Pike Road Branch Library’s May 2019 Programs
Storybook Time – for age three and up – Mondays at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
At Storybook Time, we sing a few songs, read one or two picture books and make a craft. We will read the same books at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Here is what we have planned for this month:
- May 6 – Great news, grown-ups! This Friday, May 10, is National Clean Up Your Room Day! To prepare the kids in your life for this auspicious occasion, we’ll read Pigsty by Mark Teague. It’s the cautionary tale of Wendell Fultz, who lets his room become so messy that pigs find it to be a most welcoming environment.
- May 13 – Henrietta the elephant loves quiet. You can imagine her dismay when the bump on her head that she refers to as a “goose egg” turns out to be an actual goose egg! Quiet time is over for Henrietta, but she may learn that having less quiet time isn’t so bad when we read The Goose Egg by Liz Wong.
- May 20 – It’s our last Storybook Time before the fuss of our Summer Library Program begins. In today’s story, Rabbit does not like fuss, so he becomes quite vexed when a frog keeps imposing on his “me time.” However, he may just come to learn that sharing his “me time” is more rewarding than being on his own in Too Many Frogs! by Sandy Asher and Keith Graves.
- May 27 – No Storybook Time today because the library will be closed in observance of Memorial Day.
Toddler Time – for age two and under – Wednesdays at 10 a.m.
At Toddler Time, we sing songs, recite nursery rhymes and read one story each week. The dates will be:
- May 1
- May 8
- May 15
- May 22
- May 29
Book Clubs
Book Maniacs – for children in third grade and up –On Wednesday, May 8 at 4:15 p.m., the Maniacs will discuss Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan.
Publisher’s Summary – Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. One day, he’s tracked down by an uncle he barely knows-a man his mother claimed was dangerous. Uncle Randolph tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years. When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision. Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die.
Bookies – The Pike Road Bookies meet on the third Thursday of each month, except December. –On Thursday, May 16 at 11:15 a.m., they will discuss The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis.
Publisher’s Summary – For the nearly nine million people who live in New York City, Grand Central Terminal is a crown jewel, a masterpiece of design. But for Clara Darden and Virginia Clay, it represents something quite different. For Clara, the terminal is the stepping stone to her future, which she is certain will shine as the brightly as the constellations on the main concourse ceiling. It is 1928, and twenty-five-year-old Clara is teaching at the lauded Grand Central School of Art. A talented illustrator, she has dreams of creating cover art for Vogue, but not even the prestige of the school can override the public’s disdain for a “woman artist.” Brash, fiery, confident, and single-minded–even while juggling the affections of two men, a wealthy would-be poet and a brilliant experimental painter–Clara is determined to achieve every creative success. But she and her bohemian friends have no idea that they’ll soon be blindsided by the looming Great Depression, an insatiable monster with the power to destroy the entire art scene. And even poverty and hunger will do little to prepare Clara for the greater tragedy yet to come.
Nearly fifty years later, in 1974, the terminal has declined almost as sharply as Virginia Clay’s life. Full of grime and danger, from the smoke-blackened ceiling to the pickpockets and drug dealers who roam the floor, Grand Central is at the center of a fierce lawsuit: Is the once-grand building a landmark to be preserved, or a cancer to be demolished? For Virginia, it is simply her last resort. Recently divorced, she has just accepted a job in the information booth in order to support herself and her college-age daughter, Ruby. But when Virginia stumbles upon an abandoned art school within the terminal and discovers a striking watercolor hidden under the dust, her eyes are opened to the elegance beneath the decay. She embarks on a quest to find the artist of the unsigned masterpiece–an impassioned chase that draws Virginia not only into the battle to save Grand Central but deep into the mystery of Clara Darden, the famed 1920s illustrator who disappeared from history in 1931.
9585 Vaughn Road, Pike Road, AL 36064 – Phone: 244-8679 facebook.com/pikeroadbranchlibrary
Montgomery City-County Public Library 