The library will be open 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday night with a Dia de los Muertos Art Show and Open Mic Night hosted by Waubonsee Community College student organizations, Latinos Unidos and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA), in partnership with the monthly First Fridays event in downtown Aurora.  Read more in this Aurora Beacon-News article, “Celebrating the Day of the Dead:”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-aurora-day-of-the-dead-st-1029-story.html

The 1960 classic novel by American author Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird!

Haven’t read it yet?  Come in to the library and check out a copy!

For complete results and to see how your other favorite books ranked,  here is the official website:   https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/results/

In 1492 Christopher Columbus was sent by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain in search of a passage to India.  Instead, he and his fleet of three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, discovered the Americas.  Here is a familiar verse commemorating the voyage:

IN 1492

In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.

He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.

A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.

Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.

Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.

Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.

October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!

“Indians!  Indians!”  Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.

But “India” the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.

The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.

Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he’d been told.

He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.

The first American?  No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.

Taken from the website:  http://www.teachingheart.net/columbus.htm

For additional information, here is a brief biographical article about Christopher Columbus, and a historical account of the  moment of discovery:

https://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/christopher-columbus/

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/columbus.htm