Library Exhibits

*The Scrapbag Quilters are once again pre[SH1] senting a show of their beautiful quilts at the library.

“Journal Pages” is on view during regular library hours through April 16.

Children’s Events

*Story Hour Registration: Registration for story hour begins March 23 and continues through March 31.

Programs for 2-year olds and their caregivers are offered Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 10 am.

Classes for 3-5-year-olds are offered Tuesday and Wednesday at 11 am and Wednesday or Thursday at 1 pm. Children must be 2 or 3 years of age on or before April 5 and a resident of Newtown to be eligible for this session.

All registrations must be done in person at the children’s department. No phone registrations will be accepted.

*Sing Along With Irv: Children ages 3-6 will be singing and clapping along with Irv Playstock on Saturday, March 20, at 1 pm, in the library’s Knoepke Meeting Room.

Mr Playstock has been performing for over 40 years. In addition to preschools and libraries, his credits include Annie Get Your Gun, Oliver and Guys and Dolls, to name a few. The program is free and open to the public.

*Model Passover Seder: Children ages 6 and older are invited to join Rabbi Shaul Praver from Congregation Adath Israel on Sunday, March 21, at 3 pm, for a Model Passover Seder.

The Rabbi will focus on the fun aspects of the Seder, the unique foods of Passover (which will be tasted and explained), the most popular songs of the holiday, the Seder plate and the universal theme of Freedom.

Additional activities will include searching for ten lost pieces of Matza, throwing rubber frogs and creepy crawlers on the table to represent the ten plagues, group dancing, some discussion about Freedom from slavery here in the United States which will include references to Martin Luther King Jr as a modern day Moses.

Rabbi Praver will also ask participants to consider the freedoms they have in America and how fortunate we all are to live in a country where we can express our personal views.

Interested adults are also encouraged to attend. Sign up in the children’s department.

*Pinocchio Puppet Play: Junior Girl Scout Troop 809 will perform Pinocchio, a puppet show for children ages 4 to 10, on three consecutive Saturdays in April, as part of the first annual C.H. Booth Library Cultural Program.

The three performances will be on April 3, 10 and 17 at 1:30 pm in the main conference room in the children’s section of the library. Each show will be followed by fun sing-along songs and a hands-on activity, such as a craft or a simple Italian snack.

Each full program will run from 1:30 to 2 pm and is limited to 75 children. Tickets will be available at the door. Registration is required for the craft activities, as space is limited. Sign up in the children’s department.

Young Adults

*Book Discussion: Let’s talk about Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech on Wednesday, March 24, from 4:30 to 5:30 pm.

Thirteen-year-old fraternal twins Dallas and Florida have grown up in a terrible orphanage but their lives change forever when an eccentric but sweet older couple invites them each on an adventure, beginning in an almost magical place called Ruby Holler.

This book is one of the Nutmeg nominees for 2005, and copies are available in the Young Adult area. Sign up at the Main Floor Circulation desk or call the library.

*Get On Board & Read: Win a meeting with skateboarder Tony Hawk in the 2004 Get on Board and Read! contest.

Students ages 12 to 18 can enter this national contest with an essay, poem, painting or video about how a favorite book is meaningful to you.

Entry forms are available in the Young Adult area and must be postmarked by April 23. Stop in the library for more information.

Adult Programs

*Tax Help: Free tax help is available at the library from each Saturday until April 10 between 10 am and 2 pm.

No appointment is necessary. Just bring any related papers and drop in.

*Intrepid Travelers: This final program this month will focus on Africa.

On Wednesday, March 24, Dr Milton and Wendy Clark will conclude their travel series with a trip to the mountainous regions of Africa. Come view the rare glimpses of the gorillas of Rwanda as well as the pygmies of Central Africa plus lots of exotic birds, plants, and animals.

The program will start at 7:30 pm. Reservations are requested and will be accepted over the phone.

*Can Great Literature Be Funny? Gordon Williams and Liz Arneth will conclude their book discussion series on plays by great playwrights that see the lighter side of life on April 1. As You Like It by William Shakespeare will be discussed in the Special Collections Room beginning at 7:30 pm.

Multiple copies are available at the circulation desk. Registration is requested; call the library.

Computer Classes: An intermediate computer class will be offered on Saturday, March 27, from 9 am until noon. Cost for this class is $10 and registration is required; call the library.

Local Author Visits: Justin Scott is rescheduling his March visit which was postponed due to weather. The new date is Tuesday, May 18, at 7 pm. Mr Scott will be talking about his popular Ben Abbott series which is full of familiar Newtown characters and places, as well as his book Treasure Island, based on the children’s classic by Robert Stevenson.

Author Stephen Rawley, also of Newtown, will be visiting on Tuesday, March 23, at 7:30 pm, to discuss his recent book on long-term healthcare insurance. This useful reference guide will be available for purchase at

the time of the talk.

Author Phil Steele, son of the broadcasting legend and humorist Bob Steele, will talk about his father’s career on radio as well as his book, The Word of the Day: Sixty-five Years of Wit, Wisdom, and Mispronunciation on Tuesday, March 30, at 7 pm.

*Free Blood Pressure Screening: Ashlar of Newtown will sponsor its next free blood pressure screening on Wednesday, March 31, between 10 am and noon. No need to register, just drop by.

*Book Groups: There are lots of ongoing book clubs that meet at the library each month, with subjects to suit almost every reader – classics, mysteries, history, plays, popular fiction, great literature… What do you like to read?

The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands will be discussed on Tuesday, April 6, at 1 pm.

Reeds in the Wind by Grazia Deledda will be the title on Monday, April 12 at 7:30 pm.

Fathers and Sons by Turgenev will be discussed on Thursday, April 15, at 7:30 pm, and Shakespeare’s As You Like It will be discussed on Thursday, April 22, at 7:30 pm.

*Celebrating Italy: During April C.H. Booth library will be celebrating all things Italian with programs devoted to the food, art, films and literature of Italy.

On Friday, April 2, at 7 pm, we’ll kick off the celebration program with an Italian vegetarian cooking demonstration and wine tasting. This program is free but limited to 50 adults. Sign up now, and come see what’s going on at the library.

C.H. Booth Library, at 25 Main Street, can be reached at 426-4533. Winter hours are 10 am to 8 pm Monday through Thursday, noon to 5 pm on Friday, 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, and 1 to 5 pm on Sunday.