ANIMALS

GREEN SCENE The Bronx Zoo celebrates all things green, from spring to St. Patrick’s Day, with a weekend focus on the “World of Reptiles.” Reptile keepers show off tree pythons, poison dart frogs, and a “pig-nose” turtle – the Bronx Zoo is the only one in America to successfully hatch the breed. Keeper talks: Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Zoo hours: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily, Bronx Zoo, Bronx River Parkway and Fordham Road, Bronx, 718-367-1010, $8 general, $6 seniors and children ages 2 to 12.

ART

WHEN PIGS FLY Modernist painter Milton Avery (1885-1965) painted the illustrations in the exhibit “Milton Avery: The Flying Pig and Other Winged Creatures” at the encouragement of his friend Mark Rothko. The illustrations accompany a story by children’s author Karla Kuskin that features a flying pink pig, a giant caterpillar, a singing cat, and a young boy. It will be published again this year under the titled “The Flying Pig and Other Winged Creatures.” The works in the exhibit, which include drypoints, woodcuts, and gouache paintings, are on view for the first time publicly. Through May 27, Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday, 1-6 p.m., New York Public Library, Stokes Gallery, third floor, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, 212-869-8089, free.

BOOKS

BEST ILLUSTRATORS The winner of the 2004 Caldecott Medal for children’s book illustrations, Kevin Henkes, joins this year’s other three honorees at a reading and book signing. Mr. Henkes won for “Kitten’s First Full Moon” (Greenwillow). Also on hand are Mo Willems (“Knuffle Bunny,” Hyperion), Barbara Lehman (“The Red Book,” Houghton Mifflin), and E.B. Lewis (“Coming on Home Soon,” Putnam), who is accompanied by his collaborator Jacqueline Woodson. Saturday, noon, Books of Wonder, 18 W. 18th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-989-3270, free.

MELON MAN Farmer and author V. J. Switzer reads his children’s book “Puffy the Watermelon,” about a young boy who grows an enormous melon to enter in the county fair. Saturday, 2 p.m., Hue-Man Bookstore, 2319 Frederick Douglass Boulevard at 125th Street, 212-665-7400, free.

WALDEN AT THE WHITNEY To get in the mood for Earth Day, the Whitney hosts a reading of D.B. Johnson’s children’s books about Henry David Thoreau. Afterward, children can sketch in the Whitney’s galleries and meet authors and illustrators. The event is recommended for families with children ages 5 to 8. Saturday, 4-5 p.m., Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave. at 75th Street, 212-671-5300, free with museum admission, $12 general, $9.50 seniors and students, free for members, NYC public school students, and children under 12, registration recommended.

FESTIVAL

SPRING FLING A Spring Equinox celebration includes workshops on sun science (11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.), making paper (noon-1:30 p.m. ages 4 to 6, 1:30-2:30 p.m. ages 6 to 8, 3-4 p.m. ages 8 to 10, $10, reservations suggested), and egg art such as Ukrainian batik pysanka and Mexican cascarones (noon-1:30 p.m. ages 6 to 8, 2:30-4 p.m., ages 8 to 10, $20, reservations suggested). Sunday, noon-4 p.m., American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, 212-769-5200, free with museum admission.

FILM

BOTS AND BABIES The Reel Moms film series, which invites parents to bring their babies to the theater, screens the animated comedy “Robots.” Tomorrow, 11 a.m., Loews 34th Street, 316 W. 34th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, 212-244-8850, $8.99 general, free for children under 2. See www.enjoytheshow.com/reelmoms for more information.

THAT’S AMORE The “Rattle and Reel” program at Sunshine Theater welcomes caregivers and babies to a weekly screening of one of the theater’s arty first-run films. This week, parents can view “Don’t Move,” an Italian film about an affair between a doctor (played by Sergio Castellitto) and a hotel maid (Penelope Cruz). Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. doors open, 11 a.m. show, Landmark Sunshine Theater, 143 E. Houston St., between Eldridge and Forsyth streets, 212-330-8182, $10.25 general, $6.75 members, free for babies.

PANTHER FANS The New York International Children’s Film Festival screens “A Shot in the Dark” (1964), a Pink Panther movie (Saturday, noon, Museum of the Moving Image, 35th Avenue at 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, $8).The festival closes with an awards ceremony, a screening of the winning films, and an all-ages party (Sunday, 4 p.m., Directors Guild of Amerca, 110 W. 57th St. at Sixth Avenue, $17-$20). Please go to www.gkids.com for full schedule and ticket information.

FOOD & DRINK

SOUFFLE, S’IL VOUS PLAIT The Miette Culinary Studio presents a children’s lesson in making a chocolate souffle with chocolate sauce and creme anglaise. Tomorrow, 4-5:30 p.m., Miette Culinary Studio, 109 MacDougal St., between Bleecker and West 3rd streets, 212-460-9322, $85.

BAGEL BRUNCH Families can listen to live klezmer music while they enjoy a brunch of bagels, lox, juice, and coffee. Sunday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Tribeca Hebrew, 67 Hudson St. at Jay Street, 212-608-0555, $15 general, $30 for family, $5 children, reservations recommended.

MAGIC

ABRACADABRA! Magician Maritess Zurbano performs a show for children ages 5 to 12. Tomorrow, 4 p.m., New York Public Library, Francis Martin Branch, 2150 University Ave. at 181st Street, Bronx, 718-295-5287, free.

MUSEUM

CURIOUS CURATORS Children can bring unusual rocks, seashells, flowers, or any other natural object to try to “stump the curator” at the Staten Island Museum. Wednesday, 4-5 p.m., Staten Island Museum, 75 Stuyvesant Place at Wall Street, Staten Island, 718-727-1135 ext. 16, free with museum admission, $2 general, $1 seniors and students, free for children under 12.

MUSIC

SIDDHARTHA FOR CHILDREN A new contemporary musical translates Herman Hesse’s “Siddhartha” for children. The cast of “Sidd” includes Indian “fusion artist” Suneeta Rao. Wednesday, 7 p.m., Thursday, 1 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 5 p.m., Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, 212-864-5400, $20.

FINNISH FUN Finnish pianist and composer Mika Pohjola performs a musical and visual tribute to Finnish author Tove Jansson’s Moomin characters. Shy, fat, Moomins live in the forests of Finland, in houses that resemble large snowballs during the winter. Saturday, 4 p.m., Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave., between 37th and 38th streets, 212-847-9740, $10 general, $8 members, $5 children under 12.

PARENTING

CHILD VS. CHILD A seminar offers strategies for parents to improve their children’s sibling rivalry. Tomorrow, 7 p.m., JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th Street, 646-505-5708, $20.

‘GA GA’ TO ‘ME, TOO’ A workshop for parents of children ages 1 to 2 1/2 focuses on language development. Tomorrow, 8-9:30 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, $20.

WORKSHOP

MEDIEVAL TIMES A medieval arts workshop invites families to carve a block of limestone, create medieval illuminated letters, design gargoyles, weave, and make stained-glass collages. The event is intended for children ages 4 and above and their families. Saturday, 10 a.m.-noon, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave., at 112th Street, 212-932-7347, $5 each child.

YOGA

STRETCH BEFORE SLEEP Children ages 8 and above can wear their pajamas to a special Friday evening yoga class. Relaxing yoga poses and calming breathing techniques help prepare stretchers for bedtime. A snack of milk and cookies follows. Friday, 8 p.m., Karma Kids Yoga, 104 W. 14th St. at Sixth Avenue, second floor, 646-638-1444, $15, reservations requested.

To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com, placing the date of the event in the subject line.