Calling all Castleton-Hubbardton area preschoolers! We are very excited about our upcoming author visit with Vermont artist Phoebe Stone, who will be coming to Castleton Free Library to give a free program especially for preschool children on Friday November 30th at 10:00 a.m. (Please note that this event will take the place of our regularly scheduled Story Hour, but begins a half hour earlier than usual.) The morning will include about thirty minutes of storytelling and booktalking, followed by an opportunity for each child (including babies) to choose a free book to keep. This event is funded by the Children's Literacy Foundation, part of a "Year of the Book" grant awarded to Castleton Elementary School in partnership with the town library. We also received $1,000 worth of new books for the library collection. Castleton Elementary students will have an opportunity to meet Phoebe in the afternoon at the school. K-5 homeschoolers from Castleton/Hubbardton are welcome at either program.

Phoebe Stone is the author and illustrator of three acclaimed picture books, When the Wind Bears Go Dancing; Go Away, Shelley Boo!; and What Night Do the Angels Wander?, as well as middle-grade novels (many of which received starred reviews). An artist from Middlebury, she has twice received the Vermont Council on the Arts Fellowship for painting, and her work has appeared in many galleries and museums. From Kirkus Reviews, describing What Night..: "Vibrant spreads offer a feast of folk-art illustrations steeped in gorgeous shades of red, green, and blue. Enchanting images -- stitching the world a quilt of snow, trimming the tree with clouds, mist, and moon -- emphasize the celestial qualities of this magical holiday picture book." Her work is dreamy and lyrical.

Phoebe grew up both painting and writing in a family of novelists and poets, transmitting the storytelling tradition to her own son through bedtime stories. Speaking of Wind Bears, "When my son was younger, we lived in an old farmhouse on a little dirt road in the country...On stormy nights when the wind blew and the thunder roared and lightning flashed, this is a story I told him so he wouldn't be frightened."

Free! Contact the library with any questions at 468-5574. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram!