Snow Globes Galore!

Stop in to Children's Services to check out our most recent display!

Our very own Children's Librarian, Heather Acerro, who has been collecting snowglobes from around the world for over 10 years, has brought her collection to the library for everyone to enjoy!


This collection will be on display through December and the beginning of January.

Fort Wayne Philharmonic Trading Cards

Beginning today you can start your collection of Fort Wayne Philharmonic Trading Cards!

We’ll give you a pack of five cards the first week, and then two additional new cards each of the following five weeks, as you complete online games and activities.

Enjoy the six weeks of activities and then plan to attend a special concert featuring members of the orchestra in the art gallery at Main Library at 2 p.m., Sunday, January 11, 2009. You can ask the musicians to sign their trading cards AND you can enter your name in a drawing for a family pack of tickets to a special Philharmonic concert !

To get started click here. Collect all fifteen cards and trade with your friends!

Embroidery Fun!

It's not too late to join the fun!

Join the Fort Wayne Area Chapter of the Embroiders' Guild of America on Thursday evenings from 6:30pm to 7:30pm in November and December.

Contact Sarah Litzer to sign up!

Location: Orientation Room at the Allen County Public Library

Dates: Thursdays - November 20 & December 4, 11,18

GO Fort Wayne!

Fort Wayne was recently rated one of the best places to raise kids by BusinessWeek magazine. Congrats, Fort Wayne!

Resources for Homeschooling Families

Whether you are a seasoned home-schooling parent, just starting to think about this educational choice for your children, or anywhere in between, you'll want to take a look at Children's Services' list of Homeschooling Books and Resources. You'll find an updated list of books and other materials available at the Library, as well as contact information for local homeschooling organizations, online resources, and library programs for homeschoolers.

Eco Kids Club: The Water Cycle

On Monday, October 13th, Matt Jones from the Allen County Partnership for Water Quality shared a wealth of amazing information about water with the homeschool kids and parents in the Eco Kids Club. The photo above shows the kids out in the Great Hall getting ready to put together a water time line. We all learned a lot from this informative presentation.

If you are concerned about the environment, join the Eco Kids Club now! Just come to the next meeting on Monday, November 10th at 2 p.m. to learn about Trees, Beautiful Trees with a speaker from Trees Indiana.

Or if you can't make it to the program, check out some of the books on our Environmental Issues Booklist to learn what YOU can do to make a difference!

Project Reads

Project Reads starts tomorrow! This program is for children in 1st through 3rd grade who need a little help with reading. Participants meet every Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. for an hour of reading practice and games with a volunteer tutor. Pick up an application at the Library. For more information check out the Allen County Educational Partnership website.

Barr Street Market: Frolicking Finger Puppets

Visit the Children's Services booth at the Barr Street Market in downtown Fort Wayne today between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to decorate your very own finger puppet. Today is the last day of the market, plan to visit next summer!

It's Johnny Appleseed Time!

Did you make it to the Johnny Appleseed Festival in Fort Wayne this weekend? If you'd like to learn about Johnny Appleseed, check out the materials -- books, videos, DVDS, and more -- on our Johnny Appleseed Booklist!

Barr Street Market: Lovely Leaf Collages

Leaves are falling from the trees! Visit us at the Barr Street Market today between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to use some of those lovely autumn leaves to make a collage. Next Saturday is the last day of the market - be sure to stop by before its gone!

Eco-Kids Club: Recycle Right

On Monday afternoon, 33 kids and their grown-ups attended the first meeting of the Eco-Kids Club. We learned about reducing, reusing and recycling from Kira Blacketor of Allen County Solid Waste Management District.

We brainstormed ideas that we can use to make a difference and then the kids decorated their Eco-Kids Club folders with markers and stamps.

This is Ava's folder.

It is not too late to join the Eco-Kids Club. Plan to come to our next meeting on Monday, October 13th @ 2 p.m. We'll learn about the water cycle.

Barr Street Market: ACPL Paper Hat Emporium

Stop by the ACPL Children's Services booth at Barr Street Market on the corner of Wayne St. and Barr St. in downtown Fort Wayne today between 9am and 1pm to learn how to fold a newspaper hat. We'll be at the market every Saturday through September - see you there!

Fly Into the World of Claire Ewart!

Come to the Jeffrey R. Krull Gallery in the Main Library to view original art from Claire Ewart; one of Fort Wayne's finest illustrators of children's books.

The show includes actual illustrations from her books including:

• The Legend of the Persian Carpet
• Sister Yessa's Story
• The Dwarf, the Giant, and the Unicorn
• Fossil
• The Giant
• Time Train
• One Cold Night

The art exhibit will be up through September 29th. Come enjoy the paintings, and then check out some of her books to enjoy at home!

Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown!

Today from 12 to 5pm you and your family have the opportunity to Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown! This is a wonderful afternoon of fun and adventure right here in Fort Wayne - and it is FREE!

My favorite part of Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown is climbing up to the observation deck at the top of the Lincoln tower. It is well worth the short wait in line at the elevators. Maybe I'll see you there today!

Three Rivers Festival

The Three Rivers Festival is in full swing! Click here for full information about Festival activities around town.

Enjoy the Festival ... and don't forget to stop into the Library to visit us when you are downtown! We'd love to hear what parts of the Festival you are enjoying the most.

Do you love Basketball?

The Children's Services department has lots of good books about basketball. Ask any librarian to help you find some good ones!

Today, the Children's Services department also has some free tickets to tomorrow night's basketball game at the Memorial Coliseum; the Fort Wayne Mad Ants against the Anaheim Arsenal.The Mad Ants have given us five sets of 4 tickets to give away -- two grownups & two kids could go or one grownup and three kids could go. If your children have always wanted to go to a basketball game, or if you've always wanted to take them to a basketball game, call Children's Services now and see if any tickets are still available.