All Brookline Libraries will be CLOSED for Friday, July 4th

Babies, Get Your Library Cards!

The Library is happy to announce that we will no longer require children to be three years-old to sign up for a library card. Children ages birth to twelve can now sign up for a card with their parent or legal guardian present. Parents/guardians should be prepared to show their own ID and a proof of address.

Tweens and teens ages thirteen to seventeen can sign up without their parent or guardian present if they can show their student ID and a proof of address.

Are you ready to get your library card? Read more about the requirements for a library card and register for a temporary card online today!

Hirona’s Junior Ranger Badge Collection and Leela’s Art Projects

Check out the collections on display in the Children’s Room!

In our flat case, Hirona shares her collection of Junior Ranger Badges. Hirona is in the 2nd grade at Lawrence School. She loves to visit National Parks!

Collection of National Park Junior Ranger badges in a display case

In our wall case, Leela shares her assorted art projects. Leela is 5 years old, and her collection includes art made of clay and pipe cleaners, as well as drawings!

Display case of art projects including drawings, clay, and pipe-cleaner art  Close-up of drawings, clay, and pipe-cleaner art in a display case

Stop by the Brookline Village Children’s Room to see these amazing collections! And sign up for a slot in our display cases here!

Register for 2023 Kids Clubs Starting December 19

Registration opens Monday, December 19 at 6 PM for our Winter 2023 Kids Clubs! These clubs will run from January through March on Tuesdays afternoons. Please view event listings for specific dates. All clubs meet in the Rabbit Hole on the ground floor of the Brookline Village Library.

Book Clubs

We have three book clubs for kids grades 1-4. Please read each book club description carefully and be sure to register your child for the correct book club. At this time, book club registration is limited to one club per child. 

 

Kids RPG Club

Our Kids RPG club explores a variety of role playing game systems to encourage creativity and social emotional skills. This club is open to kids ages 5-9 and meets every other Tuesday from 3 to 3:45 PM starting on January 10. Over the course of 5 weeks we’ll test multiple role playing games ranging from sock puppets and superheros to bears, cats, and dinosaurs. This program is now full, register for the waitlist on Eventbrite

Registering for one of our Kids Clubs indicates a commitment to regularly attend club meetings. Please do not register for one of our clubs if you know your child will miss more than one meeting. If your child misses a second club meeting, their spot will be given to the next person on the waiting list. We understand that illness and emergencies occur – if an absence due to unforeseen circumstances is communicated to staff, it will not be considered a no-show. 

Fine Art by Scyrus

My name is Scyrus (pronounced “Cyrus”). I grew up on a farm owned by my family located in Monroe County with the nearest town being, Holy Grove, Arkansas. My father was a farmer and my mother was an elementary, home economics school teacher. The beauty of nature, streams, forest, wild animals, domesticated animals, crops, vegetables, flowers, farm still life, education, town and city still life, worship and family members were the visual portraits that I saw every day.
I attended Philander Smith College, in Little Rock, Arkansas, with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion and became a minister. I did not take art, but I did take some music lessons. I became interested in art as a hobby in my old age and in retirement. Now, it is my professional interest. I am self-taught, but I have taken workshops in person and online with other professional artists who have assisted me in developing my skills.
I have a deep interest in art, which is inspired by a love of nature and the things that surround us. Through my drawings and paintings, I am able to express and share what is important to me and to others in everyday life. I mainly do this in the realism art style, but my surreal and abstract art also accomplishes this.
I work mainly in Soft Pastels, but a substantial amount of my work is in Colored Pencil, Watercolor & Watercolored Pencil, Graphite, Charcoal, and Mixed Media, which includes Acrylics and Oils.

December 18, 2022: Alicia Elkort

Alicia Elkort is a poet, writer, and Life Coach. Her poems have been nominated thrice for the Pushcart, twice for Best of the Net, and once for the Orisons Anthology. Her first book, A Map of Every Undoing, was published by Stillhouse Press in October (2022), and her work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She lives under the New Mexican sky where each day she is renewed by the still-life of blue and cloud. For more info or to watch her two video poems: Alicia Elkort Poet

December 18, 2022: Jenn Givhan

Jenn Givhan is a Mexican-American and indigenous poet, novelist, and transformational coach from the Southwestern desert and the recipient of poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and PEN/Rosenthal Emerging Voices. Jenn is the author of five full-length poetry collections, most recently Belly to the Brutal (Wesleyan University Press), and the novels Trinity Sight, Jubilee, and River Woman, River Demon (Blackstone Press). Her work has appeared in The New Republic, The Nation, POETRY, and many others. Follow her at jennifergivhan.com.

Mila’s Illustrated Stories and Owen’s LEGO Collection

Check out the collections on display in the Children’s Room!

In our flat case, Mila shares her illustrated stories. Mila is in the 1st grade and she loves to make books! Topics include Mila’s favorite sea creatures, and a book about things she loves.

Handwritten introduction about Mila and a hand-drawn book about her favorite sea creatures

In our wall case, Owen shares his LEGO creations. Owen is in the 1st grade. His LEGO collection includes a triple-decker bus and a speedboat!

LEGO creations in a display case, including triple-decker bus and sculpture made with LEGO leaves   Aerial-view of LEGO speedboat and small creations

Stop by the Brookline Village Children’s Room to see these amazing collections! And sign up for a slot in our display cases here!

Brookline Whist Club

Our local history librarians have arranged a display of materials from our special collections highlighting the Brookline Whist Club. Whist is a card game that is the predecessor to bridge: it is played with one deck of cards with 4 players divided into 2 teams. Patrons who want to learn more about the club will find more in our fully searchable newspaper database.

Along the Wrack Line

wrack line: A trail of debris left on the beach by the high tide.

Rebecca McGee Tuck is a fiber sculptor and a collector of lost objects. In her continuing series  “Along the Wrack Line,” she transforms pieces of marine debris into works of art and symbols of hope, calling attention to the consequences of polluting our oceans and encouraging a new commitment to action.

Rebecca writes, “I began walking the wrack line as a kid with my father, attracted to the sea glass and shells like a perpetual seaside treasure hunt. I learned in time that the real treasures were not always as conspicuous. The random debris that washed ashore after spending ages enduring the ocean’s churn and grasp held more mystery for me. Foraging at the high tide water mark has metamorphosed into my passion and the catalyst for my assemblage fiber sculpture. It has also inspired me to take a more active role in the ocean’s protection.”

Learn more about Rebecca’s work at RebeccaMcGeeTuck.com, and find her on Instagram @rebeccabombshellart.

Bjorbaek & Mahoney (Daughters & Mom) Family Art Exhibit

The various art pieces were inspired from visiting magical places such as Jekyll Island, GA (sea turtles), Salem, MA (Halloween scenes), Rockport, MA and Westport, MA (nautical scenes) as well as a few of our cocker spaniel puppy (Daisy)… plus a few additional artworks too!

Kitt Bjorbaek (15 years) graduated from Baker School and is a sophomore at Brookline High School. She is on the girls varsity rowing team which inspired her embroidery piece of the Charles River.

Mia Bjorbaek (12 years) is a 7th grade student at Baker School. She has been ice skating for 9 years and will be in the Frog Pond holiday opening celebration on December 1, 2022 in Boston Common through the Skating Club of Boston.

Christine Mahoney is Kitt & Mia’s mom. She has always loved art and has a BA in journalism with a minor in Studio Art from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She loves sailing, skiing and traveling with her daughters.

We hope you enjoy!