Library Events for February 2008

From the Children's Room:

New Time for Story & Craft Time - now starting at 2:30 on Wednesday afternoons. Bring your preschooler or kindergartener in for a story from Ms. Kennedy and a fun craft. While the children are busy, moms and dads can enjoy a cup of hot tea in the Daniels Room.

Fort-A-Tude! The Harris Center and the Hancock Town Library are co-sponsoring two exciting programs for children during February: Fort-A-Tude for middle-schoolers and the Downtown Discovery Club for those of elementary school age. Check out the full descriptions of these programs in the Harris Center section of Hancock Happenings.

Saturday February 23rd, 11:00-12:00 Behind the library!
Snow Sculpture for the Whole Family

Put on those snowsuits and get ready to create your masterpiece. The field behind the library is looking kind of empty these days...but there's lots of snow so let's fill it up with the most outrageous snow creatures we can think of! Bring your imagination and if you want, something to decorate your snow creature. Fun for all ages. Parents must accompany children. All are welcome!


For the Grown-Ups:

Spelling Bee Time...The Hancock Town Library has recruited a team to represent the library at the annual Family Center Community Spelling Bee on March 30th at the Peterborough Town House. But we need to raise $150 for the entrance fee (it goes to the Family Center - a great cause). If you or your business would like to sponsor the Hancock Town Library team, please drop by the library or send your donation to us at PO Box 130. Thank you!

Tuesday February 5th at 7:00 pm
First Tuesday Book Club

This month's book is This Desired Place by Julia Older and we are fortunate that she has found time in her schedule to come discuss the book with us! There are plenty of copies behind the front desk if you would like to read the book - all are welcome.

Friday February 8th at 4:00 pm
The Language of Beowulf in Relation to Storytelling
with Francelia Clark and Sebastian Lockwood

Francelia Clark, Beowulf scholar, and Sebastian Lockwood, storyteller, would enjoy having anyone interested drop in to the Daniels Room while the two of them go over the text of Beowulf (with facing pages Old English and modern English), hitting the dramatic highlights of the original language and their possibilities for storytelling. Possibilities involve both keys for memory-retention (apparently the ancient method and simultaneously Sebastian's method) and opportunities for dramatic voice, anticipation, and humor. Questions from the audience will be interspersed with reading.Examples of what they will be looking at include: the Old English when read aloud shows dramatic repetition evoking Grendel and dragon moving about. You can hear the long, sad sounds of elegy, the booming hull in an ocean crossing. There's also a pattern of what is sadly lost in the elegy, of how to boast. There are grimly humorous ironic understatements. We can spot some left-overs of pagan ideas underlying the Christian ones. Please join us for this rare glimpse into the language Beowulf and how a it is used by modern storytellers. All are welcome.(By the way, the library has the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf for anyone who would like to read it.)

Friday February 15th at 7:00 pm
Third Friday Film: The Color of Paradise

Academy Award nominee Malid Majidi (for Children of Heaven) explores the world of a gifted blind boy at the mercy of his father's crippling sense of shame in The Color of Paradise. Mohammad joyfully returns to his tiny village on summer vacation from the Institute for the Blind, unaware of his widowed father's intentions to disown him in order to win the hand - and dowry - of a local woman. With the wedding swiftly approaching, Mohammad's future hangs precariously in the balance as his father struggles against his destiny, unable to see the wonder of life and love that's so clear to his son. In Farsi with English subtitles. Free admission and popcorn thanks to Friends of the Library.

Thursday February 21st at 7:00 pm
Home Facials with Robin Mose

Learn how to pamper yourself at home with items you have right in your own kitchen. We'll mix things up and experiment on ourselves. Wear messy clothes and no make-up. Bring a towel and a big bowl from home as well as something to pull back your hair. Please stop by or call the library (525-4411) to register for this as the class will be limited to 10. Free and open to all.