Anyone who knows me knows I am absolutely gaga for libraries.
I definitely consider myself one of the many library lovers lurking out there.
When I worked in downtown Chicago, there was nothing better than hopping on the L to Washington Library. I would spend hours just walking the stacks and making lists of all of the books I couldn’t wait to devour.
I would easily scarf down two to three books a week.
Having kids, my reading has turned to the more sophisticated tastes of Curious George and Pete the Cat.
The days of reading full grown-up books are not really gone but more on hold until the kids get older. But my love of libraries hasn’t waned, and I’m passing that love on to my children. We visit one of our local libraries about every other week.
There’s nothing better than hearing my kids cheer when I tell them we’re going to the library. Does that make them nerds? My goodness, I sure hope so! I
‘m keeping my fingers crossed for some Mathletes. Having them be athletes would just be a bonus.
Photo Credit | Photo Modified
When my kids were little, I even made it a game of trying out all of the local libraries one year to find the best in the area. It was fun to see how different libraries set up their children’s section and who had the best movie sections for the family.
And so I give you this challenge for the season.
Pick just five local libraries and visit them with your kids. You may surprised to find out what other awesome resources different libraries have and find an additional favorite one!
But the biggest win? Exposing your kids to new places and encourage a life-long love of reading and books.
Find your local libraries at PublicLibraries.com.
Because of my long-lasting love affair with books, I often write about them on Mommy Evolution. Now I’ve put them in one central location and created a collection of all of my book lists! Find more great reading book lists here.
TELL ME: Are you willing to take the library challenge? As you take on the challenge, let me know about a new library you discovered or services you were thrilled to find.
Sheila @ Brain Power Boy says
September 12, 2014 at 11:45 amFellow library lover here! If you are still in the Chicgoland area, wondering if you have tried the Schaumburg PL? When we moved it was tough to give it up. We go to other libraries often. Glad for the reminder to seek out some new ones soon.
Jennifer says
September 12, 2014 at 12:45 pmSchaumburg is a bit of a haul for us from where we are. But now I’m curious!
Sheila @ BrainPowerBoy says
September 12, 2014 at 1:09 pmIf you are ever over that way stop in and check it out. Their children’s department had a storytime trail and several other neat features. We moved over 6 years though so you might want to check on it.
Tosin AK says
September 13, 2014 at 9:22 amOh that’s awesome. The funny thing is I actually just wrote that as a goal for my 2 year old after I finished reading Amanda Ripley’s the Smartest Kids in the World. The goal was to try to visit libraries in all the cities/countries we visit.
So I will definitely try this challenge. There are so many libraries in the area.
Jennifer says
September 13, 2014 at 10:38 amYeah for good timing! Have fun and be sure to come back and share some of your adventures. 🙂
Barb says
September 18, 2014 at 6:40 pmOh my, another book/library nerd coming at you from Canada! Have you come across #freelittlelibrary? They are the most creative boxes/houses that people build and put up on their street or on their fence where people can take a book for free or put a book in that they are done with. So fantastic! Glad to know you like books as much as I do. 🙂
Jennifer says
September 19, 2014 at 8:25 amI have seen those! We don’t have them in our area (many of the libraries have a book exchange place within the building in addition to everything you can check out) but I see them all over the place when we travel. I would have my house full of books if I could… but I’ve been taken over by two young boys and their toys 🙂
Patrick Weseman says
September 19, 2014 at 9:26 amI love libraries. Was at one of my favorite ones last night and that is the San Francisco Main Library. On Thursday’s in their visually impaired center they have a great program that is free-called Yoga for the Blind. It is a yoga program that is geared for the blind/visually impaired.
Jennifer says
September 19, 2014 at 11:37 amWhat a cool class. I’m always impressed by the variety of things libraries offer.
Sara W says
October 13, 2014 at 11:44 amNot everyone has multiple libraries in their area lol. I grew up with one in my whole county, and because we lived outside of the city limits we couldn’t check out books.
Jennifer says
October 13, 2014 at 12:15 pmThat’s terrible! We take it for granted that we all have access to libraries, but even the concept of libraries for the general public is fairly new in the big picture.