Reading for Change Book Club, Session 3:
The Small and the Mighty,
by Sharon McMahon
Wednesday, May 22
6:30pm-8pm
Mermaid Books
Join us for our new monthly nonfiction book club.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re feeling it, too: We’ve entered into a period some observers refer to as “hypernormalization,” a term coined to describe a society where norms and systems are breaking down, yet life carries on, per usual. How do we persist, in a world like this? Where do we put our anxious energy? How do we find purpose?
We’ll tackle these and other big questions in this new club, inviting experts into our meetings to enhance our understanding of the themes and issues we unpack. Our hope? To learn; to find hope in the darkness, in each other; to reject inertia and apathy, and find new ways to make a difference.
Admission is rolling, and we’ll announce our reads each month, before we meet. For our third meeting we’ll discuss The Small and the Mighty, by Sharon McMahon.
As with all of our clubs, we’ll top out at 15 members, so if you’re interested, please drop us a line to claim your spot and let us know if you need a copy of the book. To support Mermaid Books, you may buy copies in store, download ebooks from Bookshop.org, or download audiobooks at Libro.fm.
No-Presh Write Club
Last Thursdays
6:30pm-8ish-pm
Mermaid Books
Join us for our monthly writing club.
Choose to respond to a prompt, or chip away at a manuscript you’re already working on.
Free, but space is limited. To join in person or remotely via Google Meet link, email us at info@mermaidbooksct.com.
Weekly Storytime
Every Friday
11am-11:30am
Mermaid Books
An always free, always littles-friendly weekly story session with our children’s specialists.
A story time geared toward babies, toddlers and young preschoolers featuring books, music, and on-theme crafts, led by our wonderful children’s specialists Ms. Ellen and Ms. Laura, longtime educators and moms. No registration necessary, walk-ins welcome.
Mermaid Crafts:
Monthly Book Bedazzling,
May Session 1
Friday, May 8
6:30pm-8:30pm
Mermaid Books
Join us for our monthly bedazzling sesh with Allie Joy of @creativelyclinical!
Learn how to bedazzle a book! No crafting experience needed, just bring your creativity and a book!
Rules of the road:
✨ Please arrive no earlier than 6:30pm, to allow us enough time for setup.
✨ BYOB and snacks!
✨ Book order info: If you don’t have a book you’d like to use, no problem! You can special-order one to pick up before class, or place a hold, by emailing us at info@mermaidbooksct.com.
A Special Springtime Story Hour with
David Ezra Stein, author of
Wake Up, Grouchy Bear!
and the Interrupting Chicken Series
Saturday, May 9
11am-12:30pm
Jonathan Law High School Auditorium
If you love David Ezra Stein’s silly Interrupting Chicken, you’ll adore his crabby but adorable grouchy bear! Let’s help this guy wake up!
Caldecott Honor artist David Ezra Stein has been making children and their parents laugh for decades with his indelible characters, including his fan-favorite Interrupting Chicken, who just can’t take the hint!
Now Stein brings his wit and charm to a story about a grumpy bear whose animal friends are determined to wake him up after a long hibernation.
Spring is here. The world is awake and abuzz, but our little bear is still sleeping. When will he finally wake up from his slumber—and what sort of mood will he be in?
Fans of Grumpy Monkey and the Bruce books will LOVE this curmudgeonly but cute little cub, whose trials we can all appreciate. Who hasn’t been there? Sometimes it’s tough to get out of bed!
Join us for a super fun (and free!) reading and puppet show performed by David on Saturday, May 9, at Jonathan Law High School.
Book signing to follow. We’re excited to see you!
Raves about Grouchy Bear:
★ “High-spirited and brimming with fun, a charming look at the dawn of a new season and continued good times with friends.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ “A rousing storytime standout.” – Booklist Reviews (starred review)
David Ezra Stein is the Caldecott Honor–winning illustrator and author of Interrupting Chicken as well as many other award-winning picture books, including Dinosaur Kisses; Hush, Little Bunny; and Leaves, winner of an Ezra Jack Keats Award. He lives in Kew Gardens, New York, with his two children and a bunny named Bun Bun.
Mermaid Crafts:
Monthly Book Bedazzling,
May Session 2
Friday, May 15
6:30pm-8:30pm
Mermaid Books
We can’t get enough sparkle! If you missed out on tickets to our first May bedazzle sesh, fear not. We’re doing it again May 15th. Same rules, same time, same place. See you there!
Mermaid Crafts x Milford Pride Present: Drag Story Hour with BLEACH!
Sunday, May 17
10:30am-11:30am
Mermaid Books
Join us for a fun and colorful Drag Story Hour at Mermaid Books!
One and all are welcome to our first drag story time! Our fabulous special guest will be reading from some of our favorite picture books celebrating love, diversity, and families of all kinds.
This event is free, but space is limited. Register today to secure your spot!
Author Talk: Deborah Levison, A Novel Crime, in Conversation with Lynne Constantine
Thursday, May 21
6:30pm-7:30pm
Mermaid Books
Join us as Deborah Levison discusses her new book, A Novel Crime, with New York Times bestselling author Lynne Constantine.
Struggling romance writer and recent divorcée Marcy Jo Codburn feels like a failure. She’s green with author envy and longing for a book deal, a launch party with cupcakes, and the admiration of her daughter.
But her dream of literary success is fading faster than her beige hair dye. When she witnesses celebrated author Francesca Barber in a compromising position, Marcy sees her chance. Transforming into Summer Branigan, her bolder, blonder pen name, she leverages Francesca’s secret to secure the ultimate coauthor.
As their collaboration spirals from Marcy’s modest Connecticut home to Francesca’s lavish Hamptons estate, both women discover that in the cutthroat world of publishing, every story has its price. With looming deadlines, a kidnapping plot gone awry, and more than one fraud to hide, their twisted partnership careens toward a surprise ending neither could have written.
In this darkly comic page-turner, critically acclaimed author Deborah Levison skewers the publishing industry with razor-sharp wit. A Novel Crime asks just how far an aspiring writer will go to see her name on a book jacket―and what happens when the stories we tell start to write themselves.
Join us for a conversation with Levison led by Milford’s own Lynne Constantine, the New York Times bestselling author of, most recently, Don’t Open Your Eyes, out in paperback next month, and Promise Me Never, coming in August 2026.
Book signing to follow.
About the authors:
Deborah Levison is the award-winning author of the novel A Nest of Snakes and the true crime book The Crate. Her life has two parts: the first in Canada, where she attended the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto, and the second in Connecticut, where she lives with three children, two doodles, and one husband.
Lynne Constantine writes with her sister Valerie under the pen name Liv Constantine; their books have sold millions of copies worldwide. Lynne holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University. She writes the Jack Logan series under the pen name L.C. Shaw, and is currently co-writing television and film adaptations of The Network, Everybody is a Liar, and The Senator’s Wife.
Mermaid Books 