The U.S. celebrates National Tea Day on April 21, and Perry Memorial Library is hosting a special tea party and book sale to commemorate the beverage that people enjoy all over the globe.  Whether you’re a faithful patron or a newbie to the library, Melody Peters and the staff invite you to join in the fun.

The tea party will be from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, and participants can sample teas from around the world, Peters said – “something other than iced tea,” she said.

Kids will have a chance to decorate some special cups and plates for the occasion – they also can create some cool party hats.

“We hope there will be a lot of activity,” said Peters, who is the library’s Youth Services director.

Whether you like green tea, a chai or a traditional Earl Grey, come have a cuppa at the library and shop for some books at the Friends of Library sale – books and tea make a great combination.

The April Kids Connect STEM program will celebrate Earth Day just one day late on Tuesday, Apr. 23 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. After a short hike around the library to pick up whatever litter may be lying around the landscape, the group will create bird feeders with cardboard tubes, twine, sunflower butter and bird seed, Peters said.

“We’ll be outdoors in nature and explore outside” the library environs, including a stroll through the Story Walk installation while they’re at it.

This program is geared for elementary school students, siblings of all ages are most welcome to participate, Peters said. No registration is required – just show up.

Visit www.perrylibrary.org/ to learn more about all the programs and services the library offers.

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How is a librarian like a fisherman?

Well, if you ask Perry Library’s Youth Services Director Melody Peters, she might just liken her job of creating programs for young people like a fisherman casting a net into the ocean – you just never know how big the haul is going to be.

Some programs, Peters said, yield a lot of participants and others are a tad slower to catch on. “You just have to keep casting a net of programs,” she said, and eventually you’ll catch something.

In addition to staple programs like Survivor Hacks, Peters said she’s excited about a program on Monday, Apr. 8 to witness the solar eclipse.

“We’re supposed to have a decent shot at visibility,” she told WIZS co-host Bill Harris. The program will be from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., with ideal conditions around 2:30 p.m., she predicted. The library has special glasses for viewing. No registration is necessary – just show up and enjoy! There will be activities in the Farm Bureau Room to go along with the actual eclipse viewing.

The next day, Tuesday, Apr. 9, teens can come back to the library at 4 p.m. for a program called “Black Out poetry,” which involves using books that have been removed from the library shelves because they’re damaged or in such disrepair they can’t be sold at library book sales.

The way it works is this: kids become poets by blacking out words in a sentence to leave the one word or phrase that will ultimately be part of a poem.

“It’s kind of cool to see what you can create by blacking out words in sentences,” she said.

She hopes that some of the participants will share during a read-aloud session when they’re done.

And then at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Apr. 21 bring the family for a book sale and tea party to celebrate National Tea Day. Around the World Tea Day is another way to create programming for busy families who may be available during the weekend, especially Sundays.

It’s a way to support the Friends of the Library book sales and provide activities for families to  enjoy the library.

Visit https://www.perrylibrary.org/ to learn more.

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Perry Memorial Library is offering up some special treats during February, from classic movies in the history room to chocolate fondue and meeting Henderson’s mayor, Melissa Elliott.

During Black History Month, patrons can enjoy watching a curated movie list, said Melody Peters, youth services director.

As part of African American and the Arts programs, the library will show movies on Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Peters said on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

“It’s a great opportunity to get folks into the building,” she said, and to let the community know “we’re more than books.”

Young people will get a chance to meet Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott at the Kids Connect session on Feb. 27 at 4 p.m.

Elliott, the city’s first Black and first female mayor, will share a story with the group and then take questions from her young audience. Peters said she always has been interested in ways to get children interested in local government, and Elliott’s visit is a good start.

Next Tuesday, Feb. 13, the monthly Life Hack program kicks off at 4 p.m. and combines creating a found object art project with chocolate fondue. Some folks may ask why? Peters turns it around and says: “Why not?”

Discover the complete listing of events, activities and programs the library offers at https://www.perrylibrary.org/

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Programs at Perry Memorial Library will be slowing down next week as Christmas approaches, and things were going to be “up in the air” – literally – today at 4 p.m., when the StoryUp! Aerial Theater of Durham comes to town for a performance.

It’s something new for 2023, said Youth Services Director Melody Peters, and that’s just the start for new programs and events for the New Year at the library.

“We’ve got some new things coming,” Peters said on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! with WIZS co-host Bill Harris. “We’re really excited about that.”

In addition to resuming regular programs like the Mother Goose story time on Thursday mornings, the library will host a community read-aloud on Monday nights beginning in January.

Peters said she hears patrons, including teachers, parents and grandparents, voice concerns about young people’s waning reading habits.

“Either they aren’t reading for enjoyment or pleasure, or they’re not reading at the appropriate level,” Peters said. “I want to get people reading together – listening to each other read,” she added. The idea is to build young readers’ confidence and fluency.

We use different hemispheres of our brains for listening and for reading, Peters said. When you read aloud, there’s more information exchanged across both hemispheres which builds literacy and reading fluency.

The idea is for Peters to read one chapter of a chapter book to the group for the first 15 minutes of each hour-long session. Then the group will divide randomly to tables and they’ll take turns reading to the group. There will be volunteers on hand to help less confident readers if they need it.

“I want to hear people reading for 45 minutes,” Peters said. “I want to make it a positive things (and) don’t want anyone to feel bad about their reading ability,” she said. “This is a new approach – we’ll see how it goes.”

Visit https://www.perrylibrary.org/ for a complete listing of events and programs.

The library will be closed Dec. 23-26 for Christmas, as well as Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

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