Community Calendar

Join the Library's longest running book club on the 2nd Thursday of every month to discuss a new book! This month, we are reading The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry. Copies are available at the Downtown Information Desk.

We will meet in person in the Downtown Library Community Room. If you need to attend by Zoom, please reach out to programming staff at libraryprograms@flagstaffpubliclibrary.org or call the Information Desk (928-213-2332) ahead of time. Please no later than Monday the week of the discussion.

Join the Library's longest running book club on the 2nd Thursday of every month to discuss a new book! This month, we are reading The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry. Copies are available at the Downtown Information Desk.

In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the kind Bridie Aberdeen and her teenage son, Harry, in a charming stone cottage along the River Thames, Hazel fills their days with walks and games to distract her young sister, including one that she creates for her sister and her sister alone—a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own.

But the unthinkable happens when young Flora suddenly vanishes while playing near the banks of the river. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister’s disappearance, and she carries that guilt into adulthood as a private burden she feels she deserves.

Twenty years later, Hazel is in London, ready to move on from her job at a cozy rare bookstore to a career at Sotheby’s. With a charming boyfriend and her elegantly timeworn Bloomsbury flat, Hazel’s future seems determined. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing an illustrated book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the imaginary world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years?

We will meet in person in the Downtown Library Community Room. If you need to attend by Zoom, please reach out to programming staff at libraryprograms@flagstaffpubliclibrary.org or call the Information Desk (928-213-2332) ahead of time. Please no later than Monday the week of the discussion.

To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, please call 928-213-2330. Three days prior notice is requested.

The Senior Book Club meets the 3rd Monday of every month at the Joe C. Montoya Community and Senior Center, located at 245 N Thorpe Rd, Flagstaff, AZ 86001.

All books provided are large print books for easier reading.

If you need to check out the current book, call 928-213-2380 or email libraryprograms@flagstaffpubliclibrary.org. You can also stop by the library and get your book there.

Next meeting books will be available at the Joe C. Montoya Community Center to check out after the meeting. You can also return the previous book then.

This month we are reading:

The God of the Woods
by Liz Moore

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

Whether you just started a new school year or you’re an avid reader, this bookmark Pop-Up is for you! Stop by Sharlot Hall Museum on August 23rd to unleash your creative side and make your own bookmark! Choose from a variety of materials to make it uniquely yours.

In 1912, the inaugural year of Arizona's statehood, the rural Verde Valley was inhabited by ambitious ranchers and farmers who raised cattle, cultivated crops, and nurtured children. This demand for education led the community to "mail-order" a teacher, just as they did for supplies from the Sears catalog.

Elsie Hayes, a college graduate, arrived from a cultured background filled with concerts and literary clubs. Her tiny teacher's cabin in Cornville starkly contrasted with her family’s beautiful home in Long Beach, California. This refined young woman found herself drinking from an irrigation ditch, bathing in Oak Creek, and teaching in a one-room schoolhouse. Initially viewing her students as "common," she soon formed a deep affection for them, leading to a shift in her perspective from feeling superior to developing a genuine admiration for these "backwoods" residents. The wild landscape, once daunting to her, transformed into something “breathtaking and glorious.”

This true narrative is brought to life through Elsie’s century-old journals, photographs, and letters home, which vividly depict a bygone era and provide insight into the early history of Cornville and Williams, Arizona. More than just historical accounts, they reveal a colorful tapestry of adventure, heartache, and a poignant story of lost love.