Thank You Note Workshop

Kids and their caregivers dropped by the Children's Room on Wednesday for our annual Thank You Note Workshop. Kids made one-of-a-kind cards to say thank you for wonderful gifts received over the holidays. Plenty of craft supplies and sample cards were provided to keep the creativity flowing!

Stories and Santa

Santa brought the Christmas cheer to the River Forest Library today! Click on the "Stories and Santa" heading above or this link to view photos of a magical day.

Santa Claus is coming to town!!

Santa is coming!!!

Santa visits the River Forest Public Library next Saturday, December 11, 2010 from 10am until 3pm! Our annual holiday program for children features stories with our talented librarians, crafts in our meeting room, and of course visits with St. Nick upstairs by the fireplaces. This is a drop-in, free, fun family program. Pictures with Santa will be posted here on our Children's Blog after the event, hopefully Saturday night (depending on stamina!) You can print or order from there, and/or bring your camera.

Happy Holidays from your friends at the library!

Happy National Gaming Day!!!

New Years, Valentines Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving are all great, but who can forget the joys of National Gaming Day! Libraries across the country celebrated today in a variety of different ways, and RFPL was no different. Kids of all ages and their families joined us at the library for Wii Sports games, MarioCart, Twister, Jenga, and Candyland today from 10am until noon. Here are some pictures from the celebration...

Be sure to look out for more family gaming days this coming January.

New Music

Tired of listening to the same, old radio station on your ride to school? Need some tunes to jam to on your next long car trip?

Well, look no further! We have new music for you to check out. Here are descriptions of a few of our new CDs:

Rockers Doing Family Music

Caspar Babypants is Chris Ballew, lead singer for the '90s Seattle rock group the Presidents of the United States of America. Here I Am! is Ballew's debut
album in the family music genre and has plenty of simple songs you can sing-a-long to.

This well-known Canadian rock band has released Snacktime!--its first album for kids. Twenty-four original songs are featured with titles ranging from "Food Party" to "Allergies" to "My Big Sister."

Milkshake is made up of veteran musicians from a variety of Baltimore bands. Rock out to fast-paced tunes like "Shake It Up" and "You Did It" on Great Day, the group's fourth family album.

Dads Who Rock

This band is made up of three dads who live in Washington, DC. The title song on this album is an ode to the color pink. The album features a variety of folk and pop tunes.

Fronted by Yosi Levin, dad to four kids, this group also features several other musician fathers. This is a rockin' album the whole family can enjoy listening and dancing to!

More new titles include: Dan Zanes - 76 Trombones, Peter Himmelman - My Trampoline, and Chicago-based children's musician Justin Roberts' new album Jungle Gym

To see all our new music, stop by the River Forest Library's Children's Room!

Soaring to New Heights: Children's Room Grand (Re)Opening

As many of you know, the children's room at RFPL has undergone some dramatic changes. This past Sunday was a chance to show off the new makeover and celebrate our library at the Soaring to New Heights Children's Room Grand Reopening. In case you missed it, the pictures below will make you feel as though you were there!

Sign inviting people to our Grand Opening...check!

Refreshments...check!

New, comfortable seating...check!

We're all set for the ribbon cutting by Joan Cusack Facilities Committe member and Treasurer of the RFPL Board of Trustees.

Her first impressions. I think she likes it!

Then the photo ops.

Then the fun begins! It's not a party without balloon animals and...

fresh popcorn with library friends and trustees!

Great hats are always welcomed as well.

In the RFPL children's room, you can do anything, even go fishing!

The kids have a great time with fun, games, and a balloon sculpter!

Overall, it was a great time at the library. Don't you feel like you were there?

Check out our new furniture

If you haven't been to the children's room in a while, then you'll be suprised by all the changes that have happened this summer: New desk, new carpet, amazing paint job, and we've also added some new furniture. Check out the pictures below.

Our new tables and chairs look lovely and are accessible to all of our patrons

The play area has added new seating that is colorful and comfortable. The kids will love this new addition!

And behind the desk is a beautiful seating area that's great for independent reading and reading with mom or dad.

Back to School!

The beginning of school is an exciting time for everyone, and we look forward once again to classes visiting the library, librarians visiting the classrooms, and the great partnership we enjoy with local schools. Some first day pics:

Bye Ms. Parry

Ms. Parry, a valued member of our Children's staff, had her last storytime at this past Monday's Pajama storytime. She has decided to move on to a better opportunity working at the Bellwood Public Library. We thank Ms. Parry for her time spent at RFPL, and wish her the best at her new job!



Ms. Parry having cookies and juice during Monday's Pajama storytime.

Crazy Costume Caper Pictures Are Up!

Thank you for joining us for our very first Crazy Costume Caper. Miss Ellen and the kids donned crazy costumes and made connections to some fantastic books! Check out the pictures here, and for more pictures please click here to visit our full Kodak Gallery. If you have any trouble viewing, please comment here or contact us at 708-366-5205.

A pioneer girl with On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

A sweet green dragon with Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow.

A lovely princess with The Persian Cinderella by by Shirley Climo.

An awesome ninja with Wink: the ninja who wanted to be noticed by J.C. Phillips.

A stylin'witch with The Flying Witch by Jane Yolen.


A little bat with Stellaluna by Jannell Cannon.


Some cool cowboys with Cowboys and Cowgirls Yippee-Yay! by Gail Gibbons.

An eerie alien with Aliens by Janet Perry.

A delicate butterfly with Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert.

A lamp! With Mary Had a Little Lamp by Jack Lechner.


Thanks for joining us! We hope you find many opportunities for putting on crazy costumes and reading great books in the future.