Another Santa link...

Please disregard the link in the post below. This link will take you to the most complete album - Miss Ellen is better at reading stories than uploading photos!

Please feel free to email me - ellen.cutter (at) riverforestlibrary.org if you are looking for more pictures - we had over 500 photos total.

Thanks to all who came - Santa once again expressed how much he loves coming to River Forest Library and seeing the children.

Top row: Miss Sue, Miss Ellen, Miss Dorothy, Miss Katie
On Santa's lap: Miss Kimberly, Miss Megan not pictured: Miss Parry, who was attending a wedding.

Check out your santa pictures!

Thank you to all who came out to meet Santa and listen to stories this weekend. Pictures are now available at Kodak Gallery! Please visit this link to browse the entire collection.

Hear Stories, Meet Santa, Be Merry!

Come to Stories with Santa, this December 12th, an open house from 10 am to 3 pm:

We will have crafts in the meeting room, stories by the North fireplace upstairs, and visits with Santa at the South fireplace. We hope to see you there - bring your camera! No registration is required.

Come pick out your holiday reading!

We've got a great selection of winter holiday reads here at the library - come check them out!

Here are a few favorites from the children's room staff:

Miss Sue's Pick: The Flying Latke by Al Yorinks

Miss Parry's Pick: Lucia and the Light by Phyllis Root

Miss Kimberly's Pick: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

Miss Ellen's Pick: The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

Miss Dorothy's Pick: The Night Before Christmas by Rachel Isadora

Miss Megan's Pick: Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parrish

Miss Katie's Pick: Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

Win a trip to the circus!

Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee enjoy Family Fireside Halloween!

Thanks for visiting the River Forest children's room weblog. More pictures of this year's Family Fireside Halloween are posted below!

To enter to win four tickets to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, please leave a comment to this post with a good kids book recommendation by Friday, November 13th. Kids and adults are welcome to participate; please, one entry per family. (You can leave as many book recommendations in your comment as you like, though!)

Leave your first and last name in the comment, please, so we can enter you in the raffle and contact you if you are a winner!

Family Fireside, 2009

Thanks to all who came out to this year's Family Fireside Halloween party. You made it a great event! Scroll down to view pictures of all the fabulous costumed young people enjoying the games, stories, marionette show, crafts, and more!


Jackson and Miles scare the pants off passer-by!


Cleoopatra and friends.

Cowgirl was all smiles!

Listening to scary stories...

And not so scary stories...

Puppeteer Dave Herzog performs Captain Cranky and His Crew: A Pirate Adventure!

Dave Herzog with another of his marvelous marionettes.

Ring-toss!

Prizes!

Scooby-Doo makes a sitting jack-o-lantern with the help of our wonderful volunteer Delilah.

Volunteer extraordinaire Cirese helps with owl puppet creations!

Winnie the Pooh makes an owl puppet.

Library Director Sophia Anastos chats with a young patron.

Blaise and Miss Ellen duke it out for the buried treasure!

Superman and a Ballerina play some games.

Storm trooper bowling.

Baby stegosaurus!

Bingo!

Batman enjoys the bean bag toss.

Thanks again for joining us!

Family Fireside Halloween is almost here!

This Friday, October 23rd, at 7:00 p.m., come to our annual Family Fireside Halloween bash! This year we are partnering with the River Forest Park District to bring you this fun family event, with something for everyone.

Highlights include:

7:00 p.m. Not so Scary Storytime

7:30 p.m. Scary Storytelling

8:00 p.m. Marionette Show by Dave Herzog

7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Hay Rides and a bonfire outside in the park!

This is a free event, no registration is necessary. We hope to see you there, come in costume if you can!

Books vs. Sniffles

Parents, grandparents, and caregivers: next time you have a child home sick, help us bring the library to your little one with a Sneezle Pack!

A Sneezle Pack is a library bag of personally selected books, audiobooks, movies, coloring and activity sheets, customized for your child’s age and interests.

Give us a call at 708-366-5205 x 312 and tell us your child’s age and what types of materials you’d like. We’ll assemble the Sneezle Pack and leave it for you to checkout at the Circulation Desk.

Get well soon!

Photograph courtesy of Microsoft Office Clipart, 2009.

Clear Skies

Thanks to all who visited us at the Clear Sky Festival on Saturday, September 12th!

The annual event is co-sponsored by the River Forest Park District, River Forest Police Department, River Forest Community Center and Oak Park/River Forest Townships Youth Services.

Happy Birthday Tomie!

Tomie dePaola turned 75 on September 15th. Happy Birthday Tomie!

If you and your child haven't yet shared a Tomie dePaola (pronounced Tommy da-POWL-a) book, now would be the perfect time! Tomie has written many original stories as well as retellings of folk tales, all illustrated in his wonderful signature style. You might want to start with the classic, well-loved Strega Nona stories, found in our easy fiction section.

Tomie has also written his childhood memoirs in the 26 Fairmont Avenue series of chapter books (which are accessible even to kids just transitioning into chapter books). These can be found in our biography section.

Happy reading!

p.s. you can check out Tomie's official website here, and a special all-star tribute to Tomie in honor of his 75th birthday here.

All Heads in Helmets!

Enjoying a cool treat at the August Heads in Helmets raffle drawing.


Did you know that, if you suffer a bike crash, a helmet can reduce your risk of brain injury by 90%?* That's why we think helmets are cool, and that's why the River Forest Park District is encouraging everyone to wear a helmet with the Triple Header Campaign - All Heads in Helmets.

The program continues through October, during which time police officers and public officials are rewarding young helmeted bikers with raffle tickets; plus helmeted parents will receive an extra ticket to give to each child they are riding with. The raffle tickets can be deposited at drop boxes locations around town, including the River Forest Public Library. Each month, a drawing will be held with the winning ticket holders receiving a prize, such as helmets, biking gear, theater tickets, restaurant vouchers, and even a brand new bike. The August 28th drawing was held here at the library, and it was a great event - congratulations to the prize winners Miranda, Thomas, Cindy, and Isabel!

Check out the River Forest Park District's Triple Header Campaign webpage to learn more facts about the benefits of wearing a helmet while biking, and for more details on the campaign.

*statistic from the River Forest Park District http://www.rfparks.com/Triple-Header-Campaign.htm

They were movin' and groovin'

We shook up the month of August with our Creative Movement for Kids program. Joanne of Flex and Point Dance Studio led the kids in a fun, creative dance session that had everybody moving. Check it out!

A good thing come to an end...

Summer's not over yet, but the Summer Reading program at the River Forest Library is. It was great, wasn't it?

To mark your accomplishments, the weekend was full of celebration. Thanks for all who joined in the festivities - but most of all, thanks and congratulations to all the kids who participated in summer reading!

Friday evening, musical performer Dave Rudolf joined us for a Beach Party on the library lawn. Songs, dancing, hula hooping, and limbo galore ensued.

Dave got the folks dancing!

How low can you go?

(Did you know Miss Sue is a hula hoop champion??)

For completing the Summer Reading challenge, participants received a t-shirt and the opportunity to come decorate with others. We even tried out a new way to tie-dye - with sharpies! They turned out pretty sharp! (Hee hee, get it?)

Good reading, and good partying, everyone. Keep reading and sharing your good reads with us here at the library, and with your family and friends!