April 2 is International Children’s Book Day! Since 1967, Children’s Book Day has been celebrated as a day to inspire a passion of reading and to call attention to children’s books. Schools, libraries and community organizations across the globe participate by bringing families together to read, promoting reading at an early age and raising awareness about the importance of literacy in molding the young minds of the future.

For centuries, the importance of reading has been taught in schools. Reading provides kids with a therapeutic effect and a sense of escapism and allows them to discover stories on their own terms in language they understand. Reading encourages kids to use their imagination, enhances language development, builds their vocabulary and reasoning skills, and can foster bilingualism when families read stories in their heritage language.

Kids can take today as an opportunity to learn about and read books by Illinois-based children’s book authors such as:

Mistie Psaledas. “The Truth About the Tooth” is a story about diversity, creativity and imagination of different tooth fairy legends.

Shel Silverstein. “Where the Sidewalk Ends” is a collection of poems and illustrations that explores themes of imagination, humans’ relationship with nature, and the divide between adulthood and childhood.

Gwendolyn Brooks. “Bronzeville Boys and Girls” is a collection of 34 poems that celebrate the joy of childhood in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood and beyond.

Kim Moldofsky. In “Amelia Earhart: A Graphic Novel,” readers discover some of Earhart’s incredible achievements before she disappeared on her attempted flight around the world.

These are just a few of the many great children’s books to be celebrated today. Join the festivities by picking up a new book or revisiting an old favorite!

It’s Women’s History Month! Despite all women have done for centuries, the first official celebration of women’s history wasn’t until 1982. Originally lasting just a week, the National Women’s History Project lobbied Congress to make the event a month long, succeeding in 1987 when the first “Women’s History Month” was celebrated.

This year’s theme is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion,” recognizing women who understand that we need to eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our society and institutions.

To celebrate Women’s History Month, here are a few women who had a positive impact on Illinois:

Ida B. Wells: Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a journalist, activist, and researcher who battled sexism, racism and violence. After being forced to leave Memphis, TN, for being outspoken against lynching, she moved to Chicago. During the suffragist movement, she outwardly confronted white women who were apathetic about violence toward the Black community. Because of this stance, she was often ridiculed and ostracized by women’s suffrage organizations. Nevertheless, she remained active in the women’s rights movement and was a founder of the National Association of Colored Women’s Club which was created to address issues dealing with the intersection of women’s suffrage and civil rights.

Georgia Louise Harris Brown: Georgia Louise Harris Brown was an architect and engineer. She was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Kansas with a degree in architecture and engineering and later she earned her architecture license in Illinois which made her the second Black woman to be a licensed architect in the U.S. During her career. Brown developed structural calculations for many well-known reinforced steel and concrete buildings that populate the Chicago skyline.

Dr. Margaret Taylor Burroughs:  Dr. Margaret Taylor Burroughs moved to Chicago when she was three. She was an activist through her art which focused on the idea that “skin color is just an over-emphasized minor difference among people.” One of her most famous poems was called “What shall I tell my children who are Black.” She was committed to education and prison reform and was able to combine these two passions by working in prisons for over 30 years helping the prisoners transform their lives through art and writing education.

Despite systemic hardships and setbacks, women have accomplished so many great things. Speaking out for civil rights, defying expectations by getting an education and bringing art and education to incarcerated people. This month, take the time to learn about how women have made history.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates the victims of the Holocaust, which resulted in the genocide of two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population and one-third of the overall Jewish population, as well as millions of others by the Nazi regime.

Jan. 27 was chosen as International Holocaust Remembrance Day because on that day in 1945, the Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp.

On this day, we remember and mourn the six million Jews whose lives were cut short during the horror of the Holocaust. We also remember the millions of Roma and Sinti, Slavs, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and political dissidents who were murdered at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators.

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie is a great way to honor the memories of those who were lost and those who survived by learning universal lessons that combat hatred, prejudice and indifference.

Samuel R. Harris is one of the survivors highlighted by the museum. He is one of the youngest survivors of the concentration camps during the Holocaust. He was four years old when the Nazis occupied Poland.

Harris, his seven siblings and parents were forced into the ghetto where they lived for almost three years. Harris’ entire family, except two of his sisters, were deported to Treblinka and murdered. One of his sisters worked as a slave laborer in the concentration camp outside of Deblin and was able to hide him. In 1945 they were liberated and were able to move first to Austria and then to New York City where they were adopted by two different families. Harris then lived in Chicago, and went to college, married and had children. He was an integral force behind the building of the Holocaust Museum and Education Center of which he is the former president.  

In a world where hate is on the rise, use this International Holocaust Remembrance Day to learn, remember and mourn.

Sam’s bio: Samuel R. Harris - Illinois Holocaust Museum (ilholocaustmuseum.org)

Survivor Profiles: Holocaust Survivor Profiles | Illinois Holocaust Museum (ilholocaustmuseum.org)

Holocaust Museum: Illinois Holocaust Museum | Chicagoland Museum (ilholocaustmuseum.org)

It’s been 160 years since former President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that made Thanksgiving a national holiday.

“I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens,” the proclamation stated.

Although previous presidents had called for a Thanksgiving celebration in a similar fashion, each state still continued to celebrate on separate dates. After Lincoln issued his proclamation, states began celebrating Thanksgiving on the same date, thus giving Lincoln the credit for nationalizing the holiday.

Lincoln issued the proclamation following significant events that happened in 1863, such as the Battle of Gettysburg. The proclamation was made in part to honor the fallen soldiers of the civil war and their families. Additionally, a strong proponent for the holiday, Sarah Josepha Hale – a magazine editor – wrote to Lincoln directly calling for Thanksgiving to be made a national and fixed festival to solidify it as an American custom and institution.

Her request was granted by Lincoln after spending 15 years advocating for a national Thanksgiving holiday. Now, 160 years later, people across the nation look forward to celebrating with their loved ones and spreading gratitude thanks to Lincoln.

Some of the very best donut shops are located right here in Illinois! From glazed to Boston cream, the selections are endless.

National Donut Day is celebrated every first Friday of June of each year, succeeding the donut event created by The Salvation Army in Chicago in 1938 to honor their members who served donuts to soldiers during World War I. The day not only celebrates the sweet treat but often gives everyone a chance to indulge, with many bakeries and stores offering free donuts on this day.

Last year, Yelp compiled a list of the 100 best donut shops across the U.S., four of them being in Illinois! If you have the chance to sink your teeth into these delightful donuts, consider yourself lucky!

Four bakeries in Illinois were listed among the best spots to enjoy unique donuts, with two in Chicago, according to the list.