Staff Picks Poetry Month: Favorite Children’s Room Selections

My absolute favorite collection of children’s nature poetry is Outside Your Window by Nicola Davies with illustrations by Mark Hearld.

If you’re a cat lover, you need to pick up The Maine Coon’s Haiku and Other Poems for Cat Lovers by Michael J. Rosen with illustrations by Lee White.

Lastly, one of my favorite classics for springtime, is Flower Fairies of the Seasons by Cicely Mary Barker who has gorgeous illustrated fairies that accompany her seasonal poems.

-Gia, Children’s Room

History Room: Spring & Summer Hours

Bath Daily Times exhibition
To celebrate reaching our $10,000 goal for our Bath Daily Times microfilm digitization project, we have a small exhibit on the publication in the case outside the History Room on the second floor. Come learn about the project and see some highlighted collection items! Stay tuned for updates and the first batch of digitized issues in July!
 
2023 Spring and Summer History Room Hours
(April 24 – September 5)
Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday: 12-4
Wednesday: 12-4
Thursday: 12-4
Friday: 12-4
Saturday: 12-4 (10-1 Memorial Day to Labor Day)

9th Annual Writing Contest Winners

Congratulations to this year’s Writing Contest winners!  This year there were more than 50 entries in every category, and we welcomed creative non-fiction submissions for the first time ever. Judges, who included Patten Free Library Staff, the PFL Teen Library Council, and community members, were excited about the caliber of pieces submitted this year. With support from the Friends of the Patten Free Library.

Click the title below to read the winning pieces.

 

7-9 Grade Non-Fiction

First Place: Me by Franny DeGeer

Second Place: Peaks Island Vignette by Harper Nelson

 

7-9 Grade Fiction

First Place: Nightmare in Disguise by Rory Leeman

Second Place: The Excavator by Ivey Strickland

 

10-12 Grade Non-Fiction

First Place: Writing to Remember by Zoë Brush

Second Place: A Perturbed Portrait by Grace Tetreault

 

10-12 Grade Fiction

First Place: The Snow on Her Lips by Aurora Guzzetti

Second Place: Anne’s Final Day by Naomi Fidler

 

Adult Non-Fiction

First Place: Dear Jennifer by Jennifer Tinker

Second Place: The Forgotten Voice by Ellen A Endter

 

Adult Fiction

First Place TIE: Birds that Sing in the Dark by Arwyn Sherman

First Place TIE: The Hunt by James M. Wright

 

JPS Event

Bath Customs House with Nathan Lipfert

November 5, 2pm to 4pm at Patten Free Library.

This special event is reserved for our John Patten Society members, Board of Trustees, and Major Benefactor donors.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

Poetry Walk 2022

Poetry Month may be over, but you can still view the Poetry Walk virtually.

With support from Mid Coast Hospital and Now You’re Cooking.

Teen Library Council

Let your voice be heard and help shape the future of Teen programming! Plan Library events, make friends, and enjoy our beautiful Teen Space. Grades 6-12.  Meets the first Thursday of the month at 3 p.m.

PAWS for Reading

Sign up to read with Finnegan the therapy dog! 2nd and 4th Saturdays from 10-12 for ages 5-12. Please call the Children’s Room at 207-443-5141 extension 1016 to schedule your time to read!

2021 Writing Contest Winners

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the Patten Free Libraries 8th Annual Writing Contest.  This year there were more than 40 entries in all but one category, and we welcomed adult submissions for the first time ever.  Judges included Patten Free Library Staff and members of the Teen Library Council.  Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to everyone who entered! 

Read the winning entries here.

 

7-9 Grade Memoir

First Place: Chewonki Saltwater Canoe Trip by Huckleberry Huber-Rees

Second Place TIE: A Trip Down the Sheepscot River by Noah Arbuckle

Second Place TIE: Seaglass by Sinead Bowdish

 

7-9 Grade Short Fiction

First Place: How To Romanticize the Cruel and Unholy by Aurora Guzzetti

Second Place: Forgetting by Acadia Guiliani

 

10-12 Grade Short Fiction

First Place: An Onyx Sandstorm by Emma Beauregard

Second Place: The Tall Man by Beau Haddad

 

Adult Fiction

First Place: The Essence of True Love by Larry Bartlett

No second place

 

Adult Memoir

First Place: The Poet’s Well by James M. Wright

Second Place: Maine by Susan Landry

Vote for the Chickadee Awards!

Are you ready to vote for your favorite Children’s picture book this year? The Chickadee Award: A Maine Children’s Choice Picture Book Project is a picture book award program for children in kindergarten through fourth grade. This award is in its seventeenth year, and is given annually to one of ten picture books nominated by a committee of teachers, librarians, and early literacy professionals, with the winner chosen by Maine school children. The purpose of this award is to encourage children to develop an appreciation for excellence in writing and illustration that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. The Maine Association of School Libraries is providing financial support for this project, and Patten Free Library is thrilled to partner with this program.
 
Chickadee Ballots can be turned in any time between February 1 and March 31.
 
Find 2021-2022 Chickadee Award Nominees on Cloud Library
 
For more information about the award click here.
 
Pickup the 2021-2022 Chickadee Ballot in the Children’s Room or download it here.

AARP Tax-Aide Program

Need tax help? The AARP Tax Aide Program is free, confidential, and focused on people age 50 and over with low and moderate income. Sessions will be run by volunteers and will take place at the Patten Free Library on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning February 8, and at the Bath Senior Center on Saturdays beginning February 5.
 
To make an appointment call 207-406-1556 Mondays between 1-4 p.m. or Wednesdays between 3-6 p.m.
 
If the line is busy, hang up, wait a few minutes, and try again. Keep trying until you get through. The phone line will be OFF except during the dates and times listed, and we cannot respond to calls or voicemails outside these hours.
 
Check back here soon for more information, including additional times when the phone line will be open.

News & Updates