Welcome to Women's History Month!

March is Women's History Month, a wonderful time to explore and discuss the contributions made by women today and throughout history.

Visit the Des Plaines Public Library to browse our display collection of Women Building Careers - a selection of books highlighting women in the arts, industry, medicine, politics...you name it.

Also visit the Library of Congress's Women's History Month web site at http://womenshistorymonth.gov/

Put the power of primary sources to work in the classroom. Browse ready-to-use lesson plans, student activities, collection guides and research aids from the Library of Congress here.

Happy Women's History Month!

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.

And the Winner Is . . .

Every year I challenge myself to see if I can predict the winner for several of the book awards presented by the American Library Association. I limit my contest with myself to just five of the twenty different media awards. I have listed those special five in alphabetical order, by last name, so you won't think I have a favorite (even though I do).

The Pura Belpré Award is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

The Randolph Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

The Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizes outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience.

The John Newbery Medal is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

The Robert F. Sibert Award honors the most distinguished informational book published in English in the preceding year for its significant contribution to children’s literature.

The winners for this year were announced at the annual ALA Midwinter Meeting. They include :

Pura Belpré (Author) Award: Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Randolph Caldecott Medal: A Ball for Daisy illustrated and written by Chris Raschka

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

John Newbery Medal: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Robert F. Sibert Award: Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade by Melissa Sweet

This year I was successful in predicting that Heart and Soul would win an award. It is a beautiful and fascinating book. Let me know if you enjoy it as much as I did.

Family Meeting

Regular gatherings to talk about the family can also can be a helpful way to strengthen the family unit and keep communication open. As with family activities, scheduling regular family meetings once a week or once a month can help your family avoid missing the important details. Meal times or times after a meal may be a good time for your family to meet.

During these meeting, ask open-ended questions so your child will respond with more than "yes or no." (For example: "What did you learn at school today?")
 

Some topics for discussion are:
*Good news acknowledging your child's school, athletic, or artistic performance
*News bringing changes to the family : job changes, new baby, special circumstances
*Family planning: vacations, family activities, school drop-off and pick-up
*Events of the past week: appointments, events at school
*Concerns or frustrations: child's struggle at school or with friends, family chores

Check out our Parent Collection for other topics that might be of interest too you.

J Parent Collection 306.85 HIG