Repost from The Montgomery Advertiser: Paul Sullivan 11:49 a.m. CST January 5, 2016

The popular Pike Road Library will be busy in January, including a visit from author and political commentator Steve Flowers.

The former legislator will speak at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21 about Alabama’s colorful political history and upcoming battles in Montgomery and Washington. Flowers is a veteran of state politics and author of “Of Goats and Governors: Six Decades of Colorful Alabama Political Stories.”

He also will attend a reception and book signing following his talk. Books will be for sale at the meeting. They also can be purchased from New South Books in Montgomery, and Goat Hill Museum Bookstore at the Capitol.

The Pike Road Bookies will meet to discuss the book at 9:15 a.m. on Jan. 21.

“Steve Flowers has been a fixture in Alabama politics and political journalism for decades, so he has many fascinating stories to tell,” librarian Matt Williams said. “The Friends of the Pike Road Branch Library hope that lots of folks will come to hear Steve.”

Afternoon story times continue in 2016 at 4:30 p.m. on Mondays for ages 3 to 6. The stories on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25 involve animals, Williams said.

On Jan. 11, Williams will feature “Duck Soup,” one of a series of books written and illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic.

“In this book, Max the Duck wants to cook a delicious soup for his friends, but realizes that he needs to run to his garden after he has put his soup on to simmer. His friends arrive while he’s gone and freak out when they can’t find him,” Williams said. “They conclude that he has fallen into his own soup. I used this book for story time a few years ago and loved providing voices for his friends as they grow increasingly hysterical over what they believe to be Duck’s soupy fate.”

And on Jan. 25, the biggest frog in Australia becomes very thirsty. “In fact, he is so thirsty that he drinks all the water,” Williams said, adding that the other animals must think of a way to get the water back in “The Biggest Frog in Australia” by Susan L. Roth.

Lego League sessions will take place on Jan. 7 and Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. for ages 5 and older. At each session, Lego Leaguers are issued a challenge and then make awesome creations using the library’s collection of bricks.

Good morning story times will take place again on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. for ages 1 to 3. Children and adults enjoy songs and stories each week, Williams said.

The Angry Dragons Book Club will gather on Jan. 6 at 4:15 p.m. to discuss “Serafina and the Black Cloak,” by Robert Beatty. It’s a tale of a girl living secretly in the basement of an estate mansion when she learns she must be the one to save the children living at the family estate from a mysterious culprit, a man in a black cloak.

The teen book club will meet at 4:15 p.m. on Jan. 20 to focus on “The Sleeper and The Spindle,” by Neil Gaiman. Any teen wanting to participate in the Teen Book Club simply needs to check out the book and show up for the discussion, Williams said.

“Neil Gaiman, the author of ‘The Sleeper and The Spindle,’ is one of my favorite authors and this will be the first time that the teens have read one of his books, so I’m looking forward to hearing what they think about it,” Williams said. “The story merges the legends of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, and the teens are fans of ‘Once Upon A Time,’ a TV show which merges lots of fairy tale characters into one story. So I hope they will like ‘The Sleeper and The Spindle,’ as well.”

The library and its growing host of fans enjoyed a visit from Santa and friends in December to help kick off the Christmas season.

“Santa and Elsa’s appearance at our annual Holiday Open House led to record-breaking attendance for the event. Over 200 people joined us to enjoy crafts, food and photo opportunities with Kris Kringle and the Snow Queen,” Williams said. “We also enjoyed live music provided by the Merithew family. The Merithew’s have been faithful users of our library for several years, and were very kind to add some Christmas spirit to the event. I am very grateful to the Friends of the Pike Road Branch Library for providing the craft supplies, refreshments and smiling faces who greeted our guests throughout that afternoon.”

The Pike Road Library is located at 9585 Vaughn Road in the town hall center. The library can be reached at 244-8679, or on Facebook, facebook.com/pikeroadbranchlibrary.