Additional Events 2019
Stay and Play
Come to listen to "Alama and How she got her Name" and other stories. Ages: 0-4 with parent caregiver
The NEA Big Read 2019 Book Discussion
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Join us for a book discussion of New Haven's pick for this year's Big Read book The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri. The Namesake follows the Ganguli family from their tradition-bound life in Calcutta through their fraught transformation into Americans. With penetrating insight, Lahiri reveals not only the defining power of the names and expectations bestowed upon us by our parents, but also the means by which we slowly, sometimes painfully, com to define ourselves.
Stay and Play
Many People, Many Colors. In this NEA Big Read Themed Storytime, we explore how we are all different and how we are all the same.
Kids' Craft
Family Program, involving creating a mural/murals using words and images from culture (i.e. magazines) themes of family and relationships.
Film Screening and Discussion with the Arts & Ideas Fellows
The Namesake is the story of the Ganguli family whose move from Calcutta to New York evokes a lifelong balancing act to meld to a new world without forgetting the old. Although parents Ashoke and Ashima long for the family and culture that enveloped them in India, they take great pride in the opportunities their sacrifices have afforded their children. Paradoxically, their son Gogol is torn between finding his own unique identity without losing his heritage. Even Gogol's name represents the family's journey into the unknown.
A Celebration of Names
Come and listen to two stories that explore what it's like to have a unique name as a child, and then make a craft to celebrate your own name!
Stay and Play
Come to listen to "Thread of Love" by Kabir Sehgal & Surishtha Sehgal and other stories and enjoy the music and crafts. Ages 0-4 with parent caregiver.
Create a Taj Mahal
Come learn about the Taj Mahal and then build your own! Ages: 5-10
The Namesake: What's in a Name?
Join us to investigate and relate the story of "The Namesake" and meaning of your first names. Ages: teens
Creating in Color with Rangoli!
Create your own colorful outdoor design with the ancient art of Rangoli. Ages: Family
StorySharing Open Group
International Festival of Arts and Ideas/The Big Read: Jhumpa Lahiri's THE NAMESAKE
The Institute Library supports the International Festival of Arts and Ideas by being part of The Big Read this year. This year's book is Jhumpa Lahiri's already-classic THE NAMESAKE. The Institute Library will be drawing on the Listen Here! team and hosting a short reading from THE NAMESAKE on Saturday, June 15th. Come hear a selection from the book, and then be part of a round-table discussion of issues of immigration and assimilation as we see and experience them. Issues about names; identity' decisions -- made deliberately or subconsciously -- to assimilate or not; these and more are all open for discussion. The Institute Library is proud to be part of The Big Read this year and is excited to host and facilitate this dialogue.
Tours Around the World: Stories from India
Join us for a fun afternoon of world traveling through stories, music and crafts. Ages 0-4 with parent caregiver