May 2016
May is one of our favorite months of the year. What makes it so special? Four words: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. This year, FCBD is turning 15! We're hosting great events and giving away hundreds of free comics for readers of all ages at every one of our locations.

Read on to see what we've got happening at a library near you!
@North
May 7 1:00-4:00pm
We will be giving away hundreds of free comic books for kids, teens, and adults. We will also be doing special comic book themed crafts as part of our monthly Makerspace, AND we will have three professional comic book artists drawing personalized sketches of your favorite characters! There is something for everyone on Free Comic Book Day at the Berkeley Public Library!

@Tarea Hall Pittman South
May 7
1:00-4:00pm
We are giving away FREE comics for all ages from 1-4 while supplies last! And while you're browsing comics watch a bit of Garfield: The Movie or Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. Or make some buttons out of recycled comics. All ages are welcome for the free comic book giveaway and comic-themed fun for the whole family!

@WEST
May 7
1:00-4:00pm
Come celebrate Free Comic Book Day at West Branch in our Teen Room! Pick up your free comics and join us for Super Hero button making, shrinky dinking and video watching.

@Claremont
May 7
1:00-4:00pm
We are giving away FREE comics for all ages from  while supplies last! Come enjoy a viewer's choice anime marathon. In addition, kids and teens can participate in various drawing activities, including a collaborative dry erase mural on the Teen Room wall.



Thien Pham Comics Workshop @Central
May 7
1:00-2:30pm
Join us for a hands-on workshop with comic book and visual artist Thien Pham. First he illustrated Gene Yang's Level Up and then went solo with Sumo. We'll set up in the 3rd floor meeting room from 1:00pm - 2:30pm for a bit of high-spirited instruction. Teens 12-18 are welcome.

And of course we will be giving away free comics from 1:00 - 4:00pm while supplies last. It's FREE COMIC BOOK DAY across the nation and at the Berkeley Public Library.

What's Knot to Like @ MAKE SOME THING

(Image adapted from one by Wikimedia user Chris 73)

Wednesday, May 18
3:30-4:30pm
To celebrate Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month we're doing a special Make Some Thing workshop where we make bracelets, charms and more out of traditional Chinese knots. All materials will be provided and participants will take home a project they make themselves. All teens of middle and high school age are welcome.

Find all of our free library events here

Mango (Languages) in May!

Learn a language anytime with Mango & your library card. 71 languages including English, Spanish & Pirate!

Read Now!
Read SOME THING
Does Free Comic Book Day have you craving more graphic novels? Here are some of our freshest and favorite. You can find more at Graphic Novels and Superheroes

    by Mark Waid; illustrated by Fiona Staples, Annie Wu, and Veronica Fish
Archie, one of the longest-running titles in comic book history, is rebooted here in this surprising and definitive take on Archie's origin--a story that has never been told


    
Paper girls 1
by Brian K. Vaughan; illustrated by Cliff Chiang
In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time.

 

  
Monster: a graphic novel
by Walter Dean Myers; adapted by Guy A. Sims; illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile
While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.


  
Gotham Academy. Volume 2, Calamity by Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher; illustrated by Karl Kerschl, Mingjue Helen Chen, and Msassyk
Volume 2 digs deeper into the mysteries that surround the prestigious school and the characters that inhabit it.



Princess Jellyfish 1
by Akiko Higashimura
In this gender bender, the quiet life of an 18 year old otaku girl living with other geeky girls in a communal Tokyo apartment is turned upside down by a beautiful and fashionable woman who isn't quite what she initially seems.

by Nami Sano
Whether it's bullies, overzealous male models, or giant hornets, nothing stands a chance against unassailable Sakamoto, the coolest kid in school.

Library Closures

All
Berkeley Public Library

locations

are closed all day
Friday, May 20
&
Monday, May 30

Special Thanks
Most free events at Central Library, South and West Branch Libraries are sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library. Events at North Branch Library are made possible by a generous gift from the Pace Trust, in support of the North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library.