This week we are celebrating all kinds of artists and performers–painters, poets, pop stars, and more!
Check out our list of Performers and Artists and place a hold, or come in and take something from our display!
This week we’re celebrating Black excellence in sports and athletics, including everyone from Simon Biles to Mamie “Peanut” Johnson. Come and peruse the display in the library or place a hold on a great book using our catalog!
February is Black History month*, and all month long we’ll have displays about Black excellence in a variety of areas. First up we have Scientists and Inventors! You can come into the library and check out items from the display or go to our reading recommendations page and place a hold!
I particularly love the book Mr. Crum’s Potato Predicament, the story of how George Crum invented the potato chip to satisfy a restaurant patron who couldn’t get a fried potato that was thin and crispy enough for his taste!
* “Black History Month, also called African American History Month, monthlong commemoration of African American history and achievement that takes place each February in the United States. It was begun in 1976.
The idea for a Black History Month was first conceived by the historian Carter G. Woodson and members of his Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History). Together they organized a Negro History Week, beginning in February 1926. They selected the month of February for this celebration because it was close to the birthdays of U.S. Pres. Abraham Lincoln, who had been responsible for the Emancipation Proclamation, and the African American orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.”
“Black History Month.” Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 8 Feb. 2021. library.eb.com/levels/referencecenter/article/Black-History-Month/475396. Accessed 31 Jan. 2022.
Got “We Don’t Talk about Bruno” stuck in your head? Check out some of the library’s Encanto books and other similar books for the whole family can enjoy!
Listen to the Soundtrack on hoopla app.
For younger readers:
Encanto by Naibe Reynoso
Mirabel’s discovery by Vicky Weber
Family is everything by Luz Mack
Kind as a Princess by Catherine Manning
Moana finds her way by Susan Amerikaner
For elementary readers:
Nightlights by Lorena Alvarez
Savvy by Ingrid Law
The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag
Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano
Encanto Junior Novelization by Angela Cervantes
Diwali is a holiday that is celebrated in Southeast Asia and all around the world at the end of the Hindu calendar. This year, that falls on November 1st-6th. At the Mount Prospect Public Library, we love learning, so we invited two members of the community, Trisha and Gina, to tell us more about Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights.
During Diwali, families celebrate their prosperity, the family, and the triumph of good over evil. To get ready for Diwali, many people clean their house to get rid of negative energy. A tradition called puja is how people give thanks for what they have and look forward to continuing prosperity, or well-being. There are celebrations with family and friends that include a lot of food, and sometimes fireworks. The last day of Diwali is dedicated to the relationship between brothers and sisters, and appreciating everyone you consider family.
People also decorate their homes with artwork called rangoli. Rangoli is used to welcome people to your home and is usually in front of the house using something like colored sand, colored rice, flower petals, spices or lentils. To learn more about creating rangoli, check out this craft video:
We hope you’ll have a chance to try making your own rangoli, maybe using materials that you already have at home.
In honor of Diwali, visit us at the library to pick up some rainbow scratch paper (while supplies last) and try making mess free rangoli!