The Poetry Foundation named the third national Children’s Poetry Laureate last month. J. Patrick Lewis is the author of many poetry and prose books for kids (check out his repertoire on Amazon). As the Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis will spend the next two years raising awareness about children’s poetry and getting more kids involved in reading and writing their own poetry. So... what exactly does the Children’s Poetry Laureate do then? Bring poetry to more children how? We asked J. Patrick Lewis that very same question, among others. more ›

If we were only 30 years younger, we'd be all over this contest by the Legoland Discovery Center, which is looking for its first MiniMaster Builder. more ›

On Monday mornings, we invite our readers to gather around our table and discuss a culinary issue of the day. If you have anything you'd like to talk about, send it to anthony@chicagoist.com more ›

When it comes to movies, we believe in starting young. It's no trick getting kids to watch movies, but plopping them down in front of the telivision to watch the same Pixar title for the 79th time in a row does nothing to encourage the next generation of cinephiles, to say nothing of encouraging the curiosity of the kiddies. The Chicago International Children's Film Festival, which begins its 27th year tomorrow, is a great opportunity to expand the youngsters horizons, and for parents to watch something new as well. more ›

And we thought WGN's Pat Tomasulo had cornered the market on crushing the athletic dreams of small children. This video from the weekend's World Basketball Fest told us what we already knew: D-Wade is really good at basketball and better at it than a bunch of kids. In six months, this video could easily double for highlights of a Heat-Nets game. [via Deadspin] more ›

A 6-year-old boy and his mother, thought missing for two years, were found stowed away in a secret space in his grandmother's southern Illinois home, the Associated Press reports. more ›

In another round of Great News!, it turns out kids in Illinois are getting fatter. In a study just released, based on 2007 data from the National Survey of Children's Health, Illinois children rank fourth in the United States in terms of being overweight or obese with 20.7 percent of the children tipping the scales. more ›

The University of Illinois-Chicago’s cites Illinois’ budget crisis and a lack of Medicare reimbursements for closing a Pilsen medical center this June. more ›

Erika Ramirez, 29, has been charged with four counts of child endangerment stemming from an early Monday morning fire that killed two of her children and injured two others. Ramirez left the four children - ages 6, 7, 9, and 11 - alone at her house in the 7200 block of South Troy Street so she and her boyfriend could watch a freaking pool game at a nearby bar. The blaze killed Perla Gonzalez, 6, and Carla Gonzalez, 9, and the other two children, Victor Ramirez, 11, and Esmeralda Gonzalez, 7, were rescued by police. While a cause has not officially been identified, an overloaded electrical outlet is being cited as a potential cause. There is also a possibility that one of the children plugged in a small space heater. The kicker? Ramirez has previously pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges in 2000. more ›

We were just informed of another local connection to National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: the Chili’s at 2 E Ontario St. is participating in the restaurant chain’s fifth annual Create-A-Pepper campaign, running now through the end of September. Chili’s has pledged to raise $50 million over a 10-year period for St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital. The campaign will culminate with an all-day event on Monday, September 29, when Chili’s will donate 100% of the profits from the day’s restaurant sales to St. Jude’s. Last year’s Create-A-Pepper campaign raised more than $5.2 million for the hospital.
more ›

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and there are a few local events coming up in support of pediatric cancer awareness. If you can't attend any of the below events, but still want to help with the fight against leukemia -- the most common cancer among children and teens -- consider making a bone marrow donation or registering to become a donor at the National Bone Marrow Registry. more ›

The Bronzeville Children’s Museum is growing so much it's relocated to a bigger space. The only children’s museum in the country devoted to African-American history, it has outgrown its former space in a shopping mall in Evergreen Park, re-opening yesterday at its new location at 9301 S. Stony Island Ave. in the far South Side. The new building has nearly ten times the space as the old museum, and room for three times as many exhibits, including a "Motherland to Chicago" tour, "African-Americans in the Food Industry," and "African-American Inventors." The museum is named after the Chicago Bronzeville neighborhood, a significant urban landmark in African American history. [Trib, abc7, WBEZ] more ›

We snapped this shot yesterday at Chalk Fest 2008, in Oz Park. It was a beautiful day for sidewalk art. The festival of sidewalk art was a fundraiser for Art Therapy Connection, which works with children at risk of failing in a school setting. Through art, they learn to develop a language of expression. more ›

Move over Pokemon, with your boring trading cards: this game has exploding balls. Bakugan, the latest Japanese toy craze to hit the U.S., is leaving Chicago kids whining at empty shelves and their parents paying double for the toys on eBay. Bakugan is a collectible strategic card game -but so much more exciting- because since Bakugan means "exploding sphere" in Japanese, this game has gumball-sized balls that explode into creatures when you throw them. Spin Master, the manufacturer, expects to sell over 40 million "ball and card" games this year. more ›

Just in case your faith in humanity was in a healthy zone, consider the case of Jaylen Brown, a severely disabled 13-year-old who died last week from sepsis. His mother and two nurses have been charged with felony neglect, and a Trib story today outlines just how severe the kid's suffering was. more ›

Terri Bollinger, the principal at Ridge Central Elementary School in Chicago Ridge, promised back in October that she would kiss a cow if her students read over 10,000 books by the end of the school year. Naturally, then, her students managed to tally a total of 11,014 books read, and she found herself actually kissing a cow yesterday afternoon. The cow, named Stella, is owned by Bollinger’s cousin. more ›

Oh, Charlie Trotter’s. It is so choice. But recently, diners at Trotter’s were not only sophisticated foodies, but the kids from Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, who were enjoying a signature eight-course meal, compliments of the house. more ›

In a blow to the argument that hand guns help keep people safe, three children have been injured by stray bullets this weekend. First, there was 1-year-old Dashaun Turner. He was standing behind her sister while she cooked noodles at the stove in their West Pullman home when a stray bullet blew through the cabinet and struck his hand. Dashaun’s mother told the S-T: more ›

Sen. Dick Durbin sent out an email appeal today urging people to celebrate "A Plumpynut Holiday." Our senior sentator wants his constituents to spend $20 this holiday season on Plumpynuts, a "sweetened mixture of peanuts, essential vitamins, minerals and milk served in foil pouches [that] has become a high-nutrient, high-energy weapon in fighting malnutrition." more ›

Sure, you may be hungry like the wolf for the Duran Duran show tonight (get it? Hungry like the wolf? Duran Duran? No? Nothing?), but the big show we're excited about this weekend is taking place at The Metro Saturday night. Hip-hop legends The Wu-Tang Clan hit the stage in support of their new record, The 8 Diagrams, their first record since 2001's Iron Flag and since the 2004 death of ubiquitous member Ol' Dirty Bastard (RIP). more ›

The City's settlement in the Burge case has stalled again. Again. Really cute profile of a children's television production company based right here. "Well, the shit really hit the fan last night. And it was the CEILING fan. Maybe I should find a new taqueria." Nothing to do with anything, but we just lost 20 minutes going through the entire archive, and we loved every second. Hey, ladies, don't forget to have a bunch... more ›

Tomorrow Liar's Club is hosting the Fourth Annual Toy Drive To benefit the Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital Pediatric Playroom. They are hoping to provide toys and supplies to the KidsRehab program at the hospital. The folks at Liar's Club told us, "KidsRehab works with children who have sustained serious injury and need extensive physical, occupational and psychological rehabilitation." They need a whole bunch of stuff for the kids in the program (look after the jump for... more ›

If you've ever wandered past the ever-under-construction mass of steel and concrete at the corner of State & Kinzie, that's the Museum of Broadcast History, the same group that put out the list of Top 125 American Political Broadcast Moments earlier this week. And, being as that lists are made to be pulled apart, dissected, shredded and argued over, who are we to get in the way of such rich tradition? There are some entries... more ›

Golly, when it comes to Christmas presents why the heck would any parent waste hundreds of dollars on a mound of crappy, potentially-toxic plastic toys for their kid? Most of 'em'll end up in next summer's garage sale anyway. There are so many cooler options out there: do some browsing at this weekend's Renegade Craft Fair and you'll be sure to find a few, or go all out and sign up your kid for... more ›

The sidewalks are covered in ice and the temps are sneaking down to the single digits. That's perfect weather for toting a toddler around, right? Here are three (free!) reasons to spend that extra hour bundling your kid up this weekend. Christkindlmarket is a candy-cane striped Bavarian winter village deposited into Daley Plaza. Come to gawk at the expensive, often hand-made gifts, and snack on traditional German fare. The children's lantern parade is today at... more ›

It took a great amount of self-control for us not to post Snoop Dogg's video for his latest single here, since that has made our own personal weekly awesome list for it's pure silliness. However, with Thanksgiving behind us, and every freaking LITE FM station gone a' carolin', we decided to stick with a holiday theme, and the re-telling of a classic children's tale.... more ›

What's the Speed Limit? more ›

In the mood for a beer and debate about the war tonight? Considering some of our comment threads on politics, we thought so. more ›

Lots to rock about over the next few days, from Modest Mouse at the Congress, to Bob Pollard at the Metro, to our beloved Hall & Oates at the UIC Pavilion, but DDaN's gonna keep it live and local this week. more ›

Last night's 10 o'clock news on Channel 7 led off with the news that former anchor and award-winning journalist John Drury died after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease). Mr. Drury was 80 years old. The Peoria native was an institution on local airwaves for forty years. His resume included a stint at Channel 2 and two tours of duty at Channel 9, but it was Mr. Drury's time at... more ›