Mercer Island Library Blog.

Do you like to listen to children read?  Would you like to help a child learn to love reading?  We are now accepting applications for the 2012 Reading Buddies Program at the Mercer Island Library.  Two references are required. 

You may remember all the activity last summer in the gardens surrounding the library.  The result of your community effort is the Mercer Island Library Discovery Garden.  We are excited to offer five programs in May that include the Discovery Garden in activities, art projects, and as part of storytelling.
The programs are listed below:

• Frog and Toad in the Garden Puppet Show - Wednesday, May 2, @ 10 am
  Toad is excited to plant a garden just like his friend Frog's. He discovers that it is a lot of work!  Enjoy these beloved friends as they garden and have other adventures. Ages 3-6, no registration required.

• Exploring Nature's Secrets - Saturday, May 5, @ 2:00 pm
  Join Sarah Heller from the Washington Park Arboretum for hands-on activities and games. Explore and discover the secrets of plants and other natural critters!  Some activities will be held in our new Discovery Garden. Ages 5-10, families welcome.  Sponsored by the Friends of the Mercer Island Library and University of Washington Botanic Gardens.  Registration is required -- register here. 
• Garden Critters - Wednesday, May 9, @ 10:00 am
  There are many small wildlife creatures that burrow, fly or scurry in our discovery garden just outside the library. Meet some of these wildlife critters through stories. Take a walk through the garden and see where some of these birds and animals live. Make a pine cone critter out of natural materials. Ages 4 and older with an adult. Registration is required -- register here.
  
  
• Draw, Paint, and Write in a Nature Journal - Saturday, May 12, @ 1:30 pm
  Celebrate the season by taking a close look at birds' eggs, nests, insects, trees in their springtime greens, and the earliest flowers, like trilliums. Draw, paint and write about your subjects, and discover insights. Molly Hashimoto will bring field guides and other books about nature, as well as her own journals. Art and writing supplies also provided. KIDS! Please come at 1:30pm to explore the Discovery Garden -- you will find and collect objects to draw, paint and write about. Volunteers and a librarian will be on hand to help. Ages 8-11, parents welcome. Registration is required -- register here.
  
  
• Nature Garden Discoveries - Wednesday, May 16, @ 10:00 am
  Native plants and trees have many shapes, colors and senses. Take a listening walk through the Discovery Garden outside the library. Listen, touch and smell some of the things that are growing in the garden. Enjoy stories about nature and create your own nature garden using natural materials and air dry clay. Ages 4 and older with an adult. Registration is required -- register here.
  
  All programs start in the meeting room of the library.  Please call the library @ 206 - 236 - 3537 if you have questions, or email Margaret Martin  margmart@kcls.org  or  Carrie Bowman  clbowman@kcls.org.
  Photographs courtesy of University of Washington Botanic Gardens
  Watercolor courtesy of Molly Hashimoto
  

Wednesday, May 2 at 7pm

The premiere of Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly at La Scala in 1904 was the worst fiasco of his long career. Modern audiences find this hard to believe as Madama Butterfly is one of the most beloved and frequently performed operas of our time.

The exotic locale, the heart-breaking story and Puccini's gorgeous music make Madama Butterfly one of the operas that companies rely upon to keep the box office healthy.

Norm Hollingshead's commentary will be illustrated by recorded musical excerpts from his own collection of recordings, many quite rare.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Mercer Island Library

Monday, April 9th at 11am

Local author, John Sager, presents a multi-media presentation highlighting his new book, A Tiffany Monday, An Unusual Love Story.

A true love story about two seventy-five year-olds who reconnect late in life. Their email exchanges, taken verbatim from the original texts, tell of a growing love sure to warm the hearts of all and inspire us never give in to the notion that it is too late!

 

Saturday, March 24th from 3-4pm drop-in to Mercer Island Library.

Library staff will be available to get you started with KCLS eBooks! Bring your eReader, tablet, phone or just your questions.

In anticipation of the upcoming Hunger Games movie, from March 1st to March 19th, creative fans of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins can show off their artistic abilities and have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the movie.

Teens in grades 6-12 may enter one piece of art into the contest. Bring artwork, along with a Hunger Games Art Contest Entry Form.pdf, to the Mercer Island Library no later than 9pm on March 19, 2012.

Entries will be judged by the Mercer Island Library Teen Advisory Board. Winners will be announced on March 22, 2012. All entries will be on display until April 16, 2012.

Contest sponsored by the Friends of Mercer Island Library.

KLCS is pleased to offer a comprehensive, multimedia Civil War Guide offering interesting and authoratative resources for those interested in learning about America's Civil War. 

It's not too late to join the monthly Civil War discussion group at Mercer Island Library!  For upcoming dates and information on that program, please visit the Guide (check out the video links from past discussions) or our Mercer Island Library blog post - Let's Talk About It: Making Sense of America's Civil War.

 

Wednesday, February 22, 7pm

Presented by Norm Hollingshead

Christoph Willibald Gluck was one of the three greatest opera composers of the 18th Century. A number of his operas are still performed regularly today but, by far, his most famous is his operatic retelling of the Greek Myth Orpheus and Euridice. Actually, Gluck set this story to music twice-in Italian in 1762 and in French in 1774. Seattle Opera will be presenting the French version, Orphee et Eurydice, which features a tenor in the role of Orpheus rather than a mezzo-soprano as in the Italian version. Both versions contain some of the most famous numbers in opera: Orphee's famous lament, "J'ai perdu Euridice"; the orchestral "Dance of the Blessed Spirits"; and the balletic "Dance of the Furies".

This splendid operatic masterpiece has not been presented in Seattle in more than 20 years. Don't miss it. 

These preview lectures will be presented by Norm Hollingshead, who will illustrate his commentary with recorded music excerpts.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Mercer Island Library.