Blog: Month: March 2022

Young Adult Perler Bead Craft – Thurs. March 31st 3:00-4:30 PM

Young Adults in the 6th-12th grade are invited to craft from the library’s Perler bead collection on Thurs. March 31st from 3:00-4:30 PM in the Maccario Room.

Create lanyards, key chains kitchen magnets and more from colorful plastic beads in whatever style you would like. Space and time is limited to make sure to come up with an idea and arrive on time for this in-person craft event.

New StoryWalk®: Daniel’s Good Day

Our new StoryWalk® features the wonderful and heartwarming picture book, Daniel’s Good Day by Micha Archer. You are invited to walk around the library building and enjoy this fun picture book for the next few weeks on days without rain and blustery winds.
StoryWalk® is an innovative and delightful way for children—and adults!—to enjoy reading and the outdoors at the same time. Laminated pages from a children’s book are installed along an outdoor path. As you stroll along the walkway, you’re directed to the next page in the story.
StoryWalk® was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and was developed with the help of Rachel Senechal, Kellogg-Hubbard Library.
Our recent StoryWalk® programs are supported in part by a grant from the Malden Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

 

“Moments in Creativity” ~ A Talk with Artist Gale Fulton Ross

Nationally renowned artist Gale Fulton Ross will explore creative inspirations in a gallery talk on Tuesday, April 12 at 1 p.m.  The talk will be followed by the opening of the Converse Galleries’ newest exhibition: Modern Sojourner / Sojourner Truth’s Malden.  

Registration is required for the talk and light luncheon. Spaces are limited. To register call the Library at 781-324-0218. The exhibition runs through May 31, 2022.

Gale Fulton Ross was raised in Malden, the oldest of nine children. Fulton Ross displayed an aptitude for art at a very young age, which was nurtured by her father Herman Fulton, himself an accomplished but unheralded automobile designer. Gale studied at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, where she explored a wide variety of styles and media including sculpture. She also attended the California College of Arts and Crafts in San Francisco, concentrating in the study of Fine Arts and Art History. In addition to college training she studied under the guidance of established artists, including Melvin Johnson, at the Vesper George School of Art, Boston; Cleveland Bellow, of the DeYoung Museum, San Francisco, California; and Pierre Parsus, of France. The Malden Public Library is honored to have three other works by Ms. Fulton Ross in the permanent collection.

Early in her career, Fulton Ross traveled extensively throughout Africa, Europe, and as far east as China, in order to study and paint. Fulton Ross cites several modern-day African-American masters as influences on her work, primarily Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, Samella Lewis, and Beauford Delaney, as well as the classical masters Michelangelo, DaVinci, and Rembrandt. Her work incorporates both the figurative and the abstract.  She has become a highly regarded portrait artist whose portfolio includes commissions for many leading professionals, celebrities and politicians. Among them are Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Justice Thurgood Marshall; Governors Michael Dukakis and L. Douglas Wilder; author and activist James Baldwin; and pro athletes Jackie Robinson and Arthur Ashe.  Currently Gale Fulton Ross continues to create, driven by the passion of her life. She works from her studios in Camarillo, California and Sarasota, Florida.

The event is funded in part by the Friends of the Malden Public Library.

Preschool Storytime returns Thursday, March 31!

Young children (ages 3-5) are invited to join us for weekly storytimes at 10:30 a.m. on Thursdays beginning March 31. Each storytime features several picture books, songs, rhymes, and a simple craft and lasts about 45 minutes. Please sign up for each session that your child will be attending. You do not need to register for all sessions at once. If you are unable to attend a storytime you have signed up for, please call the Children’s Room to cancel.

 

 

Leprechaun Scavenger Hunt

Kids can stop by the Children’s Room desk anytime to request a game sheet and participate in the scavenger hunt. Locate each leprechaun, write the name next to the corresponding number on the sheet, and when all 12 leprechauns have been found, bring the sheet to the Children’s Room desk to claim a little prize. Patience and good observational skills will be rewarded!

Family Movie Night: Wed., March 30th: 6:00-8:00pm

Welcome back to in-person Movie Night! Join us for Family Movie Night on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 from 6:00-8:00pm. We will be showing Disney’s blockbuster and enchanting film about Encanto, featuring the music of Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film is nominated for three Oscars, including Best Animated Feature Film.

“The Madrigals live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift from super strength to the power to heal, every child except one, Mirabel.”

This film is free and open to the public.  Movie times are approximate.  Please call the Malden Public Library at 781-324-0218 for more information. Rated PG (102 min.) (2021)

Introducing a New Series: MPL Kid’s Corner

Raising little readers can be a challenge, especially when there are so many things competing for your family’s attention. There are millions of books on the shelves, online games, new educational tools, and resources that are helpful but are difficult to find and preview. Because of this, the MPL staff are putting together a weekly resource for busy families called: MPL Kid’s Corner.

It premieres on Facebook and Instagram and it will highlight the many books and resources available to families with readers 0-12 years old, that are trying to promote a love of literacy and curiosity in their children.  The easiest way to catch this content, is to follow either our Facebook or Instagram page (why not both?) You can also check our pages Thursday mornings at 10 am. We promise to keep the content fresh and interesting and mostly on time. 😉

This week’s post highlights our ebook resource: Tumble Books Library. TumbleBooks animate children’s books as a way to promote language acquisition and a joy of reading. They regularly update content with new titles, many books that you can find at the library, but with additional resources that help little readers learn to follow along and read on their own. You can watch the video here that introduces TumbleBooks and details how to get started. (Don’t forget you’ll need your library card # and library pin # for any library provided eResource.)

And keep an eye out for our new content weekly!

 

Check out our latest information about World Book Kids!

Here is a list of book recommendations for kids of many ages!

Check out Comics Plus

Try Creativebug!

Yound Adult Gaming & Crafts – Thursday March 17th @ 3:00 PM

Young Adults in the 6th through 12th grade are invited back to the Malden Public Library on Thursday March 17th from 3:00-4:30 in the Maccario Room.

We will have our video games, board games and arts and crafts out to enjoy to welcome you back to in-person programming this Spring. Decorate your own cookies and enjoy snacks while playing games and relaxing at the library. Sign-ups for the Teen Advisory Groups next year of meetings will be open to any participants.

Jack Kerouac @ 100

Jack Kerouac at 100 3.12.1922-3.12.2022

Jack Kerouac at 100 3.12.1922-3.12.2022

Poet and novelist Jack Kerouac was born one hundred years ago today on March 12, 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts. He was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac explored themes of personal exploration, rejection of the status quo, and explicit portrayals of the human condition.  He had a major influence on cultural figures in the 60s. This influence continues to the current day. In celebration of his continued legacy among the great American literary figures, here is a collection of some of his works found in our library.

 

Libraries would  celebrate his work if for no other reason than this beautiful passage from Dr. Sax (1959) :

“By Saturday morning the sun is shining, the sky is piercingly heartbreakingly blue, and my sister and I are dancing over Moody Street Bridge to get out Saturday morning Library books.  All the night before I’ve been dreaming of books – I’m standing in the children’s library in the basement, rows of glazed brown books are in front of me, I reach out and open one – my soul thrills to touch the soft used meaty pages covered with avidities of reading – at last, at last, I’m opening the magic brown book – I see the great curlicued print, the immense candelabra first letters at the beginnings of chapters – and Ah! – pictures of rosy fairies in blue mist gardens with gingerbread Holland skylark rooftops (with breadcrumbs on them), talking to wistful heroines about the mean old monster on the other bosky side of the dale …”

The Jack Kerouac Society will be hosting events in Lowell, MA this weekend and throughout the year to celebrate Kerouac’s enduring legacy.