Tag Archives: Children

D&D Shorts

D&D Shorts is a new program for players who have already attended one of the Library’s Intro to D&D sessions, or otherwise have prior experience with the game! The program will take place upstairs in the Teens & Tweens area on alternating Saturdays, 1:00 – 4:00 PM, starting on July 18.

Up to 5 players will participate in 1-4 session “one-shot” adventures using premade characters. Registration is required. The program is for all ages, but players will be matched by age when possible, and may be asked to wait to join an age-appropriate group at Library staff’s discretion. Children under 12 must have a caretaker present in the Library during the program’s runtime, in accordance with CT General Statutes. Players (and/or caretakers) will be informed of how many sessions a given adventure is likely to take, and are expected to determine their availability in advance. Players who register after a group is at max capacity can be added to a waitlist; first-time players will be given priority when a new adventure starts.

To register, call the Library at (203) 393-2103 or email Antonio at astrumolo@bethanylibrary.org and provide a player name and age, caretaker name if applicable, and contact information (email preferred).

Have you seen our Nutmeg Book Displays?

Right now, Clark Memorial Library’s Children’s Room and Teens & Tweens Area both have Nutmeg Book Award displays featuring the 2027 Nutmeg Nominees, as well as the 2026 Nutmeg Winners! Whether you’re just looking for a good summer reading book or plan to vote on which of the Nominees will become next year’s winner(s) in April, you’re sure to find something you’ll enjoy. Every Nominee has been selected from hundreds of submissions from children’s and school librarians – not to mention kids themselves! – from across the state, so you know they’re the best of the best!

If you don’t see a physical copy of the book you’re looking for, remember that many Nutmeg books are also available in ebook or audiobook format via the Library’s apps – Libby, Palace, and Hoopla. Palace even has a curated Nutmeg booklist featured on its homepage!

The Library will be closed on Friday, July 3 AND Saturday, July 4 for Independence Day. Enjoy this particularly special holiday weekend – remember, this year is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence!

Planting Seeds to Read!

6 Week Summer Reading Program – Thursdays, July 9 – August 13
Drop In 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Come join us as we dig into plant-themed books and crafts this summer!
Planting Seeds to Read is a follow-up to last summer’s wildly successful Fractured Fairy Tales program – this time matching the “Plant a Seed, Read” theme of the Summer Reading Program. Each session will include the reading of a book, and then an associated craft. This is a drop-in program for ages 12 and under, and will take place in the Children’s Room. Caregivers must remain in the Library for the duration of the program.

Starting June 26, we invite our patrons to join us on Friday afternoons (3:30 – 4:30 PM) for Flashlight Fridays, when we turn off the lights and draw the curtains in the Children’s Room, then hand out flashlights for you to use to locate books and read them! We’ll keep it safe and magical and supply the flashlights, but feel free to bring your own if you’d like!

The Library’s America 250 Celebration may be over, but we will be keeping our Revolutionary Reading and Celebrating 250 Years of American History book displays up until Independence Day! Check out both fiction and non-fiction books covering a variety of touchstone periods in the history of the United States, including the Colonial Period, the Revolutionary, Civil, and World Wars, Westward Expansion, and the Civil Rights Movement. It’s a great chance to learn more about the history of our country!

Lunch Bunch Book Club

Wednesdays 1:00 – 2:00 | July 1, July 8, & July 15
Grades K – 2. Sign-up required.

Come join us at the Library for a summer book club designed to help our earliest readers, children grades K – 2, maintain and strengthen their reading skills during the summer break. Each week a new book will be discussed – the first meeting will have a read-along, and participants will pick up the book for the following week at the ends of the first two sessions. There will be light snacks provided for all participants, but you are free to bring your own as well!

Registration is required – the number of books available is limited. Call the Library at (203) 393-2103 or email us at clarkmain@bethanylibrary.org to sign up. Caregivers must remain in the Library while the program is in progress.

The Library will be closed this week on Friday, June 19 for Juneteenth (or Freedom Day) – the anniversary of the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation by Union troops in Galveston, Texas, and the official end of slavery in the United States.
We hope everyone enjoys the holiday!

Summer Reading isn’t all the Library has going on this summer – after the Kickoff this Saturday, join us Thursday of next week for the return of LEGO Club!

The club will meet in the Children’s Room on Thursdays from 2:00 – 4:00 PM, June 18 to August 13. This is a drop in program open to all ages, but a caretaker must be present for participants ages 12 and under. Both LEGO and DUPLO blocks are available for free-building.

America 250 at the Library!

On Saturday, June 13, the Library will be taking part in a town-wide celebration of America 250, the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Stop by any time during Library hours to see our Revolutionary Reading book display and the Three Sisters Boundary Stone upstairs, the 2026 Bethany Celebrates America 250th Quilt and 1976 Bethany Bicentennial Quilt in the stairwell, a special Arts@Clark! exhibit by the Bethany Quilt & Friendship Group in the Community Room, and a Children’s Guide to the Founding Fathers Storywalk along the edge of the front lawn!

Our Summer Reading Kickoff will be happening at the same time, so be sure to sign up for the Read & Bead and Summer Reading Flowers programs (ages 10 and under), the Teens & Tweens Summer Reading Challenge (ages 10 and up), or the Adult Summer Reading Raffle while you’re here. There will also be crafts and activities, including a special Rock Painting activity starting at 2:00 PM.