Category: Library Visits

Posted on

An Extravaganza!

An Extravaganza!

Book Launch and Library Fundraiser
Saturday, May 21, 11:00 am
8 Newton Street
West Boylston, MA

Please join me as I celebrate the publication of my newest book for children, HONEYBEE RESCUE, with a library fundraising book extravaganza!

Why a fundraiser? Because Beaman Memorial Public Library is my hometown library and the librarians there have not only supported my reading life for the past twenty years, but also enthusiastically supported my career, buying copies of my books for the children’s room, sponsoring town-wide reads based on them, and hosting six book launches in the Stiles Room. But mostly because I want this hub of our community to be here forever.

Why should you come? Because it’ll be fun! I’ll be sharing a little bit of the story behind HONEYBEE RESCUE: A BACKYARD DRAMA and giving away a some rescue honey harvested and bottled by Jon Nelson, star of the book. Because books make great gifts–for graduates, for teachers, for yourself, for summer birthdays, for your favorite Little Free Library, for your kid or grandkid’s classroom or camp or after school program, for leaving on a public bench as a gift to the world. And because this will be an easy way for you to help support the library, too.

Copies of HONEYBEE RESCUE, filled with eye-popping images by local photographer Ellen Harasimowicz, will be available for sale and signing along with all my other children’s books. Proceeds will benefit the Beaman Memorial Public Library Endowment Fund.

To read more about the books that I’ll have on hand, check out this page.

I hope to see you on Saturday!

Posted on

Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club: Humor

At last week’s Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club meeting, we discussed funny books. As usual, participants brought a wide range of styles and genres. Here are just a few:

I Feel Bad About my Neck, a collection of essays by Nora Ephron

The Far Side: Unnatural Selections, a collection of comic strips by Gary Larson

Born A Crime, an autobiography by Trevor Noah

Polar Bear’s Underwear, a picture book by Tupera Tupera

We’re loving the variety!

Consider joining us for the next meeting, won’t you? It’s set for Thursday, August 23, 2018 at 6:30pm at the Beaman Memorial Library in West Boylston, MA. Our topic for the quarter is—drum roll, please!—PLANTS. Choose any book in any genre that is in some way related to the topic of plants … read it … come tell us about it in August.

Here’s a sneak peak of the plant book I’ve chosen:

Posted on

Life on Surtsey Book Launch!

Please join me to celebrate the publication of my sixth book for children, Life on Surtsey, Iceland’s Upstart Island: 

Thursday, November 30, 2017, 6-8pm
Beaman Memorial Library
8 Newton Street
West Boylston, MA

Festivities will include a brief presentation, local refreshments, and all my books will be available for purchase. Proceeds from this event will benefit the Beaman Memorial Library. Please feel free to spread the word!

Posted on

The Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club

If you’ve been here before, you know how inspired I was by last April’s March for Science. One of the commitments I made at the march was to do what I could to further science literacy in my community. Since I make my living writing about science for audiences of all ages, a book club featuring all things science was a no-brainer way for me to do this. I recently hosted a book talk at my hometown library, which I blogged about here, and with the help of the book lovers who showed up that day, have fashioned a new-fangled all-ages book group. And I’d like you to join it.

Unlike more traditional book clubs, ours will not focus on a single book, but rather on a single topic. Attendees can choose fiction or nonfiction, a children’s book or a young adult book or an adult book, a picture book or chapter book or graphic novel. Pretty much anything goes. The only requirements are that your book selection tie into our monthly theme, and that you’re willing to share a little bit about it with the rest of us.

Those of us who live in central Massachusetts can meet in person at the Beaman Memorial Library at 4 Newton Street in West Boyslton, Massachusetts on Tuesday, October 24 at 6:30pm. But if you don’t live in the area and would like to join in the fun, please do! I’ll be featuring themed book suggestions here on my blog each week, and anyone can participate here; my dream is that this book club thrive in the virtual world as well as the real one.

Since I’m organizing this Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club (FITBBC) shin-dig, I get to choose the first topic. And as y’all know, I’m a bit of a bug geek. So for this first meeting, we will fill in the blank with …

drum roll, please …

INSECTS!

I’ll be sharing some of my favorite insect-themed books on this blog in the coming weeks. At the same time, my friends at Beaman Memorial Public Library will be sharing their favorite insect books, too. (You can find them on Facebook and Instagram.) Please follow along as you’re able, and feel free to add your own book suggestions. You know what I always say: The more insect books, the merrier life is!

One last thing: this is an all ages book party, open to tweens, teens, and adults. I truly, really, surely, honestly hope you join the fun, and that you’ll think about inviting a kid or adult or neighbor or complete stranger to join in, too. Let’s share some time–and some books–with one another.

Happy Reading!

Posted on

Books & Science


Last April, I packed my car with coolers, posters, my three kids, one of my oldest friends, and set out for Washington, DC. We’d decided to spend Earth Day there, standing up for something that was important to us: science. Marching with 1.3 million people in 600 locations around the world was, for me, less a protest than a celebration. A celebration of human ingenuity and our  method of doing science, a celebration of what we humans have learned of how the world works, of curing disease, and of staving off disaster. It was also an invitation for anyone, anywhere to join in supporting a vigorous and publicly-funded national science program.

The March for Science was a complete success. It poured all day long and still tens of thousands of science enthusiasts showed up, raincoats on and handmade signs covered in plastic wrap, ready to move. With the Washington Monument as backdrop, we listened to stories, to short speeches, to artists and poets and musicians and scientists speaking their truths. And then we marched from Constitution Street, past the White House, to the Capitol building, cheering and chanting every drenched step of the way.

In the months since April 22, 2017, March for Science organizers have done a great job of helping allies and supporters of science to continue to work for science in our communities. One of their many suggestions was to promote science outreach and science literacy. Which is why I’ll be speaking at the Beaman Memorial Library in West Boylston, MA tomorrow night, July 26, 2017, sharing my passion for the literature of science. Part pep talk, part book talk, the presentation will be an experiment. Is there an interest in a local book club that explores science stories across genres?  I hope so. But we’ll see. All I know for sure is that I’d love to see you there.

Posted on

Duxbury Free Library

BEETLE_BUSTERS

On Sunday, December 6 at 2pm, I’ll be speaking to an all-ages audience as part of the Duxbury Free Library’s Sunday Salon Series. The library is located at 77 Alden Street, Duxbury, Massachusetts and the event is free and open to the public … so come on down! I’ll be discussing Asian longhorned beetles and the men and women studying them here in Massachusetts. A book sale and signing will be held immediately following the presentation, thanks to Westwinds Bookshop.

Registration is required, so please visit the library’s web site for details. I hope to see you there!

Posted on

Got Plans Tonight?

GRW_Logo_2013_thumb

 

At 7pm tonight (Wednesday, March 20, 2013), I’ll join several central Massachusetts writers in a panel discussion at the Groton Public Library. This event kicks of a month-long celebration of reading and writing that is built around a town-wide reading of Stephen King’s book ON WRITING. (How cool is that?) We panelists plan to talk about the book and our reactions to it, and to share our own experiences with the art and business of telling (& selling) stories.

Who will be there, you ask? Check it out …

Cal Armistead

Ann Haywood Leal

Greg R. Fishbone

David S. Brody

Loree Griffin Burns

Not a bad way to spend the first night of spring, right? Come on down! Join us!

 

 

Posted on

March Public Events

MicStudents
Courtesy Carol Gordon Ekster

Attention Massachusetts teachers, librarians, writers, and readers! I’m participating in a couple free local events in the coming month, and one or both may be interesting to you. Here are the details …

Educator Appreciation Week

March 8-12, 2013

Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester

65 James Street, Worcester, MA

Events are held each evening at 7pm and include local authors and shopping discounts for teachers. I’ll be at Annie’s on Monday night to talk to teachers and librarians (and whoever else pops in!) about science in the classroom and my books, but there are authors scheduled every night. Check out the full lineup of speakers and topics at the Annie’s Book Stop blog.

Groton READS & WRITES Author Panel

March 19, 2013 at 7pm

Groton Public Library

99 Main Street, Groton, MA

This event is part of Groton’s super-cool townwide celebration of reading and writing. The entire town is reading Steven King’s ON WRITING (!) and then gathering for a series of panel discussions, writing workshops, open mic nights, and author visits. Check out the full details on the official Groton READS & WRITES webpage.

A word on the photo: Linda Coviello and I both graduated from Everett High School and were both inspired by our biology teacher there, Mr. James Micarelli. We met this past Monday at the Massachsuetts State Library Association conference and had a grand old time praising our teacher-hero.
Posted on

Leap Day Book Launches!

“What is citizen science, anyway?” So begins this journey into the surprising world of science for everyone, everywhere. Part job description, part nature study, and part beginner field guide, Citizen Scientists invites readers of all ages to think of themselves as scientists, encouraging them to begin by tagging butterflies, counting birds, identifying frogs, and hunting ladybugs…

It’s here! It’s finally here! My newest book for young readers, Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of Scientific Discovery from Your Own Backyard will be published on February 14, 2012. Photographer Ellen Harasimowicz and I will be launching the book in two public events, one at her local library and one at mine. In keeping with the books outdoorsy nature, and in celebration of the amphibians that star in chapter three (“Frogging in Spring”), we’re holding these events on Leap Day, February 29, 2012.

We’ll share the people and places that helped us create the book in a short, all-ages presentation. A book sale and signing will follow. Here are the details:

Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 1:30pm
Harvard Public Library
4 Pond Road
Harvard, MA

Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 6pm
Beaman Memorial Public Library
8 Newton Street
West Boylston, MA

Please feel free to help us spread the word by sharing a link to this post. And if your free, we hope you’ll come and help us celebrate!

Posted on

The Bears and the Bees

© Loree Griffin Burns

The White Oak Land Conservation Society‘s Wildlife Saturdays programming this spring has been dubbed The Bears and the Bees. On March 19, Laura Hajduk, Black Bear Project Leader for the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, talked about her work with black bears here in Massachusetts. And this week, I’ll be giving a family presentation on honeybees.

Yes, admission is free.

Yes, you can buy local Worcester county honey at the door.

Come one, come all!


Wildlife Saturdays: Honeybees
A Family Presentation by Loree Griffin Burns
Satuday, April 2, 2011 at 11 am
Holden Senior Center
1130 Main Street
Holden, MA