"Wild About Books," on Saturday April 12 at 11:00 AM, is a story time that will celebrate books, libraries, and librarians to mark National Library Week, which runs from April 13-19.

Canton Public Library's story time schedule includes a weekend story time in order to serve working parents whose schedules do not permit them to bring their young children to weekday story times. Continuing through May on the second Saturday of the month, the Saturday Story Time will meet that need of working parents.

The April Pajama Story Time at Canton Public Library will feature everyone's favorite Italian grandmother, Strega Nona, made famous and popular by author/illustrator Tomie de Paola. The Pajama Story Time will be held on Monday, April 14 at 6:30 PM.

Strega Nona lives in a village in the hills of Calabria in Italy. She dispenses potions, cures, comfort, advice and not a little magic. Known also as "Grandmother Witch," she can cure a headache, banish warts, and restore hair to a bald head. She also maintains a magic pasta pot, which produces a steady supply of hot, delicious, steaming pasta.

The Strega Nona Pajama Story Time will feature de Paola's books and will include a craft activity, no doubt involving pasta.

On Tuesday, April 22 Canton Public Library hosts "Playtivity," a participatory musical and creative arts program to kick off events planned for school vacation week. The program begins at 10:30 AM and is for youngsters ages 2 and up.

Playtivity is a husband and wife team, Craig Norton and Virginia Anderson, from West Hartford, CT. Their participatory programs involve hundreds of musical instruments from around the world. Their music and multi-cultural themes bring all participants together in creative community adventures. Playtivity programs promote positive life skills such as listening, leadership, cooperation, and respect, creating a safe and creative environment where all participants have a chance to express themselves and succeed.

For school vacation week Canton Public Library hosts "The Music Shop," by Connecticut Opera Express, on Wednesday, April 23 at 3:00 PM. The 30-minute performance, sung in English and adapted for young children, opens with a basic synopsis of the opera. "The Music Shop," by Richard Wargo, is inspired by the works of Anton Checkhov.

Misha is a young assistant to Dmitri, both of whom work in the largest music shop in Russia. Ivan has been sent to the shop by his wife in search of a piece of music she will sing at the wedding of the prince. Unfortunately, Ivan cannot remember the title of the piece, and Misha and Dmitri must sing highlights from well-known operas in order to jog Ivan's memory.

The performance is funded through a grant from the Canton Education Foundation.

Canton Public Library's story time schedule includes a weekend story time in order to serve working parents whose schedules do not permit them to bring their young children to weekday story times. Saturday, May 10 at 11:00 AM is the final Saturday Story Time until the schedule resumes in the fall. The theme for May's Saturday Story Time is ducks.

The May Pajama Story Time at Canton Public Library, to be held on Monday, May 19th at 6:30 PM, features "Moon Stories." The PJ story time is for ages 3 and up, and no registration is necessary.

In addition to stories and songs about the moon, youngsters will watch the award-winning animated short "Moongirl," based on the book by Harry Selick. The craft activity will be making glow-in-the-dark magnets.

"Moongirl" takes its readers and viewers beyond the well-known man-in-the-moon tale. Leon and his pet squirrel, Earl, are night fishing when they are suddenly whisked skyward by a magical fish, which deposits them on the darkened moon. The mission of Leon and Earl is to save moongirl-and the moon-from the evil gargaloon, a monster which hates moonlight and the moon. The book is full of fanciful and luminous images, and the animated short carries the already energetic story to a new level.