April Newsletter from the Yarmouth Town Libraries

From the Director

April is in the air…Spring has sprung and there is hope on the horizon. We look forward to opening our windows and doors and letting fresh air in. When we might resume in-person visits to the library is not known, but we will keep you informed as decisions are made on the local and state level. Meanwhile, keep on keeping in touch by phone, email and at our virtual interactive programs for all ages. We are here for you.

-Jane Cain
Library Director

April is National Poetry Month

Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month reminds the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, publishers, families, and, of course, poets, marking poetry's important place in our lives. Please join Yarmouth Town Libraries in celebration of National Poetry Month. There are many ways to bring poetry into your day, here are a few to try.

Check out some poetry books.
Read a favorite poem out loud to someone.
Write a poem about an animal.
Write a poem about your feelings.
Learn about different types of poems.

For 30 ways to enjoy poetry online and from home, visit: https://poets.org/national-poetry-month/30-ways-celebrate-national-poetry-month-home-or-online

Peeps^® Diorama Contest!

Open to all ages, through April 3. Create a diorama featuring your favorite marshmallow Peeps^® with a book or movie theme. Take a photo and send it to the Library to be entered in our diorama contest. Reserve your Peeps^® while supplies last. We will post a slide show on the Library’s social media. We encourage all ages to participate with a diorama showing a book or movie theme in the following categories:

Children, ages 5-8
Children, ages 9-12
Teens, ages 13-18
Adults, all ages

The Library can provide a limited supply of marshmallow Peeps^® and the rest of the design is up to you and your imagination! Remember to submit photos of your diorama to be eligible for prizes. Send your photos to Ms. Connie at cmarr@clamsnet.org. We will announce winners on April 5.

Take and Make Kits

Kits, appropriate for children 5 and up, will be available for pickup at West Yarmouth and South Yarmouth Libraries on Saturdays from 10:00-3:00 p.m. Supply is limited. Please pre-register on the Library’s calendar of events or give us a call at 508-760-4820 X 1316 to reserve a kit.

Please Note: These kits are in high demand. Register for each week's featured kit in advance, to avoid disappointment.

April 3: Nature Mandala Sun Catchers
April 10: Found Poetry
April 17: Earth Day
April 24: Garden Pinwheels

Online Zoom Book Talk

Wednesday, April 7, 10:30 a.m.
Discuss books you have been reading and get recommendations from staff and information about new releases. There is no assigned book for this event; everyone will discuss whatever they have been reading, or just listen and get ideas for their next read. All are welcome. Please email ckaufmann@clamsnet.org, or call the library at 508-760-4820 to register to receive a Zoom link or with any questions.

If you need Zoom assistance, please call 508-760-4820
X 1315 or email ckaufmann@clamsnet.org to set up a troubleshooting session.

Building and Branching Out
Your Family Tree

Thursday, April 8, 1:00 p.m. on Zoom
Discover your ancestor(s) who came to America. Learn how to find and examine ship passenger lists, naturalization records, and other documents. This is a great program for people looking to find the town or city of origin of their immigrant ancestors.

Join us for the second webinar in a 3-part series given by Genealogist Sarah Gutmann, the Family Tree Climber. The Zoom meetings are on the second Thursday of the month at 1:00 p.m. in April and May. Please email tcassisi@clamsnet.org, or call the library at 508 760-4820 to register to receive a Zoom link. All experience levels welcome.

April 8 - Exploring Your Immigrant Ancestor
May 13 - Finding Your 300-Year-Old Great Grandma

Mystery Book Club on Zoom

Thursday, April 15, 6:00 p.m.
This month we will discuss Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke. Deeply ambivalent about growing up black in the lone star state, Texas Ranger Darren Mathews was the first in his family to get as far away from Texas as he could -- until duty called him home. When allegiance to his roots puts his job in jeopardy, he travels up Highway 59 to the small town of Lark, where two murders -- a black lawyer from Chicago and a local white woman -- have stirred up a hornet’s nest of resentment. Darren must solve the crimes before Lark’s long-simmering racial fault lines erupt.

Copies of the book are available at both libraries; call to set up a pick-up time. You can also check out the ebook or audiobook from Overdrive/Libby through CLAMS or another consortium in Massachusetts with your CLAMS card. Please email ckaufmann@clamsnet.org or call the library at 508-760-4820 to register to receive a Zoom link or with any questions.

If you need Zoom assistance, please call 508-760-4820 x1315 or email ckaufmann@clamsnet.org to set up a troubleshooting session.

Zoom Good Stories, Well Read

Saturday, April 17, 2:00 p.m. Online
Listen to classic stories by your favorite authors read with feeling by local Cape Cod actors. Please email Toby Wilson at twilson@yarmouth.ma.us or call the library at 508-760-4820 X1317 by Friday, April 16, at 4:00 p.m. to register and receive a Zoom link or with any other questions. Sponsored by the West Yarmouth Library Association. Tell all your friends and neighbors to register and join the fun.

The Yarmouth Town Libraries
will be closed on
Monday, April 19,
for Patriots Day

Dare to Prepare

Tuesday, April 20, 4:00 p.m.
for Teens and Caregivers
This is a pre-permit workshop for soon-to-be drivers and their parents explaining the driver education, permit and Graduated Driver License process and laws. Q&A included.

Bike and Pedestrian Safety
Thursday, April 22, 11:00 a.m.
for Children and Caregivers
This virtual presentation for children and families stresses the importance of wearing a helmet, staying visible, using hand signals, safe places to ride and walk, and teaches the laws and rules of the road. Q&A included.

Presented by AAA Virtual Outreach. Join us on Zoom! Sign up at www.yarmouthlibraies.org to receive the link, via email, one day before the program.

Book Discussion Group on Zoom

Thursday, April 22, 6:30 p.m.
This month we will be discussing The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman. Lilian Girvan has been a single mother for three years and she’s just starting to get the hang of this widow thing. The only problem is she’s becoming overwhelmed with being underwhelmed. Apparently, being the illustrator for a series of boutique vegetable guides means getting your hands dirty, literally. But what she soon discovers—with the help of a patient instructor and a quirky group of gardeners—is that into every life a little sun must shine, whether you want it to or not...

Copies of the book are available at both libraries; call to set up a pick-up time. You can read the ebook or listen to the audiobook on Overdrive/Libby through CLAMS or another consortium in Massachusetts with your CLAMS card. Please email ckaufmann@clamsnet.org or call the library at 508-760-4820 to register to receive a Zoom link or with any questions.

If you need Zoom assistance, please call 508-760-4820 x1315 or email ckaufmann@clamsnet.org to set up a troubleshooting session.

Virtual Author Visit
Ruthless River: A Memoir of Love and Survival By Raft on the Amazon’s Relentless Madre de Dios
by Holly Fitzgerald

Wednesday, April 28, 2:00 p.m. on Zoom

Join us for a lively presentation on a 1973 dream vacation gone wild. A true story and the debut memoir by Dartmouth resident Holly Fitzgerald. Copies of the book are available in CLAMS or from your favorite local bookstore. Read this exciting and thought-provoking tale of survival and sign up for the virtual talk at the library’s website – under Happenings/Calendar of Events. We’ll send you a Zoom invitation the day before the event. Tell all your friends and neighbors.

StoryWalk^® for April
at the West Yarmouth Library
The Hike by Alison Farrell

Snacks, supplies, and a dog. What more do you need for an epic adventure? In this plucky, sweet story, three intrepid young female explorers set out to conquer their local forest. The well-written, empowering narrative takes us on a local quest across a river, through the trees, and up a mountain, spotting birds and eating berries with El, Wren, and Hattie. Lyrical and joyous, magical and triumphant, this adventure captures the highs and lows of a hike with friends - detours, discoveries, beauty and all.

This StoryWalk^® is provided by The Dennis-Yarmouth Coordinated Family & Community Engagement Program (CFCE), which is funded through a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care and through fundraising efforts.

The StoryWalk^® project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.

(Descriptive content provided by Syndetics™, a Proquest® service.)

Virtual Storytimes
for Babies and Preschoolers

Ms. Mindy delights with stories, songs and rhymes, with an at-home activity or craft. Each week there will be two prerecorded storytime videos that we will email to you on Tuesday mornings. Preregister for Baby Storytime or Preschool Storytime, or both! Please register on the Library calendar of events to receive the links for our YouTube recordings. Then you can then enjoy these storytimes at your convenience.

Spring into reading with Book Bundles for Children and Teens!

Send an email to Ms. Connie, at cmarr@clamsnet.org or give us a call at 508-760-4820 X1316. Let us know what topics you are interested in or who your favorite authors are and we will provide you with 5-10 titles to take home to enjoy. We will gladly schedule a pick-up time for your convenience.

Database Spotlight:

Massachusetts Library Virtual Events

One silver lining about the pandemic is that library programming has moved online. Now you can attend events organized by any library, not just ours, without the hassle of traveling. Check out these online library events at libraries across Massachusetts. https://libraries.state.ma.us/calendar

Staff Pick
The League of Wives
by Heath Hardage Lee

Fascinating and disturbing. Lee tells the story of the struggles of POW wives during the Vietnam War and their endless work to bring the prisoners home. The book provides historical information on the war and the political dynamics of the time. These women, who formed The National League of Families, became the POWs' and MIAs' most fervent advocates, going to extraordinary lengths to facilitate their husbands' freedom--and to account for missing military men--by relentlessly lobbying government leaders, conducting a savvy media campaign, holding covert meetings with antiwar activists, and most astonishingly, helping to code secret letters to their imprisoned husbands. The wives had to navigate a difficult political system to ultimately save their husbands. Available in Hoopla and through the CLAMS network.

Staff Pick for Young Adult Fiction
The Wide Starlight
by Nicole Lesperance

Never whistle at the Northern Lights, the legend goes, or they'll sweep down from the sky and carry you away. Sixteen-year-old Eline Davis knows it's true. Ten years ago, she was on a frozen fjord in Svalbard, Norway, the night her mother whistled at the lights and then vanished. Now, Eli lives an ordinary life with her dad on Cape Cod. But when the Northern Lights are visible over the Cape for just one night, she can't resist the possibility of seeing her mother again. So she whistles--and it works. Her mother appears, with snowy hair, frosty fingertips and a hazy story of where she's been all these years. And she doesn't return alone. Along with Eli's mother's reappearance come strange, impossible things. Narwhals swimming in Cape Cod Bay, meteorites landing in Eli's yard, and three shadowy princesses with ominous messages. It's all too much, too fast, and Eli pushes her mother away. She disappears again--but this time, she leaves behind a note that will send Eli on a journey across continents, to the northern tip of the world: Find me where I left you.

Author Notes:
Nicole Lesperance grew up on Cape Cod and graduated from Wesleyan University. She spent a few years in London and now lives near Boston with her husband, two children, and two rambunctious black cats. She writes YA and middle grade books. Follow her on Twitter @niclesperance or visit her online at NicoleLesperance.com.

(Descriptive content provided by Syndetics™, a Proquest® service.)