'll use watercolors and water droplets to create a colorful, calming scene of a rainy, cloudy Spring day.
Puzzle Swap
Sunday, May 14, 2:00–3:00 pm
In the Community Room
Bring in your gently used jigsaw puzzles and swap them for other puzzles, while enjoying a social hour with friends.
All Ages Board Game Night
Tuesday, May 16, 6:30–7:30 pm
In the Community Room
Join us for our Board Game Night. Play one of the games we have available or bring your own to introduce it to others.
Games, beverages, and snacks will be available!
Featuring these games: chess, checkers, Scrabble, Sudoku, Apples to Apples, Clue, Scattergories, Catan, Pandemic, Betrayal at House on the Hill
We'll also have some introductory materials for Magic the Gathering, and Dungeons and Dragons.
Needle Felting For Adults: Flowers
Friday, May 19, 3:00–4:30 pm
In the Community Room
Welcome to Spring!
We'll continue our needle felting series honoring the upcoming season! Let's celebrate by creating flowers.
Space is limited, so registration is required!
Oscar Series Movie Matinee:
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
Saturday, May 20, 2:30–4:30 pm
In the Community Room
A widowed cleaning lady in 1950s London falls madly in love with a couture Dior dress, and decides that she must have one of her own.
Starring Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, and Lambert Wilson.
Rated PG for suggestive material, language and smoking. 115 minutes.
Snacks will be provided!
Personalized Reading Suggestions
Looking for your next good read? Fill out and submit this short form on the Library's website and a librarian will email you 3–5 book recommendations picked just for you! Once you approve we'll get them ready for curbside pickup.
Book Groups
Brookfield Reads
Mexican Gothic
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Tuesday, May 16, 1:00–2:00 pm
in the Community Room with Zoom option
New members are always welcome!
Copies of the book are available for check out at the Circulation Desk.
New York Times Bestseller
In Development As A Hulu Original Limited Series • Winner Of The Locus Award • Nominated For The Bram Stoker Award
One Of The Best Books Of The Year: The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, NPR, The Washington Post, Tordotcom, Marie Claire, Vox, Mashable, Men’s Health, Library Journal, Book Riot, LibraryReads
An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets. . . . From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes “a terrifying twist on classic gothic horror” (Kirkus Reviews) set in glamorous 1950s Mexico.
After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: she’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.
Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.
And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.
Email Sarah-Ruth ([email protected]) with any questions about Brookfield Reads.
Fact Not Fiction
Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks
by Patrick Radden Keefe
Wednesday, May 24, 4:30–5:30 pm
in the Community Room
New members are always welcome!
Copies of the book are available for check out at the Circulation Desk.
New York Times Bestseller • From the prize-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing—and one of the most decorated journalists of our time—twelve enthralling stories of skullduggery and intrigue.
Patrick Radden Keefe has garnered prizes ranging from the National Magazine Award to the Orwell Prize to the National Book Critics Circle Award for his meticulously-reported, hypnotically-engaging work on the many ways people behave badly. Rogues brings together a dozen of his most celebrated articles from The New Yorker. As Keefe says in his preface “They reflect on some of my abiding preoccupations: crime and corruption, secrets and lies, the permeable membrane separating licit and illicit worlds, the bonds of family, the power of denial.”
Keefe brilliantly explores the intricacies of forging $150,000 vintage wines, examines whether a whistleblower who dared to expose money laundering at a Swiss bank is a hero or a fabulist, spends time in Vietnam with Anthony Bourdain, chronicles the quest to bring down a cheerful international black market arms merchant, and profiles a passionate death penalty attorney who represents the “worst of the worst,” among other bravura works of literary journalism.
The appearance of his byline in The New Yorker is always an event, and collected here for the first time, readers can see his work forms an always enthralling but deeply human portrait of criminals and rascals, as well as those who stand up against them.
Email Joy ([email protected]) with any questions about Fact Not Fiction.
Children's Services
Spring Storytime Schedule
Our Spring Session will run from Monday, April 17–Friday, June 16, 2023. Please note the addition of a second session of Shake, Rattle & Read due to popular demand! There will be no storytime on Monday, May 29 in recognition of Memorial Day.
Storytime Adventures (for ages 2–5)
Mondays and Tuesdays, 10–10:45 am
In the Community Room unless otherwise specified
This program encourages creative expression, social skills, listening comprehension, and vocabulary building through stories, songs, flannel boards rhymes, and movement activities. Please register:
Monday, May 1 & Tuesday, May 2 - Fly High Birds!
Monday, May 8 & Tuesday, May 9 - Mother’s Day
Monday, May 15 & Tuesday, May 16 - Jump Froggy, Jump!
Monday, May 22 & Tuesday, May 23 - Parades & Marching Bands
Tuesday, May 30 - All The Little Bugs
Fun & Friends (for ages 6 months–5 years)
Wednesdays, 10:00–11:00 am
In the Community Room
A casual gathering for parents/caregivers and their children, this program features free-play time, a brief storytime and craft for the children, and socializing for the adults. Meet new friends or catch up with people you already know. Please register:
Shake, Rattle & Read (for ages 6–24 months)
Fridays, 10–10:45 am—Session One
Fridays, 11:00–11:45 am—Session Two
In the Community Room unless otherwise specified
This lap sit program promotes social skills and early language development and lays the foundation for reading through letter, color, shape and number recognition. It includes stories, songs, rhymes, finger plays, puppets, and movement activities. Please only register for one of the sessions:
Friday, May 5 - SESSION ONE - 10 am
Friday, May 12 - SESSION ONE - 10 am
Friday, May 19 - SESSION ONE - 10 am
Friday, May 26 - SESSION ONE - 10 am
Friday, May 5 - SESSION TWO - 11 am
Friday, May 12 - SESSION TWO - 11 am
Friday, May 19 - SESSION TWO - 11 am
Friday, May 26 - SESSION TWO - 11 am
Special Events
Alien Storytime & Art Show
Ages Pre K–8
Saturday, May 6
1:00–2:00 pm
Community Room
Registration Required
Calling all Human children! Join us for a special Storytime & Art Show all about ALIENS! There will be a scavenger hunt in the Community Room, a BRAND NEW ISpy display, a Star Wars book display and activity sheets and alien coloring sheets! Astronaut, Alien, Space-Themed & Star Wars costumes encouraged!
Mother's Day Planting Project with Brookfield Girl Scouts
Ages 4–9 years
Saturday, May 13
10:00 am–12:00 pm
Outside, weather permitting, or in the Community Room
Registration Required
See flyer below!
Mixed Media Alien Craft Project with Artist Pamela Hanks
Tuesday, May 16
Grades K–5
4:30-6:00 pm
Community Room
Registration Required
Join our current Art Gallery Artist, Pamela Hanks, and blast off into the work of mixed media art! Participants will be working with watercolors, foil, cardstock and other material to create a project that is sure to be out of this world!
Food Explorers: Carrot Cake Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Thursday, May 25, 4:00–5:00 pm on Zoom
For ages 4 and up
Registration Required
Join Food Explorers to make delicious Carrot Cake Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches! You’ll make the carrot cake cookies from scratch and sandwich them together with homemade ice cream! You’ll need the following ingredients: flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, 1 stick butter, brown sugar, vanilla, 3-4 large carrots, 1 egg, 1 can sweetened condensed milk and 1 pint heavy cream. You will need an electric mixer. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link.
Children’s Programs
Chess Club—All Ages!
In the Community Room
Registration Required
Thursday, May 4 from 4:30–5:30 pm
Thursday May 11 from 4:30–5:30 pm
This month’s Chess Club is open to all ages! Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or expert player, young or not-so-young, join us for some fun and challenging multi-generational play!
Brookfield Builders - Space Challenge—All Ages
Saturday, May 6
10:00–11:00 am
Community Room
Registration Required
Use the Library's HUGE collection of Lego? building bricks to make your own creation or construct something with a friend. This month there will be a SPACE CHALLENGE to see who can build a cool rocket or a silly alien!
Combined Science Explorers And Steam Program
Solar System
Grades PreK–5
Saturday, May 6
3:00 pm–4:00 pm
Community Room
Registration Required
Join us as we "boldly go where no man has gone before." This month we will learn about our solar system and create our own planets to take home using paint, ping pong balls and tea lights.
String-Art Flower Craft
Grades K–5
Thursday, May 11
5:45–6:45 pm
Community Room
Registration Required
Join us as we create a beautiful yarn flower for a special grownup on Mother’s Day. Participants will be working with a small hammer, nails, wooden planks and yarn.
Pajama Storytime (for ages 3 and up)
Thursday, May 18, 6:30 pm–7:00 pm
In the Children’s Area of the Library
Registration required
Come to the picture book area of the Library to share three BRAND NEW stories with Miss Meg before bedtime. Pajamas are encouraged!
Namaste Me Down to Sleep Yoga & Bedtime Stories
Theme: Flowers in Bloom
Thursday, May 25, 6:30–7:15 pm
On the Lawn by Miss Mary Way
Registration Required
Please bring your own yoga mat if possible as there are a limited number available to borrow from the Library. This program is best for ages 3 and up. It will include a couple of slow yoga flows, two relaxing stories and mindfulness and breathing exercises. Please note: this program will be outside. If there is inclement weather the program will be canceled.
Read to a Therapy Dog
Read to a Therapy Dog
For kids in First Grade and Up
Registration Required.
What do you get when you bring children and dogs and books together? You get happy, confident children who love to read! Each child will be able to read with Rio (Monday Evenings) or Mia (Tuesday Evenings) for 15 minutes inside in the Children’s Area.
Rio—Monday, May 1 – 4:30 pm 4:45 pm 5:00 pm 5:15 pm
Rio—Monday, May 8 – 4:30 pm 4:45 pm 5:00 pm 5:15 pm
Rio—Monday, May 22 – 4:30 pm 4:45 pm 5:00 pm 5:15 pm
MIA:
Mia—Tuesday, May 2 – 5:00 pm 5:15 pm 5:30 pm 5:45 pm
Mia—Tuesday, May 9 – 5:00 pm 5:15 pm 5:30 pm 5:45 pm
Mia—Tuesday, May 16 – 5:00 pm 5:15 pm 5:30 pm 5:45 pm
Mia—Tuesday, May 23 – 5:00 pm 5:15 pm 5:30 pm 5:45 pm
Mia—Tuesday, May 30 – 5:00 pm 5:15 pm 5:30 pm 5:45 pm
Teen Services
Introducing Brookfield Shares & Grows Seed Library
For beginner gardeners and expert green thumbs alike, The Brookfield Library now has its own Seed Library, where patrons can "check out" seed packets. We have a variety of herbs, vegetables, and flowers for patrons to pick from. Patrons with active Connecticut library cards are permitted to take up to 8 seed packets per month. Stop by to learn more!
Teen Council Meeting
Wednesday, May 3rd, 5:00 - 6:00 pm
In the Community Room
Registration Preferred
Make your voice heard! Anyone interested in volunteering to become a member of the Brookfield Teen Council is welcome. Grades 6-12.
Mindfulness for All with Prabha Makayee
Tuesday, May 16th, 6:00 –7:00 pm
Tuesday, May 23rd, 6:00 –7:00 pm
On Zoom
Register for one or both dates by clicking the link above.
Welcome to the Brookfield Mindfulness Practice. In this one hour bi-monthly program we will learn how we can be alert, aware and awake to our innate ability to manage ourselves in all life situations. In one second, with one thought and one breath we can check, take charge and change our moods and emotions by mindfully restoring our thoughts from a negative to positive perspective. All ages 12+ welcome.
Graphic Novel Book Club
Wednesday, May 17th, 4:30–5:15 pm
In the Community Room
Registration Required
This month we'll read Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook and create black-out poetry from discarded book pages. Copies are available at the Circulation Desk. Grades 6-12.
More about Banned Book Club:
The real-life account of a college student living under South Korea's totalitarian Fifth Republic regime in the 1980s, and the refuge she sought in an underground club dedicated to reading banned books.
Start Your Mini Herb Garden
Saturday, May 20th, 12:30 - 2:00 pm
Patio (Weather permitting)
Registration Required
Plant the seeds for a sustainable summer with our Start Your Mini Herb Garden program!
Choose from a variety of different herbs, plant them yourself, get instructions from an expert gardener with over 30 years of experience on how to make sure your new garden can thrive, and learn exciting ways to use the herbs you'll eventually harvest!
Grades 5–12. Supplies limited, registration required.
Inklings—Young Adult Writers Group
Tuesday, May 30th, 4:30–6:00 pm
In the Teen Section
Registration Required
Come and work on a project, do writing exercises, and hear from other writers your age. Grades 6-–12.
Technology & Craft Classes
Machine Embroidery Class: Coasters
May 15, 2:00-4:00 pm OR 5:30-7:30 pm
Freshen up your home with this sweet strawberry coaster! With a scalloped lace edge and timeless details, it is just the project that you need for your decor.
Experience is not necessary. Registration required.
Register for 2:00 p.m.
Register for 5:30 p.m.
Career Coach Computer Basics Workshop
Wednesday, May 17, 10:00 am–12:00 pm OR 1:00-3:00 pm
The American Job Center will be bringing its mobile Career Coach to the library for this workshop.
The Career Coach makes weekly visits to cities and towns in Connecticut in coordination with community organizations. When you step aboard the Career Coach, you are greeted by expert staff and seated at one of ten (10) computer workstations. Come aboard and use our high speed Internet access, and print resources at no cost to you!
Polish Your Basic Computer Skills In A Friendly & Empowering Environment!
- Learn basic computer terminology & concepts such as: what is hardware, what is software, what is a server, what is a modem? You hear these words thrown around a lot, do you know what they really mean?
- Are you familiar with all the functions of your mouse? What is the difference between right click and left click. Do you know how to scroll?
- Let’s look at the keyboard and investigate the function of all the keys! Learn how to make your life easier when you’re navigating your computer and the web
- How does the internet work? What really is “the cloud?”
- Learn all about a free website where you can work on your typing skills, mousing skills and more!
American Job Centers are a unique collaboration of state, regional and local organizations addressing the workforce development needs of the state.
Register for 10:00 a.m.
Register for 1:00 p.m.
Intro to PowerPoint
May 18 & 25, 3:00-4:00 p.m. OR 6:00-7:00 p.m.
This is a 2-part class held on May 18 & 25.
PowerPoint is used by business people, teachers, and home computer users to create beautiful and interesting slide shows. PowerPoint software is popular because it’s user friendly and fun to use.
In this course, we will:
- Learn the basics of working with PowerPoint.
- Build a PowerPoint slideshow presentation.
- Learn how to insert text, video, sound, and images.
- Discuss tips and tools for delivering PowerPoint presentations.
Registration for the first session will register you for the second session as well.
Register for 3:00 p.m.
Register for 6:00 p.m.
New Resource for Jobseekers
Designed to support every step of the job search process, JobNow features live, online coaches who assist with resumes, cover letters, and preparation for job interviews. Job coaches also help users strategically target jobs best suited to their interests and qualifications. The Adult Learning Center provides foundational, career-enhancing skills to job seekers, and also offers test preparation and an academic skills center with live, online tutors.
Fine Policy
As you may know, The Brookfield Library recently became fine-free for most of the items patrons are able to borrow. Overdue fines are still charged for museum passes, hotspots, STEAM kits, and Early Literacy backpacks. Please consult Policy 200: Circulation of Library Materials for details regarding borrowing and fines. If you have an overdue item, please make every effort to return it as soon as possible. Any items can be returned in the outside book drop. Please note that some libraries are charging fines for all items; these fines will appear on your account for returned overdue items.
You may also log in to your account to see if any checked out items are able to be renewed.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Get Involved!
The Friends of The Brookfield Library (FOBL) will be meeting on Tuesday, May 2, at 6:30 pm in the Community Room.
If you would like more information on what the Friends do, or would like to join this great group, please contact Georgette May at [email protected].
The New Library Committee will be meeting on Tuesday, May 9, at 6:30 pm at Town Hall, Room 209.
The Library Board of Trustees will be meeting on Wednesday, May 24 at 7:00 pm in the Community Room.
Please join us for any of the above meetings!
Brookfield Health Department Vaccine Clinics:
Offering Moderna and Novavax Primary and Booster Doses.
We do not carry Pfizer
Town Hall - By Appointment Only, 100 Pocono Road, Brookfield
Please call Tracey Cahill, Public Health Nurse at the Brookfield Health Department at (203)775-7314 to schedule an appointment for COVID 19 vaccinations/boosters.