Blog: Uncategorized

New StoryWalk®: Daniel’s Good Day

Posted on by Rebecca Smith
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

Posted on by Dora St. Martin

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!

Posted on by Rebecca Smith

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

Posted on by Rebecca Smith

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!

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

Posted on by Patrick Brennan

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

Posted on by Stephen Deloney
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.

NASA @ My Library: Soda Straw Rockets

Posted on by Patrick Brennan

Youth and Young Adults are invited to learn rocket science!

This easy take-home craft is brought to you by the California Institute of Technology’s JPL (Jet Propulsion Lab) and will teach you how to craft a paper rocket that can be launched from a soda straw. Then it will ask you to modify and design a better rocket while measuring your results and performing Science.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/make-a-straw-rocket/

Come to the information desk located on the first floor of the Malden Library to pick-up your craft kit (no sign-up necessary) starting today.

 

National Library Lover’s Month

Posted on by Dora St. Martin
Here in Massachusetts, we LOVE our Libraries. During our busy everyday lives, we don’t always get a chance to let our libraries know how much we care about them. But, in recognition of Valentine’s Day, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) invites residents from across the Commonwealth have come together to show libraries some love.  Send your love or an image of yourself reading to: https://www.lovemasslibraries.com

Chinese New Year craft – 2022 Year of Tiger

Posted on by Wendy Kung

 

Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, celebrated by Chinese families worldwide or by people interested. In the past or in some areas now, it lasts for fifteen days.  Now, most of countries will observe it for at least three days, starting from the New Year Eve.  Whole family will get together at the New Year Eve’s dinner.  Not only enjoy the traditional gourmet dishes but share what’s happened in the last year and its meaning to the whole family.  A lot of family traditions and history are passed on through this event and blessings are spread among everyone.  What a joyful time!

Chinese New Year is always associated with the twelve-animal zodiac cycle. 2022 will be the year of the tiger, starting on February 1st.  Tiger is known as courageous, competitive, self-confident, brave, and as the king of all beasts in Chinese mythology.  We certainly hope you will act like a tiger this year.

For kids, we put together a craft kit for them.  Please visit the Library to get yours.