Posted by: montclairlibrary | March 3, 2023

March 2023 Events

Teen DJ Radio Hour at Montclair Library

Thursday, March 2, 2023 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime
At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.

Monday, March 6, 2023 – 3:00–4:00pm
Teen Tabletop Gaming @ Montclair
Bring your favorite tabletop game or try one of ours! Get to know other teens and their favorite games while playing together. Join us on the first Monday of the month. Geared for teens ages 13-18. All ages welcome.

Tuesday, March 7, 2023 – 11:45am–12:00pm
Baby Bounce
Come to Montclair Baby Bounce Every Tuesday morning. We will sing, dance, and read books all targeted towards 0 to 1 years old. Come and play with your baby and other caregivers.

Wednesday, March 8, 2023 – 2:00-3:00pm
Teen DJ Radio Hour
Want to learn how to DJ? Or just share music you’ve been listening to or making lately? Learn how to DJ, mix songs, talk about music, find new tunes, and share them with the world live over internet radio. No equipment needed – just bring a…

Thursday, March 9, 2023 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime

Tuesday, March 14, 2023 – 11:45am–12:00pm
Baby Bounce

Tuesday, March 14, 2023 – 3:30-4:30pm
Teen Crafting @ Montclair
Come hang out and get crafty every second Tuesday at 3:30pm. Geared for teens ages 13-18. All ages welcome.

Tuesday, March 14, 2023 – 6:30-7:30pm
One Village, One Book
Join us to discuss Michael Chabon’s Telegraph Avenue as we read our way through books set in Oakland.

Thursday, March 16, 2023 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime

Tuesday, March 21, 2023 – 11:45am–12:00pm
Baby Bounce

Tuesday, March 21, 2023 – 3:00-4:00pm
Teen Crafting @ Montclair
Come hang out and get crafty every third Tuesday at 3:00pm. Geared for teens 13-18. All ages welcome.

Thursday, March 23, 2023 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 – 11:45am–12:00pm
Baby Bounce

Thursday, March 30, 2023 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime

Friday, March 31, 2023 – LIBRARY CLOSED
Cesar Chavez Day

Posted by: montclairlibrary | February 10, 2023

February 2023 Events

Tuesday, February 7, 2023 – 6:30-7:30pm
One Village, One Book Club
Join us to discuss “Wife 22” by Melanie Gideon and what is has to say about modern love! (Note that the date on the library calendar is incorrect – we’re meeting 2/7, not 2/14.)

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 – 2:00–3:30pm
Teen DJ Radio Hour
Want to learn how to DJ? Or just share music you’ve been listening to or making lately? Learn how to DJ, mix songs, talk about music, find new tunes, and share them with the world live over internet radio. No equipment needed – just bring a song in mind or share your own music if you make it!

Thursday, February 9, 2023 – 10:15-10:45am
Storytime
At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.

Thursday, February 9, 2023 – 2:00-3:00pm
Share a little love!
Come and make a valentine’s card for a loved one or for yourself. We will have plenty of paper, hearts, glitter, and more that you can use for decorating.

Saturday, February 11 – 11:00am-12:30pm
Valentine’s Day Play Cafe Love & Other Feelings
Come to Montclair for a special play cafe where we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day. Come and make valentines, listen to a story, spin the wheel for a prize, have a snack, and just PLAY! We will be looking at love and other feelings

Tuesday, February 14, 2023 – 11:45am-12:00pm
Baby Bounce
Come to Montclair Baby Bounce Every Tuesday morning. We will sing, dance, and read books all targeted towards 0 to 1 years old. Come and play with your baby and other caregivers.

Tuesday, February 14, 2023 – 3:30-4:30pm
Teen Crafting @ Montclair
Come hang out and get crafty every second Tuesday at 3:30pm. Geared for teens ages 13-18. All ages welcome.

Thursday, February 16, 2023 – 10:15-10:45am
Storytime

Monday, February 20, 2023 – LIBRARY CLOSED

Tuesday, February 21, 2023 – 11:45am-12:00pm
Baby Bounce

Tuesday, February 21, 2023 – 3:00-4:00pm
Teen Crafting @ Montclair
Come hang out and get crafty every third Tuesday at 3:00pm. Geared for teens 13-18. All ages welcome.

Thursday, February 23, 2023 – 10:15-10:45am
Storytime

Tuesday, February 28, 2023 – 11:45am-12:00pm
Baby Bounce

Posted by: montclairlibrary | January 17, 2023

February Book Club Meeting

Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon

Join us February 7 (a week earlier than usual, for those of you keeping track) from 6:30-7:30pm at the library to discuss Wife 22, Melanie Gideon’s meditation on middle age, marriage and technology, which is set not just in Oakland but in Montclair. Find the complete list of books and meeting dates on the Book Club page.

Posted by: montclairlibrary | December 31, 2022

January 2023 Events

Monday, January 2, 2023 – LIBRARY CLOSED
(NB – The library website lists a Teen Tabletop Gaming event at Montclair today, but the library is closed. Check back the first Monday in February instead to play tabletop games with other teens after school.)

Thursday, January 5, 2023 – 10:15-10:45am
Storytime
At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.

Wednesday, January 6, 2023
Applications Open for Youth Poet Laureate

Tuesday, January 10, 2023 – 3:30–4:30pm
Teen Crafting @ Montclair
Come hang out and get crafty every second Tuesday at 3:30pm. Geared for teens ages 13-18. All ages welcome.

Tuesday, January 10, 2023 – 6:30–7:30pm
One Village, One Book
We’re having an encore discussion of There There by Tommy Orange – if you missed our December meeting, here’s your chance for a do-over! Find the full book club schedule at https://montclairfriends.org/one-village-one-book/

Thursday, January 12, 2023 – 10:15-10:45am
Storytime

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 – 3:00-4:00pm
Teen Crafting @ Montclair
Come hang out and get crafty every third Tuesday at 3:00pm. Geared for teens 13-18. All ages welcome.

Thursday, January 19, 2023 – 10:15-10:45am
Storytime

Thursday, January 26, 2023 – 10:15-10:45am
Storytime

Sunday, January 29, 2023
Last day to turn in your Winter Bingo cards (but really January 28 if you’re turning it in at the Montclair Branch, which isn’t open on Sundays)

Posted by: montclairlibrary | December 28, 2022

January Book Club: A “There There” encore

There There by Tommy Orange

We had a small turnout for our December book club, but the two of us there(!) agreed it was such a good book to discuss that we wanted to give it another try.

Please join us Tuesday, January 10 from 6:30-7:30pm at the library to chat about Tommy Orange’s There There.

Also, our book club is going monthly in 2023 – find the full schedule of dates and books on our book club page.

If you’ve already finished There There and want some additional background reading, we recommend:

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Bay Area Badgers
“Did you know that we have badgers in the Bay Area?” – Open Space Trust

Powwow Season in Full Bloom
“From spring to summer, Native American families travel the country to celebrate and compete in competitions wearing intricate garments assembled across generations.” – NY Times

Photo: Kate Ter Haar via Flickr/Creative Commons

Posted by: montclairlibrary | December 6, 2022

Montclair Library in the news

The Montclarion/East Bay Times ran a nice article today about the library and our branch manager, Mahate Osborn.

Filling at first a temporary position before becoming the library’s permanent manager last December, Osborn is keen to ramp up operations at the Montclair branch. Top priorities on a practical level include making the outdoor hillside space behind the building compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act; developing multifunctional, flexible areas indoors and outdoors that allow for mobile craft or other maker spaces and community gatherings in a variety of configurations; continuously surveying community interests to discover new interests; and centering outreach and programming on the diverse needs and desires of the library’s users, not just those who run it.

Read more here: https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/12/06/oaklands-montclair-library-branch-manager-keen-to-ramp-up-operations/

Photo: Mahate Osborn

Posted by: montclairlibrary | December 2, 2022

December 2022 Events

Thursday, December 1, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime
At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.

Wednesday, December 7, 2022 – 2:00–3:00pm
Gingerbread Houses Craft for Kids
Please join us for an afternoon of fun making Gingerbread Houses out of graham crackers and candy.

Thursday, December 8, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime

Tuesday, December 13, 2022 – 3:30-4:30pm
Teen Crafting @ Montclair
Come hang out and get crafty every second Tuesday at 3:30pm. Geared for teens ages 13-18. All ages welcome.

Tuesday, December 13, 2022 – 6:30-7:30pm
One Village, One Book
Come discuss There There by Tommy Orange as we continue exploring books set in Oakland.

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 – 2:00–3:00pm
Winter Wind Chimes Craft for Kids
Come make wind chimes using personalized shrinky dinks. Create your own designs and watch them shrink in a toaster oven.
Shrunk cutout images are strung together and hung from a windowsill.

Thursday, December 15, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime

Wednesday, December 21, 2022 – 2:00-3:00pm
Paper Stars Craft for Kids
Come be creative with scissors and paper folding. These paper stars can be a welcome addition to your holiday celebrations.

Thursday, December 22, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime

Wednesday, December 28, 2022 – 2:00-3:00pm
Pom Pom Snow People Craft for Kids
Come and make some adorable Pom Pom Snow People. We will have premade pom poms, materials to decorate your snow person, and of course, goggly eyes. This is not too challenging, but young children will need adult assistance.

Thursday, December 29, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime

Posted by: montclairlibrary | November 16, 2022

December book club

There There by Tommy Orange

For our December meeting, our One Village, One Book Club is reading Tommy Orange’s There There. Join us Tuesday, December 13th from 6:30-7:30pm at the library to discuss this book set in Oakland by an author born and raised in Oakland.

Here’s the summary from the library website, in case you missed all the hype and awards when this book came out in 2018:

Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame in Oakland. Dene Oxedrene is pulling his life together after his uncle’s death and has come to work the powwow and to honor his uncle’s memory. Edwin Frank has come to find his true father. Bobby Big Medicine has come to drum the Grand Entry. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil Red Feather; Orvil has taught himself Indian dance through YouTube videos, and he has come to the Big Oakland Powwow to dance in public for the very first time. Tony Loneman is a young Native American boy whose future seems destined to be as bleak as his past, and he has come to the Powwow with darker intentions–intentions that will destroy the lives of everyone in his path.

Posted by: montclairlibrary | November 6, 2022

November 2022 Events

Tuesday, November 8, 2022 – 3:30-4:30pm
Teen Crafting @ Montclair
Come hang out and get crafty every second Tuesday at 3:30pm. Geared for teens ages 13-18. All ages welcome.

Wednesday, November 9, 2022 – 2:00-3:00pm
Dinovember!
Discover the wonders of dinosaurs! Create an origami dinosaur or build one with Legos. Perhaps you want to make a dinosaur snow globe or save one from the Ice Age While you’re enjoying one of our crafts, please make sure to check out all the fantastic books we have on dinosaurs.

Thursday, November 10, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime
At toddler storytime, you’ll find songs, active rhymes, and stories, especially for kids 18 months to 3 years old. There’s also always lots of time to play and make friends.

Thursday, November 17, 2022 – 10:15–10:45am
Storytime

Remember: Masks are required inside all library locations so we can all stay healthy and keep having in-person events! (And if you’re not feeling well, please stay home and take care of yourself.)

Posted by: montclairlibrary | October 27, 2022

Witchy Rom Coms

Maybe it’s the Harry Potter generation growing up, maybe we’re all looking for a little escapism in the Covid era; whatever the reason, the last couple of years have brought us a cauldron-full of rom coms with a magical bent. Here for your Halloween reading pleasure are nine fun books that mix romance and witches (plus two bonus ghost stories). You’ll find all the usual tropes here — second-chance romance, fake dating, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity — along with a welcome smattering of diverse representation. (For even more witchy books, see this list from October 2020.)

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
“Vivienne Jones handled the biggest break-up of her life the way that any witch would: vodka, bubble baths, and a curse on her ex. That was nine years ago. Now Rhys Penhallow, descendant of the town’s founders, breaker of hearts and still irritatingly gorgeous, is back…But when his every move results in calamity, Vivi realizes that hexing her ex might not have been so harmless after all…Vivi and Rhys must put their personal feelings aside and work together to break the curse and save not just the town, but also Rhys’s life.” — FantasticFiction.com. (If you like this book, the next book in the series is The Kiss Curse.)

Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper
Reviewers described this book as “the Sapphic modern Gothic I didn’t know I needed” and “John Tucker Must Die meets the Tri-Wizard Tournament,” as witches with a lot of history between them converge on the magical town of Thistle Grove for a spellcasting tournament. (If you like this book, check out the sequel, From Bad to Cursed.)

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
“As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos “pretending” to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic.”

Witch Please by Ann Aguirre
“Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls in this adorable witchy rom-com” between a cursed bisexual baker and a thoroughly modern witch whose family runs a magical tech repair shop. (There are two more books in the series: Boss Witch and Extra Witchy.)

Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare
“When Reggie Johnson answers a job ad in the paper, she’s astonished to find that she’s not applying to work at her favorite card game…but to be an actual familiar for an actual witch.” The only problem “is warlock Ben Magnus, her employer’s nephew and the most arrogant, insufferable, maddening man to ever cast a spell.”

Not The Witch You Wed by April Asher
A magic-less witch in New York City and a werewolf who broke her teenage heart end up fake dating to circumvent arcane Supernatural Laws requiring them to find mates.

Witchful Thinking by Celestine Martin
“On the eve of her ten-year high school reunion, Lucy…casts a spell that brings trouble in the form of…her high school crush merman Alex…But once he discovers that his new neighbor is the witch who got away, Alex starts to rethink his plan” to flip his new house and get back to the ocean.

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton
Witchcraft, pirates, flying houses and madcap humor make for a rollicking historical romance with added magic as witch
Charlotte Pettifer joins forces with pirate Alex O’Riley to track down a missing amulet. (There is some dispute about who is kidnapping whom.)

What the Hex by Alexis Daria
“The Addams Family meets Miami in this short and steamy witchy rom-com” set on “Isla Bruja, a secret magical enclave home to the richest and most powerful Latinx witch families.”

Plus two bonus ghostly romances about ladies who can see (very handsome) ghosts:
A Ghost in Shining Armor by Therese Beharrie and Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Older Posts »

Categories

%d bloggers like this: