World Book Night Celebrated at Anderson's April 23

Book buyers who want to participate in the special event will receive a gift with purchase. Learn more.

If on April 23 you share a book and a rose with a friend or loved one, you will be participating in a long-standing tradition dating back at least 100 years. Local bookstores, including Anderson’s Bookshop, will celebrate World Book Night, which, according to Anderson’s, has ties to the anniversary of Cervantes’ death and also Shakespeare’s birth and death. The date was declared International Day of the Book by UNESCO. Anderson’s Bookshops in Naperville and Downers Grove will be participating in the special event and is one of 12 bookstores nationwide offering customers a free rose with the purchase of a World Book Night book pick, according to the bookseller. “We hope the tradition spreads next year, as does the central theme of World …

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Teen Volunteers Soak Up Library’s Summer Reading Program

Naperville Public Library's annual Summer Reading Program encourages children and adults of all ages to read with the help of local teen volunteers.

When local teens like Julia Shaver and Saira Zuberi aren’t reading at the Nichols Public Library, chances are they’re motivating other kids to pick up a good book.   Shaver and Zuberi are just two of the roughly 85 teen volunteers at the Nichols Library helping out with the annual Summer Reading Program this year. Volunteers are also on hand at all three Naperville Public Library branches to sign-up kids and adults of all ages for the program, which began June 4 and runs through July 29. Earlier: Naperville Public Library's Food for Fines Program to Help Those in Need And with only two weeks into the eight week program, more than 7,600 people have already signed-up, according to the Naperville Public Library. This year readers are also …

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Read Across America Day, Celebrate Seuss in a Fun Way

The Naperville Public Library will hold a party today in honor of Dr. Seuss' 95th birthday.

If you had some time to play, would you stop and read away? Would a book, get a look from your eyes or would you say, no time today and make Seuss sad on his special day? Today would have been Theodor Geisel’s 95th birthday. The man, better, known as Dr. Seuss, wrote some of the most well known children’s books, including The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham and How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Naperville Public Library will be honoring Dr. Seuss’ memory today with a birthday party at the 95th Street Library. Stories will be read, songs will be sung —including Happy Birthday— and there will time for a craft. This year, the National Education Association, a group of more than 3.2 million educators who work to improve public schools, is…

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Banned Books Week Celebrates the Freedom to Read

From the classics to popular reads, books of all types have been challenged.

What do the classics the Catcher in the Rye, Call of the Wild, The Lord of the Rings and Gone with the Wind all have in common? They are all books that have been banned or burned at one time or another.  Banned Books Week is coming to a close, but there is still time to open the pages and read a few of these literary works.  The week of Sept. 24-Oct. 1 was set aside to celebrate the freedom to read and the First Amendment and Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the negative impact of censorship in the United States, according to the American Library Association. In 2010, there were roughly 348 challenges reported to the office of Intellectual Freedom, though it is …

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Beyond the Card Catalog

Top 10 Titles -or- What Adults and Teens Read This Summer

The Naperville Public Library shares what was hot on everyone's summer reading list.

What did Naperville teens and adults read last summer? The results from the Naperville Public Library’s Summer Reading Program are in!   For teens, the top title isn’t a surprise -- it’s the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling.  The surprise is that Naperville teens wanted to go back and read the entire series with five out of the seven Potter titles earning spots in the top 10. Adults continued to enjoy The Help by Kathryn Stockett. And Harry Potter was a favorite with adults, too. Two Rowling titles captured fourth and 10th places. Here are the lists of the 10 top titles from Naperville teens and adults this summer.  Naperville Teens Top 10 Favorite Books, Summer of 2011 The numbers column …

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Beyond the Card Catalog

No Need to Wait, Download Digital Talking Books Now

Naperville Library demonstrates new digital talking books program.

Want to read current, popular books and magazines but are unable to use regular printed materials? Let the Naperville Public Library staff show you how the new digital talking books program may help. Talking books for the blind and physically handicapped have been available for several years through the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). But now books and magazines are available in digital form and the Naperville Public Library is one of the few libraries in the state that can demonstrate the easy downloading process. “We are so excited about this new service,” explains Vicki Ann Brodeur, Nichols Shelving Services Supervisor and coordinator of the Library’s Special Services.  “Now people don’t have to …

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Beyond the Card Catalog

Like The Library on Facebook and You Could Win a $100 Gift Certificate

Like or Follow Us on Facebook, Twitter or Teen Space Facebook and Get a Chance to Win a Gift Certificate

Follow the Naperville Public Library on Twitter or “Like” us on Facebook for a chance to win a $100 Best Buy Gift Certificate. We’re looking to hit 500 fans on Facebook, 500 followers on Twitter, and 200 fans on our Teen Space Facebook. Once we hit each of those milestones, we will give away a $100 Best Buy card to one of our friends at random. You can’t win unless you’re following us, so make sure to find Naperville Public Library on Facebook, Teen Facebook and Twitter today. Here are the web addresses for these sites, Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/NapervillePublicLibrary; Teen Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/TeenSpaceNPL; and Twitter, http://www.twitter.com/naperlib. Prizes provided by the Naperville Public Library Foundation. …

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Mom's Eye View

Last Harry Potter Movie Doesn't Mean Goodbye

This mom plans to hold on to the magic of the series as long as she can.

Like a ton of other adults out there, I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Potter. As in a fan of Harry Potter. Although I was right around 30 with children far too young to read or even enjoy Harry Potter books, I discovered them when my book club suggested we read the first Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. That was back in 2000. After the first page, I devoured the book in one sitting and went right out to get the second two. I was charmed and captivated. Since then, I’ve purchased new releases as soon as they came out. Each time housework was neglected and dinner reduced to whatever I could throw together while flipping pages. To some extent, everyone in my family could fend for themselves until I finished. I couldn’t wait to share…

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Jeanine Nicarico Remembered and Celebrated at 5K Run

10th Annual Run for Reading attracts runners and walkers of all ages.

Despite the cold, gray and rainy weather outside, the atmosphere at River Woods Elementary School was warm, bright and cheerful as more then 800 participants gathered for the 10th Annual Run for Reading. The race benefits the Jeanine Nicarico Memorial Literacy Fund, a foundation that honors the memory of Jeanine by giving grants to individual educators and schools, encouraging a deeper understanding of literacy, enriching instructional programs, and laying foundations that will develop life-long readers. The race was expected to raise between $20,000 — $25,000. "Jeanine's love of reading really took off in 4th and 5th grade," said Tom Nicarico, Jeanine's father. "This is a happy, uplifting day to remember Jeanine, and it's great to see all…

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Fifth Grader Shares Words of Wisdom for a Favorite Teacher

Lauren Anderson won a local writing contest Saturday morning sponsored by Barnes & Noble.

When Lauren Anderson thought about one of her favorite teachers, it moved her to put her thoughts on paper. And when she did, her words were recognized not just by her fifth-grade mentor, but national bookstore, Barnes & Noble. Young Lauren won the "My Favorite Teacher Contest" Saturday morning at the store and was recognized with a ceremony in the building's children's department. Her poem was an ode to Susan Feret, an honors reading teacher at Elmwood Elementary School. “Mrs. Feret is special because she is really nice and enthusiastic,” Lauren said. “Her style of teaching is very different. She would explain things in a fun way.” She originally wrote a poem entitled, Path to Life, outlining her hopes for the future. She used aspects of …

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