Halloween Hoopla

Every year, the city of Des Plaines hosts a Halloween Hoopla, a safe Saturday of fun activities and 'Trick or Treating' around the downtown area of the city.  This year's festivities are being held on Saturday, October 23rd.

It all kicks off with the annual costume parade around Metropolitan Square, with each costumed participant receiving a trick-or-treat back and a special prize.  Every year is more magical than the next, and this year, the library is presenting our Glow-in-the-Dark Juggler at 1pm followed by a Spooktacular Craft sponsored by the Des Plaines Park District.

This year, treat your family to a fun Saturday event and test out their costumes!

LEGO Time!

Isn't it amazing to think that LEGOs have been around for 50 years? This simple toy has played a pivotal role in many imaginations. Kids can create cars, houses, robots, space shuttles, Hogwarts-anything they put their mind to!

If you're looking for something to do Halloween weekend, consider going to LEGO KidsFest. It's happening October 29th through 31st at McCormick Place in Chicago. There will be Construction Zones where kids can build, build, build! Your child can also participate in Cool Creations. If they have created a model that they want to show off, this is the perfect chance. Register their creation online and bring it with when you go to the KidsFest. Attendees will be able to vote on which model they think is the best. I thought the best thing was the Mystery Mural Build. Kids will get to build a tile that will get added to the mural and slowly the mystery image will unfold!

Continue your LEGO adventure by coming to the library and getting some books. We have LEGO books for all reading levels. If your child is just starting to learn to read, go to the Early Readers section and look under LEGO. Choose from exciting titles like Fire Truck to the Rescue! or Troll Attack. If they enjoy the Bionicle sets, have them try Bionicle Legends, which is located in our J Series section. Start out with the first book in the series, Island of Doom. One of my favorite LEGO creations is the mini figure. Luckily I can learn more about them in the book Standing Small.

So have the kids fire up their imagination and get creative with LEGOs! Then continue the fun by bringing them to the library and picking out books featuring their favorite toys.

New Parenting Books

Didn't I Feed You Yesterday?: A mother's guide to sanity in stilettos.
Brutally honest, outrageous, and sure to raise a few
eyebrows, this is a riotously funny read.
J Parent Collection 306.8743 BEN

Raising Confident Readers
This book provides an outstanding guide for parents to help
their children get a jumpstart on early literacy experiences.
J Parent Collection 372.6 GEN

The Sound of Hope
Simple truths in recognizing, coping with,
and treating your child's auditory processing disorder.
J Parent Collection 618.920978 HEY

The Everyday Advocate
A stand-out resource for families caring for children
with special needs.
J Parent Collection 618.9285882 MAR

Eat, Sleep, Poop
A common sense guide to your baby's first year from an
award-winning pediatrician.
J Parent Collection 649.122 COH

Help! My Baby Came Without Instructions
This book is a blend of common sense tips and
heartfelt perspective to comfort new moms and
new babies alike.
J Parent Collection 649.122 LIP

Your Baby's First Year
Is an all-in-one guide to caring for your infant.
J Parent Collection 649.122 YOU

Columbus Day

The observance of Columbus Day in the United States has a very long history dating as far back as 1792 and the 300th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage. Although President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation in 1892 encouraging a patriotic celebration of the 400th anniversary of the voyage, there seems to be some confusion about dates and official holiday status.

Columbus Day was first a state holiday in Colorado in 1906. Then, urged by the organization Knights of Columbus, congress and president Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared Columbus Day a national holiday. Some sources say 1934, others say the year was 1937. Yet another source, the Congressional Research Services, indicates that Columbus Day may not have become an official federal holiday until 1968. And still another source, World Book Encyclopedia, gives that year as 1971.

Click the link to check out our Biography in Context database to read a wonderfully concise biography of Christopher Columbus.

The Library of Congress web site contains beautiful photos and artwork pertaining to the story of Columbus and his voyages as well as Columbus Day celebrations over time. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/oct12.html

We have a new biography of Columbus on the shelves this year from the Great Explorers of the World series, but there are many good Christopher Columbus biographies and histories that are wonderful resources for school reports and general interest. Check one out today!

National Friends of Libraries Week

October 17-23, 2010 is National Friends of Libraries Week.

Perhaps you attended the recent Friends of the Library fall book sale and found some bargains?

Perhaps you recently attended one of our many wonderful library programs and learned something new or were entertained?

Hip, hip, hooray for the Friends of Des Plaines Public Library!

If you've read the news lately, or even if you haven't, you know that times are hard all over. How lucky we are to have a vibrant Friends of the Library group that is a tremendous supporter of the library, its collections, and its programming.

Recently our Friends group approved funding to help the library through a tough time. A small collection of new books, dvd's, music, magazines, and audiobooks will be purchased by the Friends. Their generous contribution to the library's collections will help us ensure that you have the latest Wimpy Kid book, the newest of the Knuffly Bunny saga, and a chance to see Toy Story 3, among many other things. They may not have arrived at the time you're reading this, but rest assured that due to the Friends and their hard work, Des Plaines Public Library will have copies of these long-awaited items for you to take home and enjoy.

Please also check out some great Friends-sponsored fall programs. Join us in October for a special Glow-in-the-dark Juggling program, and be delighted in November when we host Spoonman: A Utensil-filled Holiday Dinner.

Want to help support the Friends or become a member? Get a brochure at the first floor Registration Desk. For more information, click this link to see the Friends of the Library page on our web site.

Incoming Eggbeater

Keep your eyes on the sky at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon. You may get to see the giant eggbeater land. Don't know what a giant eggbeater is? Well, it is sometimes called a whirligig, a rotorcraft, or a chopper. In this case, it is a medevac helicopter that is scheduled to land in the back parking lot at Holy Family Medical Center during the Family Fun Fest. In addition to touring the helicopter, many other free activities will be available from 10 am until 2 pm on Saturday, Oct. 2.

Of course, the library has lots of great books to help you find out more about helicopters. For the youngest readers, try Rescue Helicopters (Machines at Work series).

For children ready for chapter books, check out Choppers! by Susan Goodman.

Helicopters (The Story of Flight series) includes fascinating pictures and information about many types of helicopters.


Since you never know when you might be called upon to save the day, just like James Bond or Alex Rider, brush up on flying a helicopter with The Boy's Book: How to Be the Best at Everything.



Have a great time at the Family Fun Fest, and let us know what you learned about helicopters!

Juvenile Accidents and What You Can Do to Help

Accidents happen. Whether you were watching your child when it happened, you weren't watching when it happened, it happened under the watch of someone you trust with your children or not... accidents just happen.

Recently I read an article on CNN about what to do in an emergency situation after an accident happens, and it is not what you think. The old wives' tales tell us to put a tooth that has been knocked out in milk or a fingertip that has been severed on ice; these home remedies are actually completely wrong and could cost you or your child their body part.

As it turns out, while milk does contain calcium, it is its perfect PH balance of 7 (just like water) that makes it great for rinsing off teeth that have been knocked out. However, the procedure for dealing with a knocked out tooth is not to place the tooth in a cup of milk and head for the emergency room as we have all been told. What actually needs to be done with a tooth that still has the root attached is to be cleaned and placed back into the hole that was created when it fell out. While your child might be losing their teeth naturally and you have nothing to worry about, once those adult teeth grow in, those are all your child has and this could be critical.

You can learn all about the exciting (and totally gross) things that you can do to help your child in an emergency situation such as this one in the article here.