As if the El isn't scary enough, don't miss your chance to ride on the haunted El this weekend and next. The haunted tour features costumed characters in the train who tell ghost stories about Chicago's history and mystery. There will also be big huge puppets performing stories based on one of Chicagoist's favorite children's book "Where the Wild Things Are." If that's not enough, the outside of the train will be wrapped to look like a haunted mansion. more ›

Remember when the readworthiness of a book was judged by the number and quality of pictures it contained? Up until first grade: the more illustrations, the more colorful, the better. In second and third grade, chapter books with colorful covers and line art inside were the coolest. By fourth grade, anything with pictures was FOR BABIES, though we still enjoyed the occasional Where the Wild Things Are, or, when the season was right, The Polar... more ›