Sawyer Free Library

Sawyer Free Library to host YA Author Taylor Tyng

~ Sawyer Free Library

Library to celebrate the launch of author’s newest book “Clara Poole and the Long Way Round” 

The Sawyer Free Library is excited to welcome author Taylor Tyng to speak about his new book for middle-grade readers (ages 8-12), Clara Poole and the Long Way Round, on Friday, July 21 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. The free event will be at the Sawyer Free Library located at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester. Register HERE.

Join us as we celebrate Tyng’s latest book for young readers. Mr. Lemoncello meets the Amazing Race, in this quirky high-octane balloon-racing middle-grade around-the-world adventure. Gorgeous prose and winning characters combine in this quirky, often-hilarious, sometimes heart-breaking, and thoroughly captivating middle-grade adventure series starter from an incredible new talent.

The Bookstore of Gloucester will be selling books at the event; Tyng will be signing books after the talk and Q&A. If you cannot be there in person, you can pre order a book to be signed by the author by calling the store at 978-281-1548. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

“With plenty of heart and charm, Tyng’s fast-paced debut conjures excitement via a high-octane premise that’s tempered by laugh-out-loud humor and populated by idiosyncratic characters.” – Publisher’s Weekly

When an unintended flight over Michigan in her class science project—a lawn chair held aloft by balloons—brings her instant celebrity, Clara Poole is invited to be the spokesperson for a round-the-world adventure race. But when her overprotective father refuses, Clara forges his signature in a moment of defiance and runs away to Paris to take her place in the skies. If only she’d read the fine print first.

Partnered with a veteran aeronaut who wants nothing to do with her, Clara faces down ten treacherous stages in a race around the world—capturing flags in the perilous mountains of Nepal, being a guest of honor at a maybe-wedding in the Saharan desert, flying through rings of fire in Hong Kong—all while learning the ropes alongside a colorful cast of international competitors.

But there are more dangers ahead. Someone is trying to sabotage the competition. And surviving this race means Clara must come to terms with the tragedy that set her fleeing to the skies in the first place and accept that forgiving herself isn’t a process she has to undertake alone.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Taylor Tyng has worked as a designer, animator, film editor, and software CEO. At 45, he started writing children’s novels, something Taylor never considered as a lifelong dyslexic. Now, all he wishes is that he began to sooner as he finds endless joy in writing for middle-grade readers, who are no longer children but not quite adults. His debut YA book was Sprout. Taylor lives in Massachusetts with his family. 

The event is free and open to the public at the Sawyer Free Library, located at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester. Register HERE. For more information, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org. 

Sawyer Free Library to Host Author Talk with William Schulz on Thursday, July 20

~ Sawyer Free Library

SAWYER FREE LIBRARY will welcome WILLIAM SCHULZ – international human rights leader and local author – for a discussion of his latest book, REVERSING THE RIVERS: A MEMOIR OF HISTORY, HOPE, AND HUMAN RIGHTS on Thursday, July 20 at 6:30 p.m. The free event will be at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester. Register HERE.

From 1994 to 2006, William F. Schulz headed Amnesty International USA, during which he and the organization confronted some of the greatest challenges to human rights. Dr. Schulz led missions to Liberia, Tunisia, Northern Ireland, and Sudan. He also traveled tens of thousands of miles in the United States promoting human rights causes and was frequently quoted in the media. 

His latest book,Reversing the Rivers: A Memoir of History, Hope and Human Rights, from Penn Press, recounts his years as head of Amnesty International through poignant stories combined with amusing anecdotes and philosophical reflection. His memoir is an engaging account of how one human rights activist faced the day-to-day realities of struggling with human rights crises while answering, “How do you retain any hope at all in humanity?”

Currently, Dr. Schulz is a Senior Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is the author of three other books on human rights, In Our Own Best Interest: How Defending Human Rights Benefits Us All (2001, Beacon Press); Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights (2003, Nation Books); and The Coming Good Society: Why New Realities Demand New Rights (2021, Harvard University Press), co-authored with Sushma Raman. He is also the contributing editor of The Phenomenon of Torture: Readings and Commentary (2007, University of Pennsylvania Press) and The Future of Human Rights: US Policy for a New Era (2008, University of Pennsylvania Press). And in 2002, The New York Review of Books shared, “William Schulz…has done more than anyone in the American human rights movement to make human rights issues known in the United States.”

From 2006-2010 Dr. Schulz was a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, specializing in human rights, and served as a consultant to various foundations, including the MacArthur Foundation, UN Foundation, Humanity United, and the Kellogg Foundation. He was appointed Adjunct Professor of Public Administration at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Policy in 2008, where he taught for eight years, and in 2013 served as Pozen Visiting Professor of Human Rights at the University of Chicago. From 2010-20 Dr. Schulz served as an Affiliated Preaching and Public Ethics Professor at Meadville Lombard Theological School. He is President Emeritus of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, which he led from 2010-16. 

An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, Dr. Schulz was President of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations from 1985-93. He has served on the boards of People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award Selection Committee, the Wellesley (College) Centers for Women, and many other organizations and currently sits on the board of the Center for Justice & Accountability.

Dr. Schulz is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Oberlin College, holds a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Chicago and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Meadville/Lombard Theological School (then at the University of Chicago) as well as eight honorary degrees. He lives with his wife, the Rev. Beth Graham, also a Unitarian Universalist minister, in Gloucester, MA.

Click HERE to register for this special evening with William Schulz on July 20 at 6:30 p.m. or go to the calendar page of sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500. Space is limited. The Sawyer Free Library is located at 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester. 

“I know no better book on human rights than REVERSING THE RIVERS. Schulz conducts a master class in both brilliant writing and being human.” – Sebastian Junger, author of Freedom and The Perfect Storm 

Sawyer Free Library presents Snakes of New England and Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team – Saturday, July 15

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Library is excited to welcome Rick Roth and the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team to Gloucester on Saturday, July 15 from 10:30 to 11:30a.m.

Come learn about, meet & handle (if you’d like!) many types of snakes, some of which are from our local area! Rick and his team share their knowledge and enthusiasm as they bring science to us in such a unique & fun way! 

This event will be held at Captain Lester S. Wass American Legion Post 3, (8 Washington Street.) It is free and open to all to enjoy! For more information go to sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.

This event is made possible in part by the Constance T. Rhinelander Fund

YGSC: Community Garden Scavenger Hunt

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Young Gloucester Scientist’s Club Presents:  Community Garden Scavenger Hunt on Friday, July 14 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Join the Sawyer Free Library for an afternoon of garden bed exploring, scavenger hunting and a little bit of dirt-based science! In this hour long field trip to the Burnham Field Community Garden the Library’s friends at Backyard Growers will share some of the science behind growing and harvesting your own food.

This program is suitable for 4th-8th graders. Registration is required. Click HERE or go to SawyerFreeLibrary.org

And don’t forget to stop at SFL at 21 Main Street and check our new SEED LIBRARY partnership!

Sawyer Free Folk Showcase: PETE LINDBERG on Thursday, July 13 at 6pm

~ Sawyer Free Library

The Sawyer Free Folk Showcase continues on Thursday, July 13 at 6:00 p.m. with PETER LINDBERG.

Having just returned from Nashville after ten years, Cape Ann-based critically acclaimed folk artist and storyteller songwriter Peter Lindberg will share his lyrical prowess and unique alt-country songwriting with us at the SFL at 21 Main Street!

The Library’s summer musical series spotlights local singer-songwriters. Performances are 6:00 to 7:00 pm on select Thursdays through September at the Library’s 21 Main Street location in downtown Gloucester. Each evening the featured artist performs a 45-minute set followed by a brief discussion about their musical career and approach to songwriting. The performances are free and open to all to enjoy.   For more information about the musicians, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org. 

You can hear more from Peter HERE.

Be sure to add to your calendar the following upcoming musical appearances by local singer songwriters at the Sawyer Free this summer:

Thursday, August 10: GEORGE CLEMENTS

Thursday, September 7: LIAM ANASTASIA-MURPHY

Rainforest Reptiles: Conservation with Education

~ Sawyer Free Library

Summer is here! Join the Sawyer Free Library on Friday, July 7 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. as we kick off summer reading with an educational and exciting show – – Rainforest Reptiles: Conservation through Education!  The Library is excited for everyone to come and enjoy this fun and informative presentation by a herpetologist and visit with bugs, frogs, snakes, lizards, a tortoise, and the American alligator.

Please note, this event will be held at Captain Lester S. Wass American Legion Post 3 located at 8 Washington Street in Gloucester.

The event is free and open to all! No registration necessary. For more information visit: SawyerFreeLibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.

Sea Shanty Sing Along at the Sawyer Free Library on Thursday evening, July 6

~ Sawyer Free Library

On Thursday, July 6 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. join OLIVIA GALE for a Sea Shanty Sing Along at the Sawyer Free Library located at 21 Main Street.

The Gloucester native, musician, and teacher will entertain us with an engaging performance of sea shanties, nautical ballads, and other folk music written about the sea. Olivia welcomes audience participation as a part of her show too! So come one, come all! It will be great fun!

For more information visit, SawyerFreeLibrary.org or 978-325-5500.

Sawyer Free Library presents Puppet Storytime on Wednesday, June 28

~ Sawyer Free Library

Join the Sawyer Free Library this Wednesday, June 28 at 11:30 a.m. for an extra special storytime presented by Through Me to you Puppetry. Puppet friends take turns reading stories and singing songs during this special interactive story time. Afterwards, children & families can meet the puppets! 

This fun event for young children and their families, will be held inside Brown’s Mall at Movement Arts Gloucester MA on the top floor of the Brown Building, where regular Library storytime is held. Enter at 186 Main Street or 11 Pleasant Street and take the elevator to the 5th floor.

Drop in, no registration needed. For more information, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org or call 978-325-5500.

This event has been made possible through the generous support of the Constance T. Rhinelander Fund.

SUMMER FUN AT SFL | ART OF BOOKMAKING this Friday at 3:00pm for Tweens and Teens

~ Sawyer Free Library

Tweens and Teens are invited to celebrate summer break this Friday, June 23rd at 3:00 pm with Local Paper Artist Katherine Morrison at the Sawyer Free Library at 21 Main Street in Gloucester. Everyone will all leave this hour long program with a stamped mini-book and having flexed your creative muscles!

REGISTER HERE for this fun program, or through the event calendar on sawyerfreelibrary.com.

There is something for everyone this summer at the Sawyer Free Library ! Discover all that is happening at www.sawyerfreelibrary.org, call 978-325-5500, or the Library 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester.


SFL & Backyard Growers “Story Hour in the Garden” Kicks Off this Thursday morning

~ Sawyer Free Library

Throughout the summer, everyone can get their hands dirty on Thursday mornings while sharing stories, gardening and more in the Sawyer Free Library’s raised gardens with Backyard Growers. 

Everyone is invited to join in on the fun on Thursday’s from 10-11am at the Sawyer Free Library’s garden, located alongside Middle Street, for story hour followed by time planting, watering, maintaining and harvesting and more in the garden! Open to all ages, recommended for ages 2-8. No pre-registration required.

To learn more about this fun program and to discover all that is happening at the Sawyer Free Library this summer, visit www.sawyerfreelibrary.org, call 978-325-5500, or the Library 21 Main Street in downtown Gloucester.