The Friends of The Brookfield Library
Annual Book Sale -- New Date! New Location! Center Elementary School, Obtuse Hill Road (Route 133, just east of Whisconier Road)
Thursday, Friday, Saturday
August 6-7-8 -- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
$15 admission on Thursday until noon; free after that.
Items priced as marked
Sunday, August 9 -- Noon to 5 p.m.
$5/bag (our bag)
Monday, August 10 -- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All remaining items are free (donations gratefully accepted)
You'll find fiction and nonfiction books for adults, teens, and kids, as well as DVDs, music CDs, and audiobooks on CD. All proceeds benefit The Brookfield Library. The Friends accept cash, checks, and credit cards.
12th Annual Jazz Party
Sunday, August 30 4:00 - 5:15 p.m. on the library's North Lawn
Free ice cream from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Featuring Randy Sandke, trumpet; Ken Peplowski, clarinet; Mark Shane, keyboard; Nicki Parrott, bass; and Tom Melito, drums.
This concert is funded in part by donations from audience members at previous concerts. It will be held in the library's Community Room if it rains or is excessively hot and humid. If we're outside -- bring your chairs or blankets!
Herbal Sleep Pillow Workshop
Saturday, August 8, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Make your own herbal sleep pillow with Ehris Urban of Grounded Holistic Wellness, LLC. What type of dreams do you desire? Soothing, vivid, full of adventures or romance, or do you wish for deep, calm slumber? Simple to prepare, herbal sleep pillows can help bring peaceful sleep, enhance dreams, and encourage dream memory. The practice of placing herbs under one's pillow dates back centuries and was originally done to protect against evil, calm bad dreams, foresee the future, bring good dreams, or conjure a lover into one's life. Please note: There is a nominal material fee of $3.00. Register here.
Life in the Connecticut Woods: Algonkian Native Americans and Their New European Neighbors with Drew Shuptar-Rayvis
Tuesday, August 11, at 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Drew Shuptar-Rayvis will be discussing Native American people who lived in Brookfield when it was first settled, and continued to live in Brookfield until recently. He will talk about histories from local village sites, habitation sites and camps in early Brookfield. Some of the artifacts Drew will bring and discuss may include trade axes, a flintlock rifle, metal knives, blankets, jewelry, clay pipes and metal scraps, along with other traditional items made of stone, bone wood and shell. Time allowing, he may also demonstrate making wampum, red smithing (a type of metal working), and more.
Drew Shuptar-Rayvis, who grew up in Brookfield, belongs to the Native American Advisory Committee (NAAC) for the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, Connecticut. He is currently studying at WCSU, pursing a degree in Anthropology. His primary interest is in Native American life in New England during the 17th and 18th century, a time when Native people, including his own family in Virginia and Maryland, were changing their ancestral ways and trying to maintain who they were through the strife, warfare and removal from their homelands.
Please register for this free program, online or by calling the library, 203-775-6241. This adult program is suitable for children, ages 10+.
Sleep Lecture
Tuesday, August 18, 7:00 p.m. Kenneth Hoffman, the Medical Director for SOPHIA, will present “Sleep,” a lecture that will cover the three natural solutions to sleep problems: vitamins, exercise and physical treatment. Please register for this free program, online or by calling the library.
Book Groups
Brookfield Reads: Nonfiction Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson
Tuesday, August 4, at 6:30 p.m. Pompeii, Machu Picchu, the Valley of the Kings, the Parthenon—the names of these legendary archaeological sites conjure up romance and mystery. The news is full of archaeology: treasures found (British king under parking lot) and treasures lost (looters, bulldozers, natural disaster, and war). Archaeological research tantalizes us with possibilities (are modern humans really part Neanderthal?). Lives in Ruins is an absorbing and entertaining look at the lives of contemporary archaeologists as they sweat under the sun for clues to the puzzle of our past. The next meeting of the group will be on September 1. The book will be Elephant Company by Vicki Constantine Croke.
Brookfield Reads, Daytime Edition All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Tuesday, August 18 at 1:00 p.m. From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Book ‘Em: Mystery and Thriller Discussions The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
Tuesday, August 24, 12:30 p.m. One night, after the first snowfall of the year, a boy named Jonas wakes up and discovers that his mother has disappeared. Only one trace of her remains: a pink scarf, his Christmas gift to her, now worn by the snowman that inexplicably appeared in their yard earlier that day. Inspector Harry Hole suspects a link between the missing woman and a suspicious letter he’s received. The case deepens when a pattern emerges: over the past decade, eleven women have vanished—all on the day of the first snow.
Brookfield Reads, Evening Edition
Our evening discussion will resume on Tuesday, September 8. Our book will be A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.
Films at the Library Ex Machina
Saturday, August 1, at 2:00 p.m. Directed and written by Alex Garland and starring Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, and Oscar Isaac. Caleb, a 24-year-old coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a retreat belonging to the company's reclusive CEO, Nathan. But when Caleb arrives he finds that he will have to participate in a fascinating experiment with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot woman, Ava. Truths, emotions, and motives are blurred as the relationship between Caleb, Ava, and Nathan intensifies. Rated R, 108 minutes.
Far From the Madding Crowd Two film depictions of Far From the Madding Crowd: Based on the literary classic by Thomas Hardy about Bathsheba Everdene, an independent woman who attracts three different suitors: a sheep farmer, a dashing soldier, and a prosperous, older bachelor. This timeless story of Bathsheba's passions explores the nature of relationships, love, and resilience.
Thursday, August 20 at 2:00 p.m.: Far From the Madding Crowd, the 1967 version directed by John Schlesinger and starring Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Peter Finch, and Terence Stamp.
Saturday, August 22 at 2:00 p.m.: Far From the Madding Crowd, the 2015 version directed by Thomas Vinterberg and starring Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, and Tom Sturridge. Rated PG-13, 119 minutes.
Intro to PowerPoint Class
August 10, 12, & 19 at 3:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m.
In this 3-part series you will learn the basic skills necessary to use Microsoft Powerpoint. There is a one-time of fee of $10 to cover the cost of the course book (this book covers all sessions). This fee may be paid via PayPal, at the Checkout Deskby August 7. Limited to 7 attendees. Register once for all sessions.
Secrets of Old Cemeteries and Gravestones
Wednesday, August 5 at 7:00 p.m. Presented by Ruth Shapleigh-Brown, Executive Director of the Connecticut Gravestone Network. This presentation on old burying grounds will address such questions as: Where are the boundaries? What's missing? Who carved these early grave markers? You will also learn about symbolism and how to read illegible inscriptions and safely clean colonial stones. Bring your curiosity and questions to this program covering all things that every family genealogist and historian with an interest in old cemeteries should know. You won't look at an old burying ground the same after this presentation. To register for this free program, click here.
Teen Programs
Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman
Author Visit from Marc Tyler Nobleman -- ages 10+
Monday, August 3 at 7:00 p.m.
Registration Required
Marc Tyler Nobleman, author of Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman and Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman, will join us to discuss the men behind everyone’s favorite superheroes.
Random Fandom showing of Insurgent for Grades 6-12
This month we’ll be watching Insurgent! Cosplay is always welcome. The film is rated PG-13.
Storytimes
We are offering many drop-in storytimes this summer. The full schedule is online here.
Programs for Kids -- Find registration links for all programs here.
Mission Kindness
All summer, all ages Be a hero this summer and turn Brookfield into a STAR community by performing acts of Kindness. Stop in to tell us about it or send your story to alynch@brookfieldlibrary.org. For each heroic act we hear about, we’ll hang a star. Let’s fill the library with stars!
The Brookfield Builders -- Grades K-5
Monday, August 3 from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Saturday, August 8 from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Registration Required
Show off your incredible imagination and building skills by tackling a challenging theme with the library’s LEGO bricks. Registration is required and limited to the first 24 registrants.
Kid’s Improv Club for Grades 2-5 Monday, August 3, 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Registration Required
Are you interested in theater? Are you a class clown? Do you have a big imagination? Join us for Improv Club! Improvisation is the art of acting without a script. We’ll do a variety of theater games and exercises to get kids thinking on their feet and using their imaginations. Improv is often used for comedy, so come ready to be silly!
Reading with Therapy Dogs Tuesday, August 4, 11, 18 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Thursday, August 6 from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, August 25 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
What do you get when you bring children, dogs, and books together? You get happy, confident children who love to read! Children in first grade and up can read with Addie or Ice the therapy dog for 15 minutes. Registration required.
Bedtime Stories with Mrs. Proudfoot Thursday, August 6, 7:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Be the first to see and hear books new to our picture book collection. For children ages 3 and up, accompanied by a parent, grandparent, or caregiver. No registration required.
S’more Stories for Age 5 and up Saturday, August 8, 1:00 – 1:30
Join us outside (weather permitting) to enjoy some s’mores and stories. We’ll be using the pizza box solar oven method of cooking s’mores. Registration required
Write On! Journaling Session for Grades 2-5 Thursday, August 13, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Registration Required
Journal keeping is a remarkably valuable activity for kids that hones language skills and allows opportunities for non-verbal expression. And it’s fun! Returning children are asked to bring the journals they received at our last session with them. Our “newbies” will be given a journal to take and make their own.
r Elementary School, Obtuse Hill Road (Route 133, just east of Whisconier Road)
Featuring Randy Sandke, trumpet; Ken Peplowski, clarinet; Mark Shane, keyboard; Nicki Parrott, bass; and Tom Melito, drums.
Drew Shuptar-Rayvis will be discussing Native American people who lived in Brookfield when it was first settled, and continued to live in Brookfield until recently. He will talk about histories from local village sites, habitation sites and camps in early Brookfield. Some of the artifacts Drew will bring and discuss may include trade axes, a flintlock rifle, metal knives, blankets, jewelry, clay pipes and metal scraps, along with other traditional items made of stone, bone wood and shell. Time allowing, he may also demonstrate making wampum, red smithing (a type of metal working), and more.
Kenneth Hoffman, the Medical Director for SOPHIA, will present “Sleep,” a lecture that will cover the three natural solutions to sleep problems: vitamins, exercise and physical treatment. Please register for this free program, 
Presented by Ruth Shapleigh-Brown, Executive Director of the Connecticut Gravestone Network. This presentation on old burying grounds will address such questions as: Where are the boundaries? What's missing? Who carved these early grave markers? You will also learn about symbolism and how to read illegible inscriptions and safely clean colonial stones. Bring your curiosity and questions to this program covering all things that every family genealogist and historian with an interest in old cemeteries should know. You won't look at an old burying ground the same after this presentation. To register for this free program, click 
