International Games Month

Posted on by Macy Davis

November is International Games Month, an annual celebration of games, play, libraries and learning. The Public Library of Brookline joins over a thousand libraries around the world during International Games Month as we transform libraries with play. We have events and programs for the whole family throughout the month! Read on for more information about our special events and recurring gaming programs.

Wednesday, November 2 – Mancala Tournament. This program for kids ages 5-9 is part of our After-School Activities program. Join us in Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library from 3-4 PM to test your mancala skills against other library patrons. If you don’t know how to play Mancala, don’t worry we can teach you!

Wednesday, November 16 – Board Game Design Workshop. This program for kids ages 5-9 is part of our After-School Activities program.  Join us in Hunneman Hall at the Brookline Village Library from 3-4 PM to learn about what makes board games fun and design your own board game in this board game design workshop for kids! We’ll use pieces and cards from existing game to help us get started! Free tickets are required for this program and will be available at the children’s desk beginning at 2:30 PM

Wednesday, November 16 – Family Game Night. Get ready to roll dice, flip cards, and traverse game boards at our family game night! Join us in the Tween Room at the Brookline Village Library between 6:30 and 7:30 PM to try and family-favorite game or learn something new.

Monday, November 28 – Family BINGO Night. Make your way to the Putterham Library Meeting Room at 6:30 PM for a rousing family friendly BINGO night. Win prizes and make new friends!

In addition to these special events we have multiple Dungeons and Dragons groups that meet monthly. Our Virtual Adults Dungeons and Dragons meets on November 2, 16, and 30, all at 6:30 PM. Teen D&D starts a new campaign with a character creation session on November 3 at 6:30 PM in the Brookline Village Library Tween Room. We have two Tween D&D groups: Our Brookline Village group meets next on November 16 at 3 PM in the Brookline Village Tween Room, and our Coolidge Corner group meets on November 18 at 2 PM in the Coolidge Corner Library Meeting Room.

Games and gaming aren’t limited to programming or the month of November! Our Library of Things includes board games and video games for kids and adults. For Teens and Tweens we have drop-in gaming on our Nintendo Switches in the Teen and Tween Rooms in the Brookline Village Library every Wednesday starting at 3 PM.

International Games Month is an international initiative supported by the American Library Association, the Australian Library and Information Association, Nordic Game Day, L’Associazione Italiana Biblioteche, and the Public and Mobile Library Group of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals . For more information on International Games Month please visit the Games in Libraries blog 

Battle of the Pumpkins 2022

Posted on by Robin Brenner

Please join us all in admiring all of the outstanding pumpkins decorate by Public Library of Brookline staff! We hold an annual competition amongst the staff to pick a character or story and present them in pumpkin form at each of our service desks.

This year you can vote on your favorite pumpkins in person at each library location, but we wanted to be sure everyone could see the creative and vivid designs online.

If you don’t have a chance to visit a library in person this week, you can still vote for your favorites at each location here!

Click on an image below to see each pumpkin photo at their full size and detail!

A pumpkin painted to look like Blippi with a pipe cleaner bowtie.
A pumpkin painted with the catbus character from My Neighbor Totoro.
A pumpkin decorated with cotton balls and paper to look like Mary's Little Lamb
A pumpkin painted with a panorama of the main characters of the cartoon Owl House
A pumpkin painted with a ghostlike figure from the graphic novel Sheets
A pumpkin painted with characters from the cartoon Bluey
A pumpkin painting with a haunted house, dark blue sky, large yellow moon, and bats flying.
A pumpkin painted pink to look like Kirby
A pumpkin painted with Blathers from Animal Crossing
A pumpkin painted to look like the Cheshire Cat with a dark purple background and glowing orange eyes.

 

Bella’s Miniature Creations and Oskie’s Pokémon Collection

Posted on by Elissa Martel

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

In our flat case, Oskie shares his Pokémon collection which includes cards, figurines, and drawings. Oskie is in the 1st grade and goes to Runkle School.

Drawing of Pikachu in a display case with Pokémon cards

In our wall case, Bella shares her LEGO sculptures and other miniature creations, including Barbie’s shirt and pants! Bella is in the 3rd grade and goes to Lincoln School.

Display case of LEGO creations including flowers and a miniature train  Display of LEGO flowers  Barbie with homemade shirt and pants

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

Sofia’s Cat Collection and Marta’s Car Collection

Posted on by Elissa Martel

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

In our flat case, Sofia shares her cat collection. Sofia is 6 years old. Her cat collection includes keychains, a pencil, and toys of different shapes and sizes.

A plush toy of Catbus from the movie "Totoro"

In our wall case, Marta shares her car collection. Marta is 4 years old, and she loves her big sister, Sofia! Marta’s collection includes an ambulance, taxi cab, and Volkswagen Beetles!

A display case of toy cars  A display case featuring a collection of toy cars

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

Coins & Cards

Posted on by Brita Zitin

This exhibit features coins of silver and other metals from the USA, Great Britain, Canada, and France, all collected by Coolidge Corner Library Senior Page Tom in 2022. Also on view are three small semi-precious stones, two contemporary postcards, and one homemade notecard. None of these items is of great monetary value, but Tom has fun collecting them.

Mexican Masks and Other Creations

Posted on by Lily Weitzman

The artisans of Mexico’s 32 states express their cultures, ancestry, and customs through their art in a variety of ways. During Luis Carvajal’s travels, he has collected the wonderful and unique creations in this exhibit. Included are replicas of an array of masks used in Mexico since 3000 B.C.E., as well as Masks of the Devil, some of which include real goat horns. This collection highlights the Mexican artisans who preserve their heritage through their artwork.

Photo credit to Joyce Shan.

Luna’s Doll Collection and Ryoichi’s LEGO Collection

Posted on by Elissa Martel

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

In our flat case, Luna shares her doll collection. Luna is a 3rd grader at Pierce School, and says that her dolls, “represent different races, skin colors, and most importantly they are a reflection of my friends and family!” Luna’s collection also includes miniature, doll-sized foods.

Display case with collection of dolls and miniature food

In our wall case, Ryoichi shares his LEGO collection. Ryoichi is a 4th grader at Pierce School and really enjoys making miniature LEGOs!

Display case of collection of LEGO figurines  Display case of collection of LEGO figurines, including a horse and unicorn

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

A Year Above the Gardens

Posted on by Brita Zitin

This unique photography project is the work of John Rich, a long-time Brookline resident, professional photographer, and artist. It consists of 22 photographs of the Community Gardens at Larz Anderson Park, shot with a camera-drone. Taken from the identical vantage point every two weeks over the course of one year, the photographic prints show the gardens in diverse times of bloom, decay, and rest. 

From the artist’s statement: “With their promise of growth and renewal, the gardens were truly an oasis for me during the isolation of the pandemic lockdown. By focusing on a landscape transformed through seasonal change and human intervention, the images allow us to connect to the earth and perceive the affirmative power of change.”

The artist will host an opening reception on Saturday, November 5, from 2:30 to 4:30 PM.

Questions and sales inquiries: john@johnrichphoto.com  or 617-968-5727.

The Hidden Beauty in Simplicity

Posted on by Brita Zitin

Born and raised in Russia, Siberia, Lidia Mikhaylova spent most of her life working in the corporate world as a lawyer. After more than 15 years in Moscow, she decided to move to Riga, Latvia, to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming an artist. In Latvia, she became inspired by the colorful imagery of her surroundings and completely fell in love with painting. In the fall of 2019, Lidia had an opportunity to travel across the ocean and witness the incredible beauty of America, where she continues to transfer the beauty of the surrounding reality onto canvas or silk. Paintings on display at the library come from the series “Tender Is the Night,” “Grandma’s Front Garden,” and “My Sweet Fall.”

Learn more on Lidia’s website.

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