The Brookline Village Children's Room will be closed for recarpeting until 4/21, see our calendar for rescheduled events.

Kids April 2026 Vacation Week Programs

Posted on by Elissa Martel

With school break coming up, we’ve got exciting children’s programs at all three Public Library of Brookline locations. We hope you’ll join us to learn, create, and explore! Click on the links below to visit the event page and learn more about the program.

Monday, April 20

The Library is closed for Patriots’ Day.

Tuesday, April 21

Come dance, sing, and jam with us at Jammin’ with You at the Coolidge Corner Library! With modern takes on children’s classics, you’ll be humming and bopping your way through 30 minutes of nonstop family fun. This program is best suited for kids ages 0-7 and their families. Free tickets are required, and can be picked up at the Coolidge Corner Children’s Desk starting at 10 AM on the day of the event. Jammin’ with You starts at 10:30 AM.

Join Matt Heaton for an interactive singalong at the Putterham Library! This program is for families and kids of all ages, but may be most appealing to children ages 0-5. Whether you call it children’s music, family music, kindie or toddlerbilly, it’s sure to please listeners of all ages. This program starts at 10:30 AM.

Try your hand at mini-golf at the Putterham Library! Join One Up Games for a 9-hole LED Mini Golf course. Each hole glows with different colored LEDs, including LED golf balls. This program is open to kids, tweens, and teens and will start at 12 PM.

Come to Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library for Space Week Trivia! Test your knowledge on planets, stars, black holes, and more! This program is best-suited for kids ages 6+ and their families. Space Week Trivia starts at 1 PM.

Wednesday, April 22

What’s the difference between a lizard and a snake and a crocodile and an alligator? Join us for Wild World of Reptiles with Joys of Nature at the Brookline Village Library to learn more about our wonderful scaly friends and meet some reptile special guests. We are offering two identical sessions of this program. The first session will run from 4-4:30 PM and the second session will run from 6-6:30 PM. Both sessions will be held in Hunneman Hall and require a free ticket to attend. Tickets will be available at the Children’s Desk 30 minutes before each session begins. This program is intended for children ages 5 and up.

Celebrate National Library Week at the Putterham Library! Join us for Library Appreciation Night. Enjoy refreshments, socialize with neighbors, and get to know your local library. This program starts at 6 PM and is for all ages.

Thursday, April 23

Calling Red Sox fans of all ages! Join us at the Putterham Library for a special meet and greet with Wally the Green Monster. Attendees will have the opportunity to take a photo with Wally, and will receive an exclusive button made by Library staff for this event. Attendance is first-come, first served, so get in line early to secure your spot. This event starts at 10:30 AM.

Join artist Lidia Mikhaylova for a Space Week Silk Painting Workshop at the Brookline Village Library! Participants will watch how color drifts across silk like cosmic dust, how layers merge like distant galleries, and how unexpected forms appear. This program will take place in the Rabbit Hole and registration is required. This workshop is for youth in grades 5-12 and starts at 1 PM.

Get ready to be amazed as the team from Mad Science brings learning to life at the Library with jaw-dropping experiments, including foggy dry ice storms and bubbly showers. This program is intended for kids ages 5+ and their families, and will take place at the Coolidge Corner Library. Free tickets are required, and can be picked up at the Coolidge Corner Children’s Desk starting at 1:30 PM on the day of the program. Fire & Ice with Mad Science starts at 2 PM.

Friday, April 24

Stop by Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library for an Earth Day Extravaganza with Mothers Out Front! Make a recycled art project, use electricity to power a dollhouse, try induction cooking, and more. This event is best-suited for kids ages 5+ and their families, though all are welcome. Earth Day Extravaganza starts at 2 PM.

Saturday, April 25

Join us and our special guest from Casa Madrigal for a Princess Party in Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library! Listen to stories, dance, and sing with a special princess. Costumes of any kind or fancy outfits are encouraged! This program is aimed at kids ages 2-7 and their families, though all are welcome. We will host two identical sessions of this program, one at 11 AM and one at 3 PM. Free tickets are required and will be available at the Brookline Village Children’s Desk 30 minutes before each session.

Contributions AANHPI Have Made to American History Exhibit

Posted on by Jessica Steytler

AAPIEC Inc. in collaboration with the Town of Brookline is celebrating AANHPI Heritage Month with two events: This exhibit and the AAPIEC Inc. Workshop and Exhibit Reception on May 21st. This exhibit was created to define who AANHPIs are, (over 100 different ethnic groups) and to share the history and culture of these ethnic groups. In addition, there are thousands of AANHPIs who have served in the military with medals of honor and contributed as Supreme Court Judges, Nobel Prize Winners, Astronauts etc. to American History that very few people know about and would be very surprised who they are. AANHPI is part of American History. You will come away after viewing the exhibit saying, “I didn’t know that”. This exhibit will be on display in Hanneman Hall at the library from May 2 nd – May 31 st during regular library hours.

Sand Rhythms: Paintings by Andrea Yeh

Posted on by Jessica Steytler
Artist Statement:
Sand Rhythms
I usually walk along beaches with my eyes glued to the ground, in ascination of the music the water creates with the sand. When the sunshine illuminates the scene, there is a symphony of reflection and refraction as the light interacts with the waves and granules of rocks and minerals. Every stretch of sand on each beach sings a unique tune at every moment, colored by the weather, time of day, and time of year. This series is about capturing a few of those moments in their entirety, showcasing the rhythm, texture, and dynamics of ocean waves playing their instrument. I took an interdisciplinary approach to this series, starting with painting in vibrant acrylic colors to capture the wonder I experience when observing beach sand. Each painting was then paired with an accompanying AI-generated instrumental track created using prompts specific to each work, reflecting one additional transformation of interpretation from nature to human and now to AI and echoing my deep appreciation for nature, humanity, and technology.
Bio:
Andrea Yeh is a painter and meditation teacher based in Brookline, MA. Her art practice is an extension of her meditation practice and vice versa, resulting in work that is an expression of deep focus and connectedness. By blending realism with abstraction, she translates the mysteries, surprises, and beauty found around us into vibrant acrylic and watercolor compositions, all imbued with a subtle lens of logic and reason from her interdisciplinary background in the social sciences, mathematics, and humanities.

Mark Zlotnikov: Drawings

Posted on by Ginger O'Day

My name is Mark Zlotnikov.  I am 88 years old and a retired Power Plant Mechanical Engineer.  I spent the last 10 years of my working life working for GE in Schenectady, NY.  I retired when I was 73. Very soon, I got the feeling that, to stay alive, I needed to find something to fill the emptiness.

I had skiing in my heart. But it was only 3-4 short winter months. Plus, good health was required. By the way, I am looking for skiing partners!

Then, I had the idea to try drawing. I purchased a few books, drawing paper, and a few pencils. I started to draw. I took a few drawing lessons for adults in Brookline and Newton High Schools. Those lessons and teachers were great.

Basically, I copy photographs and sometimes the portraits of the Big Masters.  My “darling” tools are soft pencils and Water-soluble Wax Pastel Crayons.

Please take a look at a few of my drawings and let me know what you think about them.

I hope you will enjoy it.

With love and great respect,

Mark Zlotnikov

Larry Clifford: Biblioquilts

Posted on by Jessica Steytler

Larry Clifford will be presenting his Biblioquilts in Hunneman Hall in March and April. Please join us for an artist’s talk on April 30 from 6-7 PM.

His Artist Statement and Bio:

“My BiblioQuilts and murals are created using distressed books that were salvaged from basements, attics, and public libraries throughout New England. I repurpose every part of the books I find —the covers, the pages, the spines—breathing new life into my materials with the addition of dyes, inks, and acrylics. Postcards, maps, and other ephemera may be tempting, but I restrict my palette to neglected books. That’s what makes the work both challenging and unique.

“Quilts made from recycled cloth are nothing new. But the combination of mixed media and repurposed books presents a whole new challenge. Each piece is comprised of thousands of “tiles” that were meticulously hand-cut from discarded or damaged hardcovers – books that no one has read or paid attention to in decades. Most were on their way to the landfill. I carry an inventory of pre-made BiblioQuilts, and I collaborate with families, libraries, and communities on commissioned pieces and murals. My goal is to create original works of art that evoke warm memories for everyone involved.”

After earning a B.A. in Art from Northwestern University, then an M.A. in Biomedical Communications from the University of Texas, Larry spent 15 years producing award-winning biomedical illustrations, with an emphasis on traditional media like pen-and-ink, carbon dust, and watercolor. He then switched to strategic planning, marketing, and business development for the nonprofit sector – mostly because he didn’t want to create artwork on a computer. (“What can I say…I’m old school.”) At this stage of his career, he is thrilled to be getting back to his roots as a maker of fine crafts.

May 17 – In-Person

Posted on by Bryan Kreusch

Caribbean-American poet Amy M. Alvarez is the winner of both the 2025 American Book Award and CariCon Poetry Prize for her book, Makeshift Altar (2024). She is also the co-editor of Essential Voices: A COVID-19 Anthology (2023).  She currently teaches writing and literature at Boston College.

Wendy Drexler is a recipient of a 2022 artist fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Her fourth collection, Harvest of What Remains, received honorable mention for the Paul Nemser Prize and was published in January by Lily Poetry Review Books. Her poems have appeared in Barrow Street, J Journal, Mid-American Review, Nimrod, Pangyrus, Prairie Schooner, The Sun, and The Threepenny Review, among others. She was awarded the 2025 E.E. Cummings prize from the New England Poetry Club. A recipient of the 2021 Juror’s Prize for Art on the Trails, Southborough, MA, Wendy served as poet in residence at New Mission High School in Hyde Park, MA, from 2018-2023 and as programming co-chair for the New England Poetry Club from 2016–2024.

April 19 – In-Person

Posted on by Bryan Kreusch

Pamela Alexander’s Left won the 2024 Beloit Poetry Journal chapbook competition. She has four previous collections, including Slow Fire (Ausable/Copper Canyon). Earlier books won the Yale Younger Poets and Iowa Poetry Prizes, and her work has appeared in many periodicals, most recently Plume, descant, Ocean State Review, Red Letters and Southern Poetry Review. She taught creative writing at M.I.T. and Oberlin College and served on the editorial boards of Wesleyan University Press and FIELD magazine. Honors include fellowships at the Fine Arts Work Center, MacDowell, and the Bunting Institute.

K. T. Landon’s debut collection, Abide, was selected by Kim Addonizio as the winner of the 2025 Richard Snyder Memorial Poetry Prize and will be published this fall by Ashland Poetry Press. Her poems have appeared in The Southern Review, The Sun, New Ohio Review, Nimrod, North American Review, and Best New Poets, among others. She received her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a reader for Lily Poetry Review.

March 15 – In-Person

Posted on by Bryan Kreusch

Andrea Cohen’s most recent poetry collection is The Sorrow Apartments,was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.  A ninth poetry collection, Sugar, will be out in early 2026. Her poems and stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Threepenny Review, The New York Review of Books, The Atlantic Monthly, and elsewhere. Awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship. She teaches at Boston University and directs the Blacksmith House Poetry Series in Cambridge, MA.

Steven Ratiner is the author of Grief’s Apostrophe, published by Beltway Editions in 2025.  He’s also published three poetry chapbooks and a collection of poetry interviews.  His work has appeared in scores of journals in America and abroad, including Parnassus, Agni, Hanging Loose, Poet Lore, Salamander, Vox Populi,  QRLS (Singapore), and Poetry Australia.  He’s also written poetry criticism for The Christian Science Monitor, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Washington Post.  GIVING THEIR WORD – Conversations with Contemporary Poets was reissued in a paperback edition (University of Massachusetts Press).  He is Poet Laureate Emeritus for Arlington, Massachusetts, and was elected in 2024 as President of the New England Poetry Club, one of the oldest literary associations in America.  Now in its sixth year, his weekly Red Letter Poems features a diverse range of poets, from up-and-coming talents to some of the most important voices in contemporary poetry (stevenratiner.com).

Kids February 2026 Vacation Week Programs

Posted on by Elissa Martel

With school break coming up, we’ve got exciting children’s programs at all three Public Library of Brookline locations. We hope you’ll join us to learn, create, and explore! Click on any of the links to visit the event page and learn more about the program.

Tuesday, February 17

Join us for Open Gameplay with Virtual Reality! One Up Games brings a variety of consoles and gaming monitors to the Library. Play popular, classic, and retro games – with the freedom to move around! Systems include: Nintendo Switch, XBox Series S, PlayStation 4, and Oculus Quest 2. This program is for kids ages 8+, tweens, and teens. Space is limited to 30 players. This drop-in program will be held in the Coolidge Corner Library Meeting Room from 1 PM – 4 PM.

Wednesday, February 18

Drop in and decorate a CD to either take home or be displayed at the Library! This is an all-ages program, and will take place at the Putterham Library. Stop by anytime between 10:30 AM and 4:30 PM to craft with us!

Puppeteer Nicola Rose and her band of puppets will be visiting the Coolidge Corner Library for a puppet playtime at 10:30 AM! Activities include songs, stories, and a puppet craft. This program is best for kids ages 0-5. Free tickets are required and will be available at the Coolidge Corner Library Children’s Desk starting at 10 AM.

Join us for an interactive, family-friendly magic show with Ed Popielarczyk in Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library! This program is recommended for kids ages 5 and up. We will host two identical sessions of this program, one at 2 PM and one at 3:30 PM. Free tickets are required and will be available 30 minutes before each session at the Brookline Village Library Children’s Desk.

Thursday, February 19

Come play instruments, sing songs, and jam along to music with special performer Sarah Gardner! This program will take place at 10:30 AM in Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library. It is best for children ages 0-5. Free tickets are required at will be available at the Brookline Village Library Children’s Desk starting at 10 AM the day of the program.

Join us in Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library to fold and decorate a red envelope for Lunar New Year! This is a drop-in activity for children ages 5 and up. Stop by anytime between 1 – 3 PM.

How do animals survive winter in New England? Learn about what mammals, birds, insects, and reptiles do in the winter with Joy from Joys of Nature! This program is intended for children ages 5-9 at will be held at the Putterham Library. We will host two identical sessions of this program, one at 2 PM and one at 4 PM.

Saturday, February 21

Come build your own chain reactions with Playful Engineers! This is a drop-in, hands-on program recommended for kids ages 5 and up. Stop by Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library any time between 2:30 and 4 PM to test out your own chain reaction experiments.

These events are generously sponsored by the Brookline Library Foundation and the Friends of the Brookline Public Library.

Library Hours


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  • 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
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