Join us on Dec. 6 at 11 am for a reading from Author Michael J. Caduto!
Title: Enchanted Night Before Christmas
Author: Michael J. Caduto
Illustrator: Igor Kovyar
Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company (An imprint of Arcadia Publishing)
ISBN: 9781455628506
Synopsis: The Sherman family does not have very much, but they take good care of one another and are generous to others, making gingerbread cookies as holiday gifts and carefully decorating them to look like friends and neighbors. Then, one Christmas Eve, after the family returns home from delivering their gifts, and everyone falls fast asleep, something magical stirs, born in a star of snow, that will change their holiday, and their lives, forever. Inspired by a real rural tradition from the foothills of the Green Mountains, Enchanted Night Before Christmas is a timeless fantasy that reminds us the most powerful gifts are the ones we give away. (Includes a scrumptious gingerbread spice cookie recipe from King Arthur Baking Company.)
Author Bio: Michael J. Caduto is the author of more than 20 books that have been published in numerous languages, have sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide, and have received numerous awards, including the NAPPA Gold Award, Reading is Fundamental (RIF) Multicultural Book Award, Aesop Prize, Skipping Stones Award, and Storytelling World Award. His children’s books include Earth Tales from Around the World, The Crimson Elf, Riparia’s River, In the Beginning,and A Child of God. Michael is also creator/co-author of the best-selling Keepers of the Earth series.
Illustrator Bio: Igor Kovyar started drawing at the age of five and went on to receive a classical education in painting and drawing at the St. Petersburg School of Arts. Igor now works as a freelance illustrator, drawing and painting for magazines, books, advertising, and private commissions. He has illustrated more than 30 children’s books, including The NeverEnd Friend, The Magic Clock, and Nothing Kingdom.
We have so much to be thankful for at the Gay-Kimball Library this month! Looking back, we had the pleasure of a visit from an incredibly curious and bright group of first graders, a successful time capsule burial, an author visit through CLiF, a Teddy Bear Tea with Miss MaryLee, and a spook-tacular Trunk or Treat Halloween! We were also blessed with our Flight Path kits, which mean birding resources and tools for the community. For example, patrons can now check out adult and children’s binoculars for three weeks at a time to enjoy these last weeks of outdoor color. Also coming soon will be a Flight Path screening of Wild Hope’s short films about birding, bird migration, and bird safety. Attendees will receive bird tape to help our local birds migrate safely. You’ll also get bird identification cards kindly donated to the library through our Spark of Science grant.
Thanks to the generosity of one of our favorite patrons, coming this month will be the start of a new chess group for pre-teen and teen kids after school. This group will meet on Wednesdays at 4, beginning Nov. 5. This friendly group (non-competitive) will learn all about the game of chess and have the opportunity to work with an adult volunteer who’s well-versed in the game. All skill levels are welcome, including those who have never played before. This is a great social event for kids looking for a positive way to spend time during those after-school hours. This program is best suited for children aged eight and up.
We are also looking forward to the following dates:
WINTER ADULT AUTHOR VISIT: Join us at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec 6, for a reading, signing, and presentation by author Michael J Caduto. Caduto, author of Enchanted Night Before Christmas, hails from Vermont and will give a talk on a sweet holiday story he wrote about a family who understands the true meaning behind the holidays. This event is free and open to the public and will help put you in the mood for the holidays!
TRACKING PRESENTATION: Save the date – Wednesday, Dec. 10 – for a presentation by Dan Bisaccio, a retired science professor, on the topic of wildlife tracking. Dan will teach us how to identify animals by their tracks and/or scat. You’ll be able to tell the difference between a deer and a rabbit visiting your yard. He’ll also go over how to make plaster casts of tracks you discover in snow or on raw ground. You’ll even learn a neat law enforcement trick on how police capture tracks in the snow. We will also hand out tracking materials from NH Fish and Game for those interested in tracking at home. This presentation is free of charge and open to anyone ages 13 and up. It will begin at 5:30 in the Ripley Room at Gay-Kimball Library. You don’t need to register to attend, and this event is open to the public, regardless of residency status.
As always, we are so thankful for our patrons, who help to make the library not only a resource but community hub for so many in town. Don’t hesitate to reach out to any of our staff if you have ideas on ways we can better serve Troy and its residents!
The Gay-Kimball Library was pleased to collaborate with Troy Elementary School this month to hold a visit by naturalist and author Susie Spikol as part of our grant from the Children’s Literacy Foundation on October 24. Susie spoke to students about her love for nature, what it’s like to be an author, and inspired them to chase their dreams. Ever since she can remember, naturalist and writer Susie Spikol has always looked for where nature and story meet. Her love of nature didn’t start with science. It grew out of a rich diet of fairy tales and legends. While out searching her Brooklyn neighborhood for fairies, gnomes, and other magical creatures, she remembers being charmed by fireflies and enchanted by snails. Nature, story, and the hope of magic cast a spell over Susie, whose life work has been helping people of all ages find ways to notice and connect with the wild creatures and enchantment of nature in our everyday world.
Over the course of her 30-year career as a naturalist, she has taught thousands of children, parents, and teachers and given hundreds of public talks at nature centers, schools, colleges, universities, libraries, and conferences. She has received numerous awards, including the Garden Club of America’s Hull Award, New Hampshire’s Environmental Educator Award, and the New Hampshire Association of Conservation Districts Educator of the Year. Whether she’s talking about star-nosed moles or how imaginative play helps children engage with the natural world, Susie’s passion and commitment resonate with audiences of all ages.
When not catching frogs with preschoolers, making gnome homes with second-graders, tracking bobcats with middle-schoolers, or hawk-watching with her own three children, Susie tucks away time to write. Look for her writing in Yankee, Northern Woodlands,Taproot Magazine, and the Center for Humans and Nature magazine. Several of her essays have been featured in environmental educator and author David Sobel’s books. She is a regular contributor to the column “Backyard Nature” in her local paper, The Monadnock Ledger Transcript in Peterborough, NH. For over 25 years, Susie has been a contributor to the Harris Center for Conservation Education’s newsletter, The Hearsay.
Her most recent book, Book of Fairies is casting a spell over people of all ages.
Awarded annually to 12 public libraries in Vermont and New Hampshire, the Children’s Literacy Foundation’s Rural Library Grant is designed to help small-town libraries create excitement around literacy, update their collections, increase circulation, and strengthen connections with the communities they serve. The grant is also intended to fill funding shortfalls for libraries with extremely limited budgets.
“We are so pleased to have been fortunate enough to receive this grant. Our objective is to help our town’s children stay inspired by reading quality books! This opportunity will allow us to work closely with Troy Elementary School to introduce young readers to new experiences, books, and authors. We plan to incorporate family activities into our programming so people of all ages are involved and look forward to working with our young patrons and beyond,” said Erin George, Director for Gay Kimball Library.
The grant provides $2,000 in new children’s books for the public library; $500 in new books for the local elementary school; two storytelling events for children at the local elementary school or library; a book giveaway for each child at the elementary school to take home; and funding for mini-grants that support family engagement over the course of the year.
Recognizing the increasing needs of small, rural libraries, CLiF recently expanded the grant to include a summer kickoff event featuring a storyteller and book giveaway; early childhood book kits for circulation in the library; board books for children ages 0-5; a selection from a multi-choice menu of options worth $1000; and a small stipend to recognize the time commitment from librarians who manage the grant in addition to their regular duties.
“CLiF’s Rural Library Grant is all about strengthening connections and building a community around literacy,” said CLiF Program Manager Cassie Willner. “In addition, we know how important it is to help small libraries update and diversify their children’s book collection and promote outreach through new titles and events.”
The Rural Library grant is one of CLiF’s longest running programs. Libraries with limited annual budgets that serve Vermont and New Hampshire towns with populations of about 5,000 or less are eligible to apply.
Since 1998, CLiF has been dedicated to creating literacy experiences that support success in life and learning for under-resourced children in communities across Vermont and New Hampshire. For more information, please visit www.clifonline.org.
It’s hard to believe Fall has arrived! Looking back at September, we had a busy month. Between hosting a Roving Museum and burying a time capsule, we’re embracing the great outdoors.
We’ve also enjoyed signing up dozens of new patrons for library cards and meeting our new and new-to-us neighbors! They’ve come at the right time. Last month, we not only gave out 50 free board books to our library’s kids but also helped fill a Little Free Library on School Street with new books from the Children’s Literacy Foundation. And that’s not the last of the children’s books coming to Gay-Kimball Library! We just submitted our grant order for 120 new books and are excited to release those titles. Keep an eye on our pages to learn more about our selections and watch our fresh graphic novel section expand.
With the turn of the season, we at Gay-Kimball Library already miss our kids and summer programming! This change of pace at the library, however, does allow us to focus on adult programming and other areas of interest; something we are excited about! First up will be events, programs, and resources from our Flight Grant. While we’re ironing out the details on how we will work with local presenters and groups to teach the community about birds and bird migration patterns, you’ll soon be able to check out resources like binoculars and bird-friendly guides and materials.
We are also looking to bring in a living history presenter soon and are happy to take requests from the New Hampshire Humanities Council’s presenter list. Give us a call and let us know your interests.
Coming in November will be the start of a new chess group for pre-teen and teen kids after school. This group will meet on Wednesdays at 4, beginning Nov. 5. This friendly group (non-competitive) will learn all about the game of chess and have the opportunity to work with an adult volunteer who’s well-versed in the game. All skill levels are welcome, including those who have never played before. This is a great social event for kids looking for a positive way to spend time during those after-school hours. Call the library to sign your child up or drop by for more information. This group will meet on Wednesdays after school, with exact times to be determined based on student needs and availability.
Also coming soon will be a Flight Path screening of Wild Hope’s short films about birding, bird migration, and bird safety. Attendees will receive bird tape to help our local birds migrate safely. You’ll also get bird identification cards generously donated to the library through our Spark of Science grant.
Upcoming dates to remember:
TEDDY BEAR TEA: October 23 at 4 pm – we will be hosting our first Teddy Bear Tea with Miss Mary Lee! All children are welcome to attend this free event where we’ll dress up and bring our best stuffies for a fancy story, snack, and special surprise!
FALL CHILDREN’S AUTHOR VISIT: October (TBD) – GKL will host an author visit for children at Troy Elementary School as part of our CLiF grant!
WINTER ADULT AUTHOR VISIT: Join us at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec 6, for a reading, signing, and presentation by author Michael J Caduto. Caduto, author of Enchanted Night Before Christmas, hails from Vermont and will give a talk on a sweet holiday story he wrote about a family who understands the true meaning behind the holidays. This event is free and open to the public and will help put you in the mood for the holidays!
TRACKING PRESENTATION: Save the date for a presentation by Dan Bisaccio, a retired science professor, on the topic of wildlife tracking. Dan will teach us how to identify animals by their tracks and/or scat. You’ll be able to tell the difference between a deer and a rabbit visiting your yard. He’ll also go over how to make plaster casts of tracks you discover in snow or on raw ground. You’ll even learn a neat law enforcement trick on how police capture tracks in the snow.
Save the date – Wednesday, Dec. 10 – to check out a mountain lion track cast and more! We will also hand out tracking materials from NH Fish and Game for those interested in tracking at home. This presentation is free of charge and open to anyone ages 13 and up. It will begin at 5:30 in the Ripley Room at Gay-Kimball Library. You don’t need to register to attend, and this event is open to the public, regardless of residency status.
Thank you to everyone who has been so patient with us during these busy times. Our goal is to continue to do what we can to make the library a welcoming, helpful place in town as we grow!
Our Hours:
Tuesday – 10:00 am – 7 pm
Wednesday & Thursday – 2 pm – 7 pm
Saturday – 10 am – 2 pm
Do those hours not work for you? You can make use of our 24/7 Library Lockers!
