Community Calendar

The Berkshire Athenaeum will host acclaimed children’s author Carol Munro for a special Springtime Storks storytime on Saturday, May 9. Based on a true story, Springtime Storks is an ode to the resilience, dedication, and love between two migratory birds, while also delivering an urgent message about conservation. When Katerina, a majestic white stork, is shot and left unable to fly, a man and his granddaughter rescue her while her devoted mate, Luka, stays by her side—until winter forces him to migrate alone. In spring he returns, and together they raise a new brood, overcoming Katerina’s injury with ingenuity and enduring devotion.

Following the storytime, kids will have the chance to create their own stork hand puppets and learn more about storks and their remarkable migration patterns!

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Carol Munro is a children's book author originally from Connecticut, who migrated with her husband to Massachusetts, where they made a nest and raised their family. Her debut picture book, Springtime Storks was longlisted for the 2025 Massachusetts Book Awards. You can learn more about her at www.caroljoymunro.com.

Calling all fans of the Dragon Masters early reader series! Bestselling author Tracey West is coming back to Northampton to celebrate book #31: Dragon Masters: Defending the Swamp Dragon on May 9, 2026, from 11am-12pm, at BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity.

Tracey will read from her new books, share how she creates new dragons, and sign copies from 12-1pm. Come dressed as your fav dragon OR Dragon Master!

Tickets are $10 and go on sale March 7 at 4pm. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. More info: bombyx.live

Join us at The Mount for a special storytime and draw-along with acclaimed author and illustrator Astrid Sheckels! The event is focused on Astrid’s gorgeous new picture book, Flora and the Jazzers, a heartwarming tale of a determined young ferret who dreams of moving beyond her role as a scullery maid, and seeing her favorite band perform. A live drawing demonstration will follow the reading.

Books will be available for purchase through The Mount’s Gift & Bookstore, and an author signing will follow the program.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book and the Lenox Library. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

*In the event of inclement weather, this program will be held at the Lenox Library.

Award-winning author/illustrator Astrid Sheckels cannot remember a time when she was not telling or illustrating stories, especially ones involving imaginary animals. A native of western Massachusetts and growing up in an artistic family, Astrid spent her childhood playing outside, using her imagination, and drawing. Her Scandinavian roots are evident in her artwork, which she describes as a “mix of classic realism and whimsy.” She is a member of the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild and has artwork in the permanent collection of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Astrid’s picture books include the Hector Fox and Friends series, the Sea Dog series, Flora and the Jazzers, and Nic and Nellie. Several exciting new titles are in the works with Waxwing Books.

Visit Astrid’s world at https://www.astridsheckels.com/

Calling all fans of the Dragon Masters early reader series! Bestselling author Tracey West is coming back to Northampton to celebrate book #31: Dragon Masters: Defending the Swamp Dragon on May 9, 2026, from 11am-12pm, at BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity.

Tracey will read from her new books, share how she creates new dragons, and sign copies from 12-1pm. Come dressed as your fav dragon OR Dragon Master!

Tickets are $10 and go on sale March 7 at 4pm. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. More info: bombyx.live

The Monson Free Library will host author Lisa Stringfellow for a family-friendly event celebrating her middle grade fantasy novel, Kingdom of Dust, which received Mass Book Award Honors in 2025. The event will open with a discussion of Lisa’s new book and the traditions and inspirations that shape her fantasy worlds. Following the presentation, attendees will have the chance to meet Lisa and learn more about her journey as a writer.

Kingdom of Dust follows Amara, a young girl on a quest to find her land’s lost storytellers in order to save her family and society. Inspired by West African mythology, the novel blends lush prose with accessible storytelling for readers of all ages. Rooted in themes of climate justice, cultural memory, and the restoration of her people’s stories, Amara’s journey has earned the book recognition within the contemporary fantasy canon.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

LISA STRINGFELLOW is a middle-grade author and longtime educator who has taught Language Arts and technology to middle-school students for over 30 years. She writes fantasy with a dark, folkloric twist, inspired by her love of fairy tales. A member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Authors Guild, and Black Creators HQ, she is an active advocate for equity and inclusivity in children’s literature.

Join the Berkshire Botanical Garden for a special storytime with acclaimed children’s author Susan Edwards Richmond! The event is focused on Susan’s new book The Great Pollinator Count, which follows Mellie and her classmates as they explore the world of insect pollinators and discover the power of teamwork and community science. Following a fun and engaging read-aloud, attendees will learn more about how pollination works—and then head out to the gardens to search for pollinators in action.

Books will be available for purchase through the Garden Shop.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Susan Edwards Richmond is the award-winning author of The Great Pollinator Count, which was selected as a Children’s Book Council “Best STEM Book of the Year.” Her other picture books include Bioblitz! Counting Critters, Bird Count, and Night Owl Night, a Massachusetts Book Award Honors Title and Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book selection. A passionate birder and naturalist, Susan teaches preschool on a farm and wildlife sanctuary in eastern Massachusetts and learns the native wildlife wherever she travels.

Join the Hitchcock Center for the Environment for a special storytime with award-winning children’s author Mary Wagley Copp on Saturday, May 9! The event will focus on Mary’s picture book, Yoshi’s Big Swim: One Turtle’s Epic Journey Home, which tells the true story of Yoshi, a loggerhead sea turtle who was rescued and cared for by scientists before being released back into the ocean. Discover an amazing story celebrating teamwork, conservation, and an animal hero who swam more than 22,000 miles to her true home—the longest journey of any animal ever tracked.

Following a fun and engaging presentation on the book, attendees will learn more about Yoshi’s real-world counterparts and have the chance to meet some of the Hitchcock Center’s turtles in residence.

Books will be available for purchase through Odyssey Bookshop.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Mary Wagley Copp’s debut picture book, Wherever I Go, won numerous awards, including NPR’S 100 Best Children’s Books 2020, Notable Social Studies Book by CBC 2021 and was the 2022 winner of the Massachusetts Book Award. Her nonfiction book, Yoshi’s Big Swim: One Turtle’s Epic Journey Home was longlisted for the 2024 Mass Book Award and was the winner of the 2024 Nutmeg Award. Mary’s students in her ELL class were the inspiration for her new book, Sometimes We Pray (2026). She and her husband live on a farm in Westport, MA. They have 3 grown children. You can learn more about Mary at marywagleycopp.com.

Next up in the Berkshire Nature Talk Series:

Ryan Shea, The Nature Institute
Butterflies are among nature’s most captivating organisms, dazzling us with their colors, patterns, and the remarkable transformation from caterpillar to winged adult. But what can they teach us about the deeper rhythms of the natural world? In this talk, Ryan Shea invites us to slow down and truly observe butterflies: to notice how their shapes and colors shift and transform, and to help us discover a “living understanding of nature.” He draws on an approach to nature observation developed by the German writer and scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which asks us to follow what we actually see rather than jump to explanation.

About the Speaker: Ryan Shea is a researcher and educator at The Nature Institute in Ghent, New York, where he explores how people can develop a deeper, more meaningful connection with the natural world — with a special focus on plants and insects.

Free for West Stockbridge Historical Society members; $10 suggested donation for nonmembers. Please register at weststockbridgehistory.org.

The Berkshire Nature Talk Series is funded in part by grants from the Alford-Egremont, Richmond, and West Stockbridge cultural councils, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

It’s the Sweet Sixteenth year for the Greenfield Bee Fest, and this year things will be absolutely BUZZING – with more artsy educational fun, more celebration, more vendors, and even a SPECIAL GUEST musical appearance from MISTER G!
Festivities run from 9 AM to 4 PM on Saturday, May 16th, with the fun continuing into Sunday!
Crafts, Music, Bee Bazaar, & Pollinator Parade ~ 9 AM – 11:30 AM on Court Square & Second Congregational Church Lawn
Author Reading w/ MISTER G ~ 9 AM – 10 AM at Greenfield Public Library
Greenfield Farmers Market ~ 9 AM – 1:30 PM on Court Square
Pollinator Picnic w/ musical guest MISTER G, Maker’s Market, Crankie Fest, & Food Trucks ~ 11:30 AM – 4 PM at Energy Park
Join the festivities to celebrate and honor Lorenzo Langstroth, creator of the modern Bee Hive (in Greenfield!) and learn about the little buzzies that we can’t live without!
All activities can be enjoyed for FREE!!

Join High Five Books and local author Nicholas Day for the release of his thoughtful new picture book NICE WORK on Saturday, May 16, from 10-10:30am. This storytime is free and all families are welcome.

ABOUT ‘NICE WORK’

A wise and tender story about the patience needed for a tree-and a friendship-to grow, from award-winning author Nicholas Day.

All he wanted was a peach tree: Because when you eat a ripe peach, you get sticky and sweet, and if you don't wash up, you stay sticky and sweet. And you feel like summer.

But when the tree arrives in the spring, it isn't a tree. It's a stick. Nice work, the boy tells his parents. You bought a stick. Even his friend Maya agrees. It's a stick.

Though what happens when you plant a stick, and it grows leaves? What happens when your best friend moves away? What happens when everything that was once clear starts to change?

Here is a story of growth, the enduring power of friendship, the persistence of rabbits—and a single, glorious, impossible peach.