Includes information and activities about different festivals held in Illinois.

Geared towards parents with children between the ages of two and twelve, Fun with the Family Colorado features interesting facts and sidebars as well as practical tips about traveling with your little ones.

GREG HEFFLEY AND SPORTS JUST DON'T MIX. After a disastrous competition at school, Greg decides that he's officially retired from ANY kind of sport! That is, until his mom persuades him to give it one more go and makes Greg reluctantly agree to sign up for basketball. Tryouts are a MESS, and Greg is sure he won't make the cut. But he unexpectedly lands a spot on the worst team. As Greg and his new teammates start the season, their chances of winning even a single game look slim. But in sports, anything can happen. When everything is on the line and the ball is in Greg's hands, will he rise to the occasion? Or will he blow his big shot?

In the first of a new duology, 13-year-old Clivo Wren learns that his recently deceased father was not an archaeologist, but a cryptid catcher, known for finding elusive mythological creatures.

On the northern slope of the island of Serendipity is a small, wonderful kingdom called the Land of Later. In this kingdom there lived a young, beautiful princess who everyone simply called Princess. The castle was governed by the king's simple rules. One of those rules was that when you woke in the morning, you cleaned your room and made your bed. Princess hated rules. Most of all, she hated doing anything at any time unless it was much, much later. This morning, as on others, she awoke, got dressed, and went outside and took a walk instead of cleaning her room. Princess walked into the forest near the castle. “I should start back before I get lost,” she whispered to a bunny on the path. Then she laughed, “I will go back but just, just a little later!” It was on the journey that Princess met a unicorn called Morgan. And it was on this journey, with the help of Morgan, that she learned that doing things now is always much better than later.

Sandra Dallas's Little Souls is a gripping tale of sisterhood, loyalty, and secrets set in Denver amid America’s last deadly flu pandemic Colorado, 1918. World War I is raging overseas, but it’s the home front battling for survival. With the Spanish Flu rampant, Denver’s schools are converted into hospitals, churches and funeral homes are closed, and nightly horse-drawn wagons collect corpses left in the street. Sisters Helen and Lutie have moved to Denver from Ohio after their parents’ death. Helen, a nurse, and Lutie, a carefree advertising designer at Neusteter’s department store, share a small, neat house and each finds a local beau – for Helen a doctor, for Lutie a young student who soon enlists. They make a modest income from a rental apartment in the basement. When their tenant dies from the flu, the sisters are thrust into caring the woman’s small daughter, Dorothy. Soon after, Lutie comes home from work and discovers a dead man on their kitchen floor and Helen standing above the body, an icepick in hand. She has no doubt Helen killed the man—Dorothy’s father—in self-defense, but she knows that will be hard to prove. They decide to leave the body in the street, hoping to disguise it as a victim of the flu. Meanwhile Lutie also worries about her fiance “over there”. As it happens, his wealthy mother harbors a secret of her own and helps the sisters as the danger deepens, from the murder investigation and the flu. Set against the backdrop of an epidemic that feels all too familiar, Little Souls is a compelling tale of sisterhood and of the sacrifices people make to protect those they love most.

Before you plan your family’s next excursion, get some help from a travel professional… and your kids! Kid’s Guide to Denver & Boulder lets the kids help plan the trip and guides you as you explore these Colorado destinations. Inside you’ll find kid-tested tips on where to go, where to eat, what to see, and where to get the best souvenirs. Along the way, your kids will be engaged by reading and sharing fun facts and cool travel tips. Awesome games and quizzes will keep the family entertained. Fun for both visiting and local kids.

Jeremy Ivester is a transgender man. Thirty years ago, his parents welcomed him into the world as what they thought was their daughter. As a child, he preferred the toys and games our society views as masculine. He kept his hair short and wore boys’ clothing. They called him a tomboy. That’s what he called himself. By high school, when he showed no interest in flirting, his parents thought he might be lesbian. At twenty, he wondered if he was asexual. At twenty-three, he surgically removed his breasts. A year later, he began taking the hormones that would lower his voice and give him a beard—and he announced his new name and pronouns. Never a Girl, Always a Boy is Jeremy’s journey from childhood through coming out as transgender and eventually emerging as an advocate for the transgender community. This is not only Jeremy’s story but also that of his family, told from multiple perspectives—those of the siblings who struggled to understand the brother they once saw as a sister, and of the parents who ultimately joined him in the battle against discrimination. This is a story of acceptance in a world not quite ready to accept.