Playin' in the Stacks Delights Children and Families

"I like to go where book lovers gather," said children's author Jim Aylesworth. Gather they did Sunday at Playin' in the Stacks, an event at Indian Prairie Public Library that attracted more than 50 enthusiastic book lovers of all ages.

Designed to showcase renovations and new additions to the upstairs area of the library, Playin' in the Stacks included photos with the mouse from the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, a scratch art craft activity with artist Tobi Abrams, the chance to hear author and teacher Jim Aylesworth discuss some of his 33 children's books and a book signing with Barbara's Bookstore from Burr Ridge.

The event also provided the opportunity for families to sign up for the library's winter reading programs, which encourage families to read out loud together in their homes. The library's two programs, "Read to Succeed" sponsored by the Chicago Wolves and "Pining for a Good Book" with a grand prize sponsored by in Woodridge, typically draw a few hundred participants each year.

Laura Schetter, of Burr Ridge, signed up with her 7-year-old daughter Ashley Sunday.

"We do it every year," Laura said. "She likes to read, and she reads to me now."

Reading out loud was also a key component of author Jim Aylesworth's presentation. He combined speaking and singing, encouraging parents to read books using a similar method.

"I model my techniques of reading aloud using my voice," Aylesworth said. "And I try to make it fun for everybody."

Aylesworth shared some of his more popular titles with the group, including The Completed Hickory Dickory Dock, The Mitten and Our Abe Lincoln. He also talked about how first-grade students from his days as a teacher inspired him to write many of the stories.

"If I could find a book that would help me make learning fun, but actually teach while the fun was going on, that certainly was helpful to me as a teacher," he said. "I approach a lot of my books in that way."

Youth Services Program Coordinator Mary-Jo Wolsky said that like Aylesworth, many visiting authors talk about more than books during their trip to Indian Prairie.

"They'll talk about how they became a writer, why they love being a writer, when they write, what they like to write about, where they get their ideas from and all sorts of things like that," Wolsky said. "I think that is really what makes people adore listening to them, because it goes to a very personal level."

Aylesworth showed the children his latest book, still in progress, called My Grandfather's Coat, that will be illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Another forthcoming book, with illustrations by Brad Sneed, will be called Cockle-doodle-doo, Creak, Pop-pop, Moo. Aylesworth said he hopes both books will be available in late 2011 or early 2012.

He also took questions from the children and their parents, some of whom were former students from college courses he taught over the years at National-Louis University, College of DuPage and the University of Chicago. Aylesworth noted that sometimes he runs into some of his former first grade students from Oak Park, where he started teaching in 1970.

Following Playin' in the Stacks, the library invited teens in for an after-hours event called Partyin' in the Stacks, where older kids played book croquet, participated in a Flip Foto Fun scavenger hunt where they photographed items with a Flip camera, and a Flying Fingers Text Contest, where teens competed on who could text the quickest.

For more upcoming events in the Indian Prairie Public Library, see their calendar or watch for events on Darien Patch.