Celebrating Pride Month: Books, learning experiences & more

A collage of book covers

Your public library is here to connect you with books, learning experiences, events, and online resources that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in June and all year long. On this page, you can: Browse titles we suggest Just for kids From your digital library Ebooks, audiobooks & movies Magazines Join us for upcoming events Celebrate Pride: … Read more

Visiting the Main Library Children’s Services: A virtual tutorial for kids & families

Picture of the Main Library with a pink and purple overlay

By Children’s Librarian Shelley Harris Sometimes kids and adults get nervous about visiting a new place for the first time. We get it!  It can be useful to know what to expect before your first visit. With that in mind, we created a social narrative—available in multiple formats—about visiting the Children’s Services Area of the Main … Read more

Preparing for Pride Month: Books for kids

Book icon on a rainbow background

By Hal, Rainbow Services Librarian As the summer approaches, so does Pride Month. In the United States and many other countries around the world, we celebrate Pride during June in honor of the Stonewall Uprising of 1969. Nowadays, communities throughout the world celebrate Pride Month with parades of rainbows and glitter. These parades began as … Read more

Happy Autism Acceptance Month! Videos & activities for early learners & caregivers

Embrace Differences

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian April can be a challenging month for many autistic people. Many organizations that aren’t run with or by autistic leaders have campaigns about “lighting it up blue”—furthering stereotypes that autism only affects boys—or about curing autism. These organizations often push for autism awareness. Many autistic people, however, prefer to celebrate autism … Read more

It’s National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month text with a colorful background and book cover collages

April is National Poetry Month! And whether you love poetry or are looking to try something new, we hope you’ll find a new favorite poem (or two!) in these lists of new titles for all ages, curated by your Oak Park librarians. Poetry books for all ages Looking for more? Check out digital poetry titles … Read more

Transgender Day of Visibility: Books, virtual tutorials & more resources

Transgender Day of Visibility text with a blue, pink, and white striped flag in the background

By Rainbow Services Librarian Hal (adult and teen titles curated by Collection Management Librarian Dontaná) Held each year on March 31, Transgender Day of Visibility (TDoV) celebrates the lives and accomplishments of transgender and nonbinary people. Trans advocate Rachel Crandall founded TDoV in 2010 because stories in the media about transgender and nonbinary people so … Read more

Make practicing early literacy skills a habit: Videos & activities for early learners

An illustration of children and adults standing in a line with letters of the alphabet in the background

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian How are you doing? We’re a quarter of the way through the year. It’s a little warmer, a little sunnier. Sometimes things feel a little more manageable as the days get longer and brighter! Every week, I send a literacy tip or activity to everyone signed up for Early Bird … Read more

Share sounds: Videos & books for early learners

Illustration of children listening to a story with sound waves in the background

By Shelley Harris, Children’s Librarian The grasshopper chirpeth, the lamb bleateth, the owl hooteth. Animal sounds are found in so many books and songs for children, including the first-known picture book written for children, published in 1659!   What makes animal sounds so important that they’ve been taught to young children for centuries? Not only are … Read more

STEAM Fest 2023 & more: Experience the wide world of STEAM at the library

Three students playing a coding game

By Eileen Saam, Children’s Librarian We are so excited to partner with Oak Park Elementary School District 97 and the Oak Park Education Foundation to bring you STEAM Fest 2023! On Thursday, March 2, families with students in grades K-8 are invited to come to the Oak Park Public Library to experience the wide world … Read more