Stonington Public Library

Read with Tenny – a Pre-K program
2025-06-10 11:00 - 11:30 (America/New_York) | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Visit and read with certified therapy dog, Tenny, on the second Tuesday of every month at 11am. His person, Jessica Shively, will bring him by SPL to meet some of our youngest patrons and their families. It’s a chance for kids to learn new ways of interacting with a dog and with each other in a (loosely) structured activity. Tenny is a 3 year old, 105 pound Great Pyrenees mix who grew up on the Maine coast. He loves love and sharing it with other people. His human, Jessica, moved to Stonington from Castine in the summer and spends her days beachcombing with Tenny and exploring new hiking trails. Follow Tenny and Jessica on Instagram.

Community Play and Learn
2025-06-06 10:00 - 11:30 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Caregivers and children 5 and under are welcome to join Community Play and Learn programs hosted by First 10 and Deer Isle Adult & Community Education! Enjoy music, movement, reading together, and snack time. Each Community Play and Learn program will highlight a different community resource for families. You don’t need to sign up, but if you have any questions, email First 10 community school outreach coordinator Melissa: mbayley@su76.org.
For the full schedule of Community Play and Learn events, visit the Deer Isle Adult & Community Education Facebook events page.

Reader's Choice: The Berry Pickers
2025-06-02 18:30 - 19:30 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Reader’s Choice: Morgan Witham
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
MILS catalog record
“July 1962. Following in the tradition of Indigenous workers from Nova Scotia, a Mi’kmaq family arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret.” – From publisher website
About Morgan
Hometown: Little Deer Isle, Maine.
Current residence and connection to the island: While I am a direct descendant of Jonathan Torrey, one of the island’s first settlers, my branch of the family migrated to Winter Harbor in the 1800s, didn’t move back to the island until I was the ripe old age of 18 months in 1981—when my uncle was hired to teach art at DI-S High School. So I grew up here, and attended the schools, though eventually transferred to the Maine School of Science and Mathematics after my sophomore year. My family moved off island in ‘05, and I never expected to return to live here. Plot twist: I got a job on Isle au Haut and spent almost five years there, which was my back door into returning to the Deer Isle-Stonington community. I bought my house in 2012, and have been living here year-round ever since, primarily working in the schools.
Why do you read? In my late 20s I moved from being a fiction addict to a non-fiction glutton. I am a sucker for biography, memoir, health/well being, Eastern European history, the history of science, religion, philosophy, sexuality, math, the social sciences, American history…I love learning how people have spent their lives as a means of figuring out how to invest mine. For escapism I read murder mysteries/police procedurals…usually British.
What genre do you hate to read? Anything having to do with organized crime, unless it happened to be a part of a political regime (in which case it becomes a genre I am more likely to read about than not).
Last book you LOVED: The Sandman audiobook series by Neil Gaiman.
Currently reading: The Visionaries: Arendt, Beauvoir, Rand, Weil, and the Power of Philosophy in Dark Times by Wolfram Eilenberger.
Why did you choose The Berry Pickers? Because I needed to pick fiction [for the book club prompt] I surveyed family and friends, and this was on the recommendation of my mother—she’s a pretty clever person, and I always want more windows into understanding the dynamics of this region we call home.

Rosswords: Sunday Solve
2025-06-01 13:00 - 14:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Grab your pencils and sharpen your minds! Join Chris Ross for a group crossword solve on the first Sunday of every month. All welcome.

Carol Walsh Exhibit Reception
2025-05-31 14:00 - 16:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Carol Walsh, a Stonington resident and avid photographer, is hosting a reception on Saturday, May 31, from 2-4pm for her photography exhibits at Stonington Public Library. Light refreshments and beverages will be served, and live music will be performed by Rugosa Rose.
The first exhibit, Look Up, is a series depicting New England church spires. Her photographs are taken with little to no context, encouraging the viewer to study the architecture and inspiring you to find your own spires. Look Up is on exhibit during library hours through Saturday, June 7.
The second exhibit, Photographs of Indigenous Basketry, are baskets from the Southwest, California, and Northwest from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology at Harvard University, where Carol studied indigenous textiles in the 1970s. This exhibit will be on display from Tuesday, June 10 to Saturday, July 12.
Follow Carol’s adventures through photography on Instagram.

Music with Abby – a Pre-K program
2025-05-27 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-03-25 11:00 - 11:30 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Let’s get musical! Explore rhythm and music with island singer, songwriter, and musician Abby Litman on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 11am. Kids won’t be hushed for making noise in the library. In fact, they’ll be encouraged.

Story Time Aboard the Otter
2025-05-17 11:00 - 12:00 | Isle au Haut Boat Company, 37 Seabreeze Avenue, Stonington, Maine, 04681
Come aboard the Otter, an Isle au Haut mailboat, for a spin around Stonington Harbor and a read-aloud picture book chosen and read by Captain Garret Aldrich. It’s become an annual tradition for Captain Aldrich to lead this trip for Stonington Public Library. Contact SPL at phone or email below to register.
Wings, Waves & Woods Festival will take place May 14-18, 2025. The full schedule of events will be announced in March on the Island Heritage Trust website.

Downeast Restorative Justice Community Info Session
2025-05-14 17:00 - 19:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Are you curious to know more about Restorative Practices? Looking for a volunteer opportunity to help support youth in your community? Interested in becoming a trained facilitator?
Downeast Restorative Justice is a local non-profit working in communities and schools to help bring people together and promote social healing. Join us for this community info-session to learn more about what Restorative Practices are, about what our community programs are, and about the different ways you can be involved.
Our info sessions are always followed by an opportunity to take part in training, whether this is to work with us as a volunteer, or for yourself, to bring restorative practices into your work, school, or personal community.
Hybrid options on Zoom are available by pre-registration at, all@downeastrestorativejustice.org

Read with Tenny – a Pre-K program
2025-05-13 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-04-08 11:00 - 11:30, 2025-03-11 11:00 - 11:30 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Visit and read with certified therapy dog, Tenny, on the second Tuesday of every month at 11am. His person, Jessica Shively, will bring him by SPL to meet some of our youngest patrons and their families. It’s a chance for kids to learn new ways of interacting with a dog and with each other in a (loosely) structured activity. Tenny is a 3 year old, 105 pound Great Pyrenees mix who grew up on the Maine coast. He loves love and sharing it with other people. His human, Jessica, moved to Stonington from Castine in the summer and spends her days beachcombing with Tenny and exploring new hiking trails.

Alewife Story Time
2025-05-10 10:00 - 11:00 | ME
Change of plans: tomorrow’s story time, Sat 5/10, will be at SPL at 10am. Mike Thalhauser from MCCF will still be joining us and will read-aloud an alewife picture book. Then he’ll lead a fish print activity, and participants can take home their own fish print t-shirts. Bring a t-shirt, if you got one to use. We’ll have a small number of t-shirts on hand.
SPL hosts story time on the second Saturday of every month from 10-11am. Check our website or social media (@stoningtonpublicllibrary) for details, because we often go offsite to various island locations for story time.

Reader's Choice: American Born Chinese
2025-04-28 18:30 - 19:30 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Reader’s Choice: Pat Dobbs
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
MILS catalog record
“All Jin Wang wants is to fit in. When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds he’s the only Chinese-American student at his school. • Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King is one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables. But the Monkey King…wants to be hailed as a god. • Chin-Kee is the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, and he’s ruining his cousin Danny’s life. These three apparently unrelated tales come together with an unexpected twist, in a modern fable that is hilarious, poignant, and action-packed.” – From cover flap
About Pat
Hometown: New York City and Madison, NJ.
Current residence: Stonington, Maine.
Connection to the island: I came to the island for one week each summer for about 40 years until I moved here full time. My sister, Nancy Greene, is also on the island and part of what drew me here.
Why do you read? I love to learn, and I love to go to another place.
What genre do you hate to read? Hmm…probably science fiction and fantasy. But the truth is, it’s not that I hate them. Rather, I’ve never been drawn to them.
Last book you LOVED: I’m a Maisie Dobbs devotee. I loved the latest in the series, The Comfort of Ghosts.
Currently reading: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. It’s really good.
Why did you choose American Born Chinese? The author beautifully talks about self acceptance and racism by weaving three separate stories together. You can just have fun with the stories, but you can also go deeper and learn about yourself from these stories.

Rosswords: Crossword Tournament Recap
2025-04-27 13:00 - 15:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Join Chris Ross for a recap of the 2025 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament followed by a group solve of one or more tournament puzzles. Nearly 900 competitors convened in Stamford, CT on Saturday and Sunday, April 5 and 6, to test their crosswor-thiness across 7 crosswords constructed by some of the best in the business. All welcome, no registration required.

The Great Down-Easter Egg Celebration
2025-04-19 07:00 - 13:00 | Island Community Center, 10 Memorial Ln, Stonington, ME, 04681
Come enjoy a Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser from 7am to 10am at the Island Community Center and stay to pick up an Easter bucket for each child. Families can then parade down Pink St. toward downtown with stops at area businesses and Stonington Public Library. End the morning at the Opera House for a free movie showing.

The Serviceberry - A Public Conversation
2025-04-16 18:00 - 19:30 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
We continue our public conversation series with a discussion of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s newest book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World,with the option to join in person or via Zoom. Co-hosted by SPL and Linda Nelson, Stonington economic and community development director. RSVP to email address below.

Story Time
2025-04-12 10:00 - 11:00 | ME
Monthly story time with hands-on activity. Fun for kids of all ages!
SPL hosts story time on the second Saturday of every month from 10-11am. Check our website or social media (@stoningtonpublicllibrary) for details, because we often go offsite to various island locations for story time.

Build Your Own Board Game!
2025-03-29 12:00 - 14:00, 2025-03-15 12:00 - 14:00, 2025-03-01 12:00 - 14:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Do you have a knack for design, math, art, or Dungeons & Dragons? Then join Jordan in making your very own board game this winter. By the end of the workshop, you will have a game that you can take home and force your friends and family to play! All ages.
The workshop will meet on Saturday, February 15th and March 1st, 15th, and 29th from 12-2pm. It will be offered in person at SPL.
Jordan Ramsey is an active member of the board game community of Deer Isle. He volunteers at the Deer Isle-Stonington After School Program and leads board game afternoons at the Island Community Center on Sunday afternoons. He has also created a handful of his own games that he and his friends playtest once a month.

Reader's Choice: Enormous Changes at the Last Minute
2025-03-24 18:30 - 19:30 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Reader’s Choice: Anneli Sundqvist
Enormous Changes at the Last Minute by Grace Paley
MaineCat catalog record (SPL copy on order)
“In this collection of short stories, originally published in 1974, Grace Paley ‘makes the novel as a form seem virtually redundant’ (Angela Carter, London Review of Books). Her stories here capture ‘the itch of the city, love between parents and children’ and ‘the cutting edge of combat’ (Lis Harris, The New York Times Book Review). In this collection of seventeen stories, she creates a ‘solid and vital fictional world, cross-referenced and dense with life’ (Walter Clemons, Newsweek).” – From publisher website
About Anneli
Hometown: I grew up in the north of Sweden.
Current residence: I moved to Deer Isle in 2008, after many years of traveling the world, and have lived here full time since then.
Why do you read? I love to read historical fiction, as it’s always been the only way for me to comprehend that subject. In general I favor books that offers a glimpse into other peoples realities, whichever genre it happens to be.
Currently reading: As has been the case for a while now, I’m reading whatever’s on the book club’s roster, and that’s all I can keep up with, and some odd New Yorker articles.
Why did you choose Enormous Changes at the Last Minute? I was choosing between different short story collections and this came to me sight unseen from a friend in the book publishing industry. I watched a YouTube with Paley reading one of the stories and was immediately infatuated!

Rosswords: Crosswords with Chris
2025-03-23 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-03-09 11:00 - 12:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Grab your pencils and sharpen your minds. The key to becoming a better solver is not knowing lots of trivia BUT in training your mind to stay flexible when solving. Don’t get boxed in, think outside the box! Ideally for solvers ages 14 & up.
The workshop will meet on Sunday, February 23rd and March 9th and 23rd from 11am-1pm. It will be offered in person at SPL.
Chris Ross is obsessed with word games. Yes, he solves Wordle and Connections and Spelling Bee every day, and he’s completed the New York Times crossword for 2,531 consecutive days and counting. He loves the challenge of puzzles that bend his brain and lives for the AHA! moment when everything falls into place.

Hand-Braided Rag Rug Workshop
2025-03-22 12:00 - 14:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Taught by Shannon Lindsay & Mary Ann O’Rourke
Learn how to repurpose your old shirts and save them from a landfill. We’ve got plenty of material to get participants started. Bring fabric scissors if you have some. RSVP to the email below.
Rugs pictured above were made by Shannon Lindsay and are on display at SPL through April 26th in the 4th annual Island Artist Group Exhibit. Mary Ann O’Rourke is exhibiting a tapestry woven on a loom and decorated with felted mythological sea creatures. She also has a papier mâché mermaid on display and handmade cotton potholders on sale at SPL.

Rosswords: Crosswords with Chris
2025-03-16 11:00 - 12:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Grab your pencils and sharpen your minds. The key to becoming a better solver is not knowing lots of trivia BUT in training your mind to stay flexible when solving. Don’t get boxed in, think outside the box! Ideally for solvers ages 14 & up.
Chris Ross is obsessed with word games. Yes, he solves Wordle and Connections and Spelling Bee every day, and he’s completed the New York Times crossword for 2,531 consecutive days and counting. He loves the challenge of puzzles that bend his brain and lives for the AHA! moment when everything falls into place.

Edible Island: Irish Soda Bread
2025-03-08 13:00 - 16:00 | Healthy Island Project Kitchen, 91 S Burnt Cove Rd, Stonington, ME
Edible Island is back with another workshop, and just in time for St. Patrick’s Day! Learn how to make Irish soda bread with Lorraine Coakley. RSVP by contact information below.

Story Time with Stonington Fire Department
2025-03-08 10:00 - 11:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
SPL story time returns to Stonington Fire Department! The fire department crew will come to the library to read aloud to kids and their families, and following the story, they’ll invite everyone over to the fire department for a guided tour and look behind the scenes. All welcome, no registration required.

What If We Get It Right? Public Conversation Series
2025-03-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
A four-part public conversation series on Visions of Climate Futures based around the book of the same name by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. Participants are welcome to join in person at SPL or by Zoom. The conversation dates are Wednesday, January 22nd, February 5th and 19th, and March 5th from 6-7:30pm. Reach out to SPL at the contact information below to sign up.

Rosswords: Crosswords with Chris
2025-03-02 11:00 - 12:00 | Stonington Public Library, 64 Main Street, Stonington, ME, 04681
Grab your pencils and sharpen your minds. The key to becoming a better solver is not knowing lots of trivia BUT in training your mind to stay flexible when solving. Don’t get boxed in, think outside the box! Ideally for solvers ages 14 & up.
The workshop will meet on Sunday, February 16th and 23rd and March 9th and 23rd from 11am-1pm. It will be offered in person at SPL.
Chris Ross is obsessed with word games. Yes, he solves Wordle and Connections and Spelling Bee every day, and he’s completed the New York Times crossword for 2,531 consecutive days and counting. He loves the challenge of puzzles that bend his brain and lives for the AHA! moment when everything falls into place.
