Fairs Are So Delicious, Too

So far this summer over 2,000 children have learned that Reading Is So Delicious by participating in our summer reading club. Remember that Sunday, August 5 is the last day to receive prizes, so read, read, read. 

If you have finished recording your 16 hours, make sure you try our TASTY Reading Patch Bingo. To play, pick up a BINGO card in the Youth Services Department and complete two rows of activities to earn your patch. You can turn in your card through the last day of August.

A fun way to expand on the patch activities is to visit a local county or state fair. You will be able to actually ask a farmer questions, see what your favorite farm animal likes to eat, and see lots of colorful new foods . You might even want to sip on some fresh-squeezed lemonade.

These are fairs that you might want to visit.

DuPage County Fair is in Wheaton through Sunday, July 29.

Lake County Fair is in Grayslake through Sunday, July 29.

Wisconsin State Fair is in Milwaukee, August 2 - 12.

Illinois State Fair is in Springfiled, August 9 - 19.

"Baseballs" Building Nests

This is a great time of year to go out looking for "baseballs". I don't mean the kind you hope to catch at Wrigley Field. I'm talking about our national symbol, the bald eagle. "Baseballs" are what some eagle watchers call these magnificent birds because that is what their white heads look like from a distance.

Eagles along Illinois waterways are building nests to get ready to lay their eggs. According to baldeagleinfo.com nests are five or more feet in diameter and are home for up to three eggs.

The Bald Eagle Watch Weekend on January 28-29 is just one opportunity to see and learn about eagles. The Illinois Audobon Society has many activities planned at the Illinois Waterway Visitors Center, across the river from nearby Starved Rock State Park.

Last year the famous Decorah eagles laid their first egg on February 23. The egg hatched on April 2, to the joy of thousands of observers who watched this eagle family through an internet webcam. If you want to watch them this year, you can find nest camera links at the Raptor Resource Project.

Of course, the library has some great print resources as well.

The Bald Eagle by Karen Latchana Kenney describes the bald eagle as an emblem of the United States.

A Bald Eagle's World by Caroline Arnold is great illustrated book for the youngest readers.

Exploring the World of Eagles by Tracy C. Read includes great photo illustrations.

Eagles by Tom Warhol and Chris Reiter goes more in depth for older readers.

I hope you have success if you go looking for bald eagles. Don't forget your binoculars!

Falling for Joey

How many times in your life have you sat down with a book (sometimes thinking you might not like it), and fell in love with its characters?  It happens to me quite a bit - but then again, I have made a life out of reading.... and I get the chance to read tons of really great books.  Did it happen with Charlotte in Charlotte's Web or Laura in Little House in the Big Woods or even Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardobe?

This most recently occurred for me while reading the 1984 novel from Michael Morpurgo, War Horse.  I was forced to read the book because it was nominated for an Illinois state book award and was not looking forward to it, but almost immediately fell in love with the story's main character, a horse named Joey.

Last week, while describing the plot to a coworker in the lunch room, I broke down crying at the absolute beauty of the story.  I tell everyone I meet about how wonderful this book is.  It was while describing this novel to a patron that I was informed that a similar story was coming out as a movie in December.  I immediately ran to my computer to look it up and sure enough - War Horse is being made into a movie, coming to theaters on December 28th.  Not only do the pictures from the promotional materials look absolutely stunning (way more interesting than the cover of the book), but I was pleased to see that Steven Spielberg himself is directing the film.

With the amount of movies being made each year, it is sometimes hard to know when something good is coming out - something with a great moral and a good heart.  This one is not to be missed, but you still have plenty of time before the movie comes out to read the book with your family.... it is an incredible story of courage, love, and understanding in a time of war.  I highly encourage you to check it out and read it together with your family and just like me, fall for Joey.

Picking a Perfect Pet

Do you remember having a pet when you were young? Children often develop a very strong attachment to a special pet, but the adults in the household know that pets are a big responsibility. If your child manages to persuade you that a pet is a good idea for your home, it pays to do your research.

Of course, the library is the best place to begin. Animals in the House: A History of Pets and People is an interesting overview of many different kinds of pets, but we have many other books and magazines as well. I love looking at the photographs in Bird Talk, Cat Fancy, and Dog Fancy, available in the magazine collection.

A family field trip is also a great opportunity to learn about possible pets. Many area clubs for pet lovers have annual shows that you can attend. Members of these clubs are a great source of information and are very enthusiastic about their animals.

If you are considering a dog, the International Kennel Club of Chicago has their annual show February 26 & 27 at McCormick Place. This is a benched show, so the animals stay in the exhibit hall for you to look at.

If you think you are a cat person, you might prefer the Lincoln State Cat Club show, also February 26 & 27. The event will include up to 225 cats, and will be held at Harper College in Palatine.

The Greater Chicago Bird Club holds their spring show on Saturday, March 5 at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton. The event includes adoption birds, in addition to all sorts of equipment and supplies for pet birds.

Make Your Holiday Magic

After you have hung the lights and trimmed the tree at home, why not light up your winter holidays with a trip to the zoo?

Brookfield Zoo is celebrating its 29th annual Holiday Magic Festival of Lights nightly December 26-31 and January 1 from 4:00-9:00 pm.

Costumed characters meet you at the gates, dancers, choirs, and musicians entertain you in the Holly Jolly Theater, and you can watch ice carvers work their special magic. As you walk the mall past hundreds of decorated trees, you will see an amazing animated light display of penguins, giraffes, and even the Abominable Snowman. In addition, you can sing carols to the bison and big cats, see swimming polar bears and grizzlies, check out model trains, take a train ride, or enjoy a Dolphin show !

Most animal buildings, including the new Great Bear Wilderness, will be open each evening, as will the Children's Zoo where you can have your picture taken with a real reindeer, and the Hamill Family Play Zoo where you can make a holiday craft. Of course there are also gift shops for last minute purchases, and yummy holiday treats like cookies, hot chocolate, cider and more at the zoo's many restaurants and food stands.

For more information and a daily schedule of events call (708) 688-8000 or go online to Brookfield Zoo's website

What a Relief!!!

After my last post about the oil spill in the Gulf, I have to admit, I was pretty depressed about how those animals were faring and the picture of the pelicans on the post was making me sad (and as someone who regularly re-reads this blog, I had to look at it a lot). However, I heard on the news this morning that five of the rescued pelicans have found homes right here in the Chicagoland area at the Brookfield Zoo.

At first I was confused as to why these birds weren't released back into the wild, but as it turns out, these animals had failed to migrate North in the spring and avoid the spill because they were injured and could not fly. Due to their injuries, these birds stayed in the warm Gulf waters and were trapped in the oil slick and needed to be rescued. Now that they will be safe and sound at the zoo, your family can go visit them! You can get a pass for two free admissions to the Brookfield Zoo through our Museum Pass Program. Stop by or call in to see if a pass is available and get on over there today!

You can read more about the pelicans and the other great things they have going on at the zoo here.

It's Groundhog Day !

What's the only mammal that has a holiday named in its honor?

The groundhog, also known as the woodchuck or marmot, is the lucky animal who replaced badgers and hedgehogs in US folklore. And how did this chubby, toothy rodent gain fame as a weather forecaster? When German farmers came to America and settled in Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, they already believed that hibernating animals were able to predict the arrival of spring by coming out of their dens. Since February 2nd is halfway between the first day of winter and the first day of spring, the farmers's folk wisdom was that if a groundhog does not see his shadow (on a cloudy day) it must be a mild weather day and spring will arrive early. However, if he sees his shadow (on a sunny winter day) he will be startled and return to his den for another six weeks.

Today, people who are tiring of winter, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and many other cities in the US and Canada will celebrate the modest groundhog's coming-out party with food, speeches and plays. In 1993, the movie Groundhog Day was filmed in Woodstock, Illinois.

If you would like to meet a real groundhog, visit the Children's Zoo at Brookfield Zoo today. Cloudy and Tumbleweed will be looking for their shadows and enjoying a special sweet potato cake at 10:30 am. At 11:30 am, in the Hamill Family Play Zoo, a keeper will present a chat about hedgehogs, and children can make groundhog shadow puppets to take home. Admission to Brookdfield Zoo is free on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends in February (Parking fee is $9).

Discover something FISHY at the library!

What kind of fish only swims at night?

A starfish! (read more in Animal Jokes by Pam Rosenberg)

You can see a real live clownfish at your library! Youth Services is proud to be home of the marine animals living in our salt water tank. Come by to see the chocolate chip starfish move slowly across the shell floor. Observe the Astrea snails grazing around the tank as part of the clean-up crew. Try to find the camouflaged Longnose Hawkfish. Be captured by the striking regal beauty of the Blue Tang (quite possibly known to your children as 'Dory' from the movie Finding Nemo) and watch the gentle nature of the Banggai Cardinalfish.

See if you can find them all:
Percula Clownfish, Banggai Cardinalfish, Chocolate Chip starfish, Longnose Hawkfish, Astrea Snails, Turbo Snails, Margarita Snails, Blue Tang, and Yellowtail Damsels.

After seeing these amazing animals, head to the book shelves for these books or these books and discover all things fishy!