ART

PETIT PORTRAITS John Singer Sargent’s paintings of children are on view at the Brooklyn Museum through Sunday in the exhibit “Great Expectations.” The exhibit connects Sargent’s career with developing ideas about childhood at the end of the 19th century, when Americans and Europeans stopped viewing children as miniature adults. Sargent’s portraits helped elevate paintings of children into the realm of high art – previously, the subject was considered best suited for female painters and sentimental souvenir artists. Through Sunday, Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. This weekend at the museum, Joanna Featherstone presents the poems of Phyllis Wheatley, Langston Hughes, and other African Americans in honor of the Romare Bearden exhibition and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (Saturday, 4 p.m.). All activities: Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway at Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-638-5000, $8 general, $4 seniors and students, free for children under 12.

CIRCUS, CIRCUS Families can sit by Alexander Calder’s sculpture “Circus” as they listen to stories about the circus at the Whitney Museum. Ian Falconer’s “Olivia Saves the Circus” and other big-top books will be read as part of the museum’s “American Stories” series connecting art and children’s literature. The program is intended for families with children between the ages of 5 and 10. Saturday, 4-5 p.m., Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave. at 75th Street, 212-570-7745, free with admission, registration recommended.

PRESCHOOL PAINTINGS At the Museum of Modern Art’s family art workshops, children aged 4 to 6 explore works in the galleries and then use what they have seen as inspiration to make their own art. At this session, artists in focus include Piet Mondrian and Jackson Pollock. Saturday and Sunday, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-708-9400, preregistration by mail is required.

BENEFITS

BIG NAMES, LITTLE LIT Actors including Kristen Johnston, Justin Theroux, Sam Rockwell, Bob Balaban, Martha Plimpton, and Parker Posey read from classic works of children’s literature by authors such as Mark Twain, Dr. Seuss, and Roald Dahl at a benefit for the Brooklyn writing lab 826NYC. Eric Bogosian hosts the evening, which also includes readings of works by “grownup” authors Jonathan Safran Foer, Nick Hornby, Neil Gaiman, and George Saunders. Monday, January 24, 8 p.m. Tonic, 107 Norfolk St., between Delancey and Rivington streets, 866-468-7619 for tickets, www.tonicnyc.com for information, $50 general, $100 tickets include priori ty seating, drinks, and a signed book including copies of the works to be read.

BOOKS

CHILL OUT Young-adult author Ned Vizinni talks to students about his books “Teen Angst? Naaah…” (Free Press) and “Be More Chill” (Miramax). Ruth Graham wrote in the pages of The New York Sun that Mr. Vizzini is “a writer who addresses teenagers with the hip-yet-responsible authority of someone who has only recently entered adulthood himself.” Thursday, 4 p.m., Brooklyn Public Library, Coney Island Branch, 1901 Mermaid Ave., near 19th Street, Brooklyn, 718-265-3220, free.

DANCE

RITE OF WINTER Families can celebrate the traditional Japanese rite-of-passage holiday, “Coming of Age Day,” at Family Disco. The weekly ball invites parents, children, and even babes in arms to dance together. Saturday, 3-4:30 p.m., Club Babalu, 327 W. 44th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, 2122586-7425, $12.

FILM

ANTS V. GRASSHOPPERS The Brooklyn Public Library screens “A Bug’s Life,” Pixar’s story of a crusading ant who hires some mercenary insects to protect his colony from a gang of freeloading grasshoppers. The movie screens as part of the library’s Saturday family movie series. Saturday, 11 a.m., Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library, second floor, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, 718-230-2100, free.

FOOD & DRINK

GLOBAL GAI PAN The Museum of Chinese in America displays the exhibit “Have You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America.” It collects personal narratives from restaurant employees, travel diaries, vintage radio commercials, and menus, spanning from the “chow chow” restaurants that dotted the American West during the mid-19th century through the present. After viewing the mouthwatering exhibit, families can head right to a local Chinatown restaurant. Through June, Tuesday-Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, noon-6 p.m., Friday, noon-7 p.m., Museum of Chinese in the Americas, 70 Mulberry St., between Mott and Mulberry streets, second floor, 212-619-4785, $3 general, $1 seniors and students, free admission on Fridays.

MUSIC

JAZZ FOR JUNIORS Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “WeBop!” children’s music education classes begin a new series next week for children ages 2 to 5, teaching children the basics of jazz history and performance. Tomorrow through March 5, Tuesdays or Saturdays, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, 212-258-9999, $300 full term, $35 single class.

PARENTING

SPECIAL CHILDREN Resources for Children with Special Needs presents a training session for families and professionals. The event focuses on the transition from school to adult life for children with disabilities. Tomorrow, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Ave., between 9th and 10th streets, 212-677-4560, free. See www.resourcesnyc.org for more information.

SOCIAL SKILLS Child and adolescent psychiatrist John McCarthy gives a lecture about how children with Asperger’s Syndrome and other “social deficits” can succeed in the classroom. Wednesday, 4:15-6 p.m., NYU Child Study Center, 215 Lexington Ave., between 32nd and 33rd streets, 16th floor, 212-263-8982, free.

VOLUNTEERING

HELPING HANDS The nonprofit Children for Children hosts a volunteering day during which children can volunteer at one of several community service organizations. Accompanied by an adult, participants can make birthday cards for the elderly, knit pieces for baby blankets, plant bulbs, and decorate flowerpots. Monday, January 17, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. High School, 122 Amsterdam Ave. at 65th Street, 212-759-1462, free.

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