Free Downloadable Music? Sounds Just Right!

Looking for a song for school day morning drop off? Surprising your tween daughter with the latest song from Kelly Clarkson, Selena Gomez or from that movie she just watched? Trying to find songs for your child's birthday activities or even craving a song to enhance your workout?

We hear you!

Des Plaines Library card holders can download and keep up to three songs per week for free through Freegal. They can be saved to your devices such as a computer, Ereader, mp3 player, or phone. Once you try this service, perhaps showing your child or tween how to find free downloadable music just might give you some cool parent status in their eyes. Your children can download up to three free songs per week as long as they have their own library card.

How Do I Start?

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  Click on eDPPL from the library's website or go directly to www.dppl.org/eDPPL


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  Click Freegal


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  Type in your library card number.


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  Search Kelly Clarkson


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  Select an album, then your song selection by clicking 'download now'


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  Choose where the song location will be.

ENJOY!

Vote Now!

Just a reminder, voting for Caudill and Monarch nominees ends on Monday February 27. Parents and teachers, please encourage your children or students to get their voting done as soon as possible. The Caudill and Monarch awards are state awards were kids pick the winners.

Caudill voting happens online through our department's Caudill Club. Kids have to read a minimum of three of the nominees to vote for which one they believe should win the Caudill award. If readers read ten of the nominees, and submit feedback forms for each, they'll receive a copy of the winning book!

Monarch voting happens here in the library. Paper ballots are available in the picture book section. Kids have to read (or be read to) a minimum of five of the nominees to vote for the one they think should win the Monarch award. If readers are read to (or read themselves) all of the nominees then they will receive their own copy of the winning title!

This is a great chance for your child or students to read from a collection of diverse titles and have their say in which they feel deserves to win. It's also a fantastic way to add to your family's personal library!

Stop by the Youth Services desk for more information. Which books will your child predict to win?

A Book Turning 50?

That's right... books have birthdays too!  This year, is the 50th birthday of the book A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle.  It is a fun story that helped bring the science fiction genre of children's literature to the forefront of American Culture.  It is something exceptional when a children's book is popular enough to make it to 50 years and is still well loved and often recommended.  Even books that have won the Newberry and Caldecott Medals have lost favor over time.

While I am excited about A Wrinkle in Time's great accomplishment, it is not the first book to reach this milestone.  Several books have come before it and there will be more in the future.  Cheryl, who also works in the Youth Services Department, felt this same excitement last year when it was the 50th birthday of the book, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, one of her absolute favorite books. 

Does your child have a favorite book?  Perhaps you can have a discussion about how old that book is and about the different types of people that may have read the book throughout the years.  You could work in a discussion about what life was like for children 50 years ago.  If your child were growing up in 1962 when this book came out, think about how it might have been to start thinking about 'time travel' when we hadn't even reached the moon yet. 

Kindergarten Registration and Preschool Information

I know it is tough to think about.... the class of 2021?  But the class of 2021 is actually registering for Kindergarten right now.  If you life within the district 62 boundaries, are not sending your child to a parochial school, and have a child who will be 5 by September 1, 2012, you should be registering your child for Kindergarten now.  Find out more information here.  If you live within the district 59 boundaries, are not sending your child to a parochial school, and have a child who will be 5 by September 1, 2012, your Kindergarten registration starts on February 22nd.   Find out more information here.

Your child not going to be 5 by September 1, 2012?  Think about sending your child to one of the fantastic area preschools to get them ready for Kindergarten.  Every year, we have the Preschool Fair for Parents in January, which allows parents to meet representatives from area preschools and help them determine which school is right for their family.  If you missed the fair, we keep an up-to-date binder at the Youth Services Desk with the information from each school at the fair.  Feel free to stop and ask about it. You can copy any of the information in the binder and we hope that you find it informative.  As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.