News & Blog - Dog Ears Bookstore

Dog Ears Bookstore to offer free after school youth programs

Dog Ears Bookstore & Café will once again offer a free after school youth program for students in grades 3-8 beginning Oct. 17 and ending Dec. 15. Three different days of programming will be offered by grade group. Tuesdays will feature programs for students in grades 3 and 4, Wednesdays will be targeted towards students in grades 5 and 6, and Thursdays will be reserved for students in grades 7 and 8.

All sessions will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and are limited to 20 students per day. All sessions will be taught by literacy specialists and New York State Certified English Language Arts teachers. All class materials will be provided, along with a small snack.

A nonprofit community bookstore, Dog Ears is located at 688 Abbott Road, Buffalo, near Mercy Hospital. Sessions will be held upstairs of the bookstore (enter through the front entrance). Adults do not need to attend with their child but must be mindful of drop off and pick up times. Parents are welcome to wait for their children in the café, which will be open for food and beverage purchases.

Pre-registration is required and youth are expected to attend each week. Parents can sign up their children by calling the bookstore at 823-2665. When signing up, please make sure to indicate which day your child will be attending.

The free after school program is made possible through funding from Erie County Youth Services and South District Councilman Christopher Scanlon.

Dog Ears to host author Kathy Sautter on October 21

Children’s book author Kathy Sautter will visit Dog Ears Bookstore & Café from 12 to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, to sign copies of her first book, Marmalade and Mittens Get a Marshmallow. The nonprofit community bookstore is located at 688 Abbott Road in Buffalo.

Children’s book author Kathy Sautter will visit Dog Ears on Oct. 21.

“Did you ever think of giving a marshmallow to a kitten,” asked the author. “No? Well, neither did we, but one day, while making a cup of hot chocolate, one slipped from the bag and onto the floor. From there, the adventures began! Based on actual events, Marmalade and Mittens Get a Marshmallow tells the tale of two frisky felines and the lengths they will go to catch this squishy, squashy, sweet little treat.”

A Williamsville native, Sautter is a seasoned public and media relations professional. While her day job certainly keeps her busy, she enjoys spending her downtime singing professionally (having won a Grammy with the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus), traveling internationally, and spending time with friends and family. She decided to combine her love for cats and her creative talents to pen her first children’s book, Marmalade and Mittens Get a Marshmallow, after the real life antics of her two beloved cats, Waffles and Klondike. She and her husband, Nick, now share their home with these two lovable felines in Lancaster.

For more information on Dog Ears Bookstore, please call 823-2665. You can also follow the bookstore on Facebook for frequent updates.

Six-week Writers’ Workshop to begin October 12 at Dog Ears Bookstore

A new six-week session of the Writers’ Workshop for adults is slated at Dog Ears Bookstore & Café, 688 Abbott Road, Buffalo. Classes will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. beginning Thursday, Oct. 12.

All participants will present current writing efforts that will be gently critiqued. Light refreshments are included, and the cost is $75 for all six meetings.

To register for the Writers’ Workshop, which continues on Oct. 19 and 26 and Nov. 2, 9 and 16, please call the bookstore at 823-2665 or email John Schreier at jmarkschrei@aol.com.

Dog Ears Bookstore to offer new Puppy Tales series

A new six-week Puppy Tales series at Dog Ears Bookstore & Café, located at 688 Abbott Road in South Buffalo, will kick off at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29.

Open to children ages 3 and 4 accompanied by a parent or guardian, Puppy Tales runs on six consecutive Friday mornings and each session includes three stories, a craft and healthy snacks. Sessions are skill- and book-based and the cost is $30 per child. Puppy Tales is limited to 15 children.

Puppy Tales is a great way to prepare students for Pre-K. To register for Puppy Tales, please visit the bookstore or call 823-2665.

Adult literary program continues on September 19 at Dog Ears Bookstore

The new adult literary program at Dog Ears Bookstore that focuses on women in literature will continue on Tuesday, Sept. 19. The book highlighted during this session will be Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

The All Our Voices Literary Program is a free monthly series for women of all ages that explores the different voices of women including immigrants, Black, Latina, Indigenous, LGBTQ, and formerly incarcerated individuals through diverse authors and time periods.

Sessions take place from 10 a.m. to noon at Dog Ears Bookstore, located at 688 Abbott Road in South Buffalo. The program is planned and led by a local college professor who encourage participants to share their own experiences, views and thoughts as they explore works of fiction, nonfiction, short stories and essays.

Sessions consists of a mix of high-quality discussions, group activities, personal reflections, conversations, writing exercises and more. The sessions will also include a deep dive into the role of women as well as the experiences, expectations, restrictions, prejudices, biases, challenges, etc. they experienced and the overall view of women by society during each time frame.

Prior to each session, participants will be given reading guides, prepared by the literary Instructor, with certain themes, questions and things to look for in each book while they read it. Each book in the program will be available for purchase at a reduced rate at Dog Ears Bookstore. Attendees are asked to read the book prior to the session if possible.

Future sessions on the schedule include:

• Tuesday, Oct. 31, The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner

• Tuesday, Nov. 21, Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

• Wednesday, Dec. 13, The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Shorter essays by additional authors will also be read during each session, and the program is limited to 15 participants per session. Please visit Dog Ears Bookstore or call 823-2665 to register or for more information.

The All Our Voices Literary Program is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by Arts Services Inc.

Dog Ears Bookstore to offer new literary program for adults

Dog Ears Bookstore, a nonprofit community bookstore located at 688 Abbott Road in South Buffalo, will offer a new literary program for adults beginning June 20. The All of Our Voices Literary Program is offered free of charge thanks to an Art Services of WNY grant.

With an emphasis on women in literature, each session will run from 10 a.m. to noon, with seven sessions total. Prior to each session, participants will be given reading guides, prepared by the literary Instructor, with certain themes, questions and things to look for in each book while they read it.

Sessions will consist of a mix of high-quality discussions, group activities, personal reflections, conversations, writing exercises and more. Sessions will also include a deep dive into the role of women as well as the experiences, expectations, restrictions, prejudices, biases, challenges, etc. they experienced and the overall view of women by society during each time frame. At the end of each session, participants will also be given a list of related books for further reading, relative to the theme or topic covered.

The seven sessions will be held on the following dates and will focus on the books and authors listed:

• Tuesday, June 20, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

• Thursday, July 20, Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

• Tuesday, Aug. 22, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

• Tuesday, Sept. 19, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston