Join us for a conversation with Carrie Firestone (Dress Coded), Beth Vrabel (The Newspaper Club), and Janae Marks (From the Desk of Zoe Washington) discussing the importance of young voices who speak out. Their books each have characters who use their voices to show that words have power, even in unlikely situations. In today’s world, young voices are showing us that now, more than ever, the importance of protest and activist work across the country. 
 
All three authors are local to Connecticut! Janae Marks grew up in the suburbs of New York City, and now lives in Fairfield with her husband and daughter. From the Desk of Zoe Washington is her debut novel. Carrie Firestone is a writer, teacher, and community leader. She lives in Canton with her husband Michael, her daughters, and her rescue dogs. Beth Vrabel lives in Canton with her family and dogs Jasper and Jupiter. The Newspaper Club is her 10th book for young readers. 

Join Bethanie Murguia on our Instagram as she reads We Disagree, a story about a mouse and a squirrel can’t seem to agree on anything. Perfect for little ones ages 3-8!

 

Mouse likes figs. Squirrel prefers twigs. Mouse likes blue and polka dots. Squirrel likes red and does not like spots. It seems that they disagree on everything! Is there any way they can be friends, despite their differences? This timely story will show young readers that they don’t have to like all the same things as someone to get along!

Bethanie Murguia will also be doing a sketch demonstration after reading We Disagree. Be sure to have your pencils ready! 

Join us for a discussion of Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy, a novel set on the brink of catastrophe, as a young woman chases the world's last birds—and her own final chance for redemtion.

Franny Stone has always been a wanderer. By following the ocean’s tides and the birds that soar above, she can forget the losses that have haunted her life. But when the wild she loves begins to disappear, Franny can no longer wander without a destination. She arrives in remote Greenland with one purpose: to find the world’s last flock of Arctic terns and track their final migration. She convinces Ennis Malone, captain of the Saghani, to take her onboard, winning over his eccentric crew with promises that the birds will lead them to fish. 

As the Saghani fights its way south, Franny’s dark history begins to unspool. Battered by night terrors, accumulating a pile of unsent letters, and obsessed with pursuing the terns at any cost, Franny is full of secrets. When her quest threatens the safety of the entire crew, Franny must ask herself what she is really running toward—and running from.
 
As always, our virtual book club is fun, casual, and free. Tell your friends! And please RSVP here if you'd like to join our discussion.

Join us for a conversation with Sergio Troncoso, author of A Peculiar Kind of Immigrant's Son. Troncoso has taught at the Yale Writers’ Workshop for many years and is President of the Texas Institute of Letters and a member of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Alumni Hall of Fame. A Fulbright scholar, he has won numerous awards, including the Kay Cattarulla Award for Best Short Story, International Latino Book Award, the Premio Aztlan Literary Prize, and the Southwest Book Award. He was born in El Paso, Texas, and attended Harvard College and Yale University, where he earned graduate degrees in international relations and philosophy.
 

Join us for a special conversation between authors and journalists John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge as they discuss their new book, The Wake-Up Call, an urgent and informed look at the challenges America and world governments will face in a post Covid-19 world.

This conversation will be moderated by Rory Stewart, the British diplomat, author, writer, academic, and politician.
 
John Micklethwait is the Editor-in-Chief of Bloomberg where he oversees editorial content across all Bloomberg platforms, including its news, newsletters, magazines, opinion, television, radio and digital properties, as well as its research services including Bloomberg Intelligence.

Adrian Wooldridge is the management editor and “Schumpeter” columnist of The Economist. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and All Souls College, Oxford, where he held a Prize Fellowship. He was formerly The Economist’s Washington bureau chief and “Lexington” columnist.
 

Join Alex Willan on our Instagram as he reads Unicorns are the Worst!, a wildly funny and imaginative picture book celebrates the value of differences as a grumpy goblin gets to know his new unicorn neighbors. Perfect for little ones ages 4-8 who are fans of Dragons Love Tacos! 

 

It’s an undeniable fact that unicorns are the worst!

Magic is serious business, but all unicorns do are frolic around, have tea parties, and leave glitter all over the place! They’re nothing like goblins—practical and hard-working, who can put magic to good use! Unicorns aren’t helpful at all.

Or are they?

Join Katherine Battersby on our Instagram as she reads Perfect Pigeons, a brightly illustrated, laugh-out-loud picture book about embracing the things that make us different! Perfect for little ones ages 4-8.
 

A colorful flock of pigeons pride themselves on their perfect unity. All except one: a bespectacled pigeon who is happiest doing its own thing.
 

While the flock all looks the same, this pigeon enjoys wearing cowboy boots. While the flock flies in perfect formation, this pigeon soars like a superhero. When the flock finally confronts their contrary friend, they learn a thing or two about true perfection—and that we don’t all have to be the same to belong together.

This Event Is Presented in Partnership with the Kent Memorial Library

Join us for a conversation between two wonderful authors discussing their recent books, Jacob Soboroff(Separated) and John Washington (The Dispossessed). Both books scrutinize the family separation crisis at the border, written by journalists who have reported on it for years.

Join Kelly Miller on our Instagram as she reads I Love My Fangs, a funny and endearing spin on the classic first lost tooth story. Perfect for little ones ages 4-8.

 

Young Dracula loves his fangs. They are pointy. They are sharp! They are a cherished family trait.

So one day, when a fang wiggles… and jiggles… and falls loose, Dracula doesn’t know what to do.

He tries pushing it back in. Then taping it. Then sticking it.

Because a vampire can’t have only one fang! … Right?