Steven L. LayneDeborah Dover LayneJudy MacDonald et - W is for Windy City. A Chicago City Alphabet

Welcome to the Windy CityAmericas beloved Chicago! Open the pages and experience the wonders of the largest city in Illinois. From the visuals at the Art Institute to traveling the Loop on the El train, the opportunities are endless. You may want to read your way through the libraries, look upward to the citys skyscrapers, stroll down Navy Pier, and finish with two zoological gems.

Poetry introduces each letter topic, followed by littleknown facts and in-depth details.

Buckingham Memorial Fountain
majestically lit in the dark
is the centerpiece of a well-known P,
Chicagos beloved Grant Park.

Proudly referred to as Chicagos front yard, Grant Park is among the citys loveliest and most prominent parks. The park was named for Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States. The site of three worldclass museumsthe Art Institute, the Field Museum, and the Shedd Aquariumthe park, which covers about 300 acres, hosts many notable concerts and events.

Whether you are a Chicagoan or a visitor and wherever your interests lie, W is for Windy City will leave you not only entertained, but also with a great appreciation for all that this dynamic city has to offer.

Steven L. Layne

Steven L. Layne serves as Professor of Literacy Education at Judson University in Elgin, IL, where he teaches courses in childrens literature and directs the universitys Master of Education in Literacy program. He is a 15-year veteran of public education and the author of 19 books.

Deborah Dover Layne

During her 23 years in the education field, Deborah Dover Layne has taught at both the elementary and middle school levels, been a reading specialist, and served as a professor of reading at the college level. Currently Deborah serves as elementary principal at Westminster Christian School in Elgin, Illinois.

The Laynes, who have collaborated on three other titles for Sleeping Bear Press, live with their family in St. Charles, Illinois, just an hour west of Chicago.

Michael Hays

Michael Hays began a career of illustrating picture books in New York City with Pete Seegers storysong, Abiyoyo. He soon found himself riding Chicagos El and Metra trains into the Loop to teach illustration at Columbia College and speak at area elementary schools.

Judy MacDonald

Judy MacDonald has visited many famous cities Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Munich, and Jerusalem but her hometown and favorite is still Chicago. She and Michael work together at Painted Pony Studios, creating art for kids on that toddlin towns far north side.

A Chicago Alphabet

Written by Steven L. Layne and Deborah Dover Layne
Illustrated by Michael Hays and Judy MacDonald

For Charles and Gail Dover
Dad and Momwho know a lot about Chicago
and even more about leading a family.
Love, Steve and Debbie

For Dr. Margaret Burroughs who gave Chicago the DuSable Museum
and now in her nineties asks us what our legacy will be.
Michael Hays

For Mom and Dad
my favorite Chicago natives.
Judy MacDonald

The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum in Chicago was the first planetarium built in the western hemisphere and is the oldest in existence today. Since the museums opening in 1930, visitors view representations of the night sky in the historic Sky Theater. It is part of Chicagos Museum Campus along with the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum of Natural History.

When the John G. Shedd Aquarium officially opened on May 30, 1930, it housed the greatest variety of sea life under one roof in the world. More than 75 years later it has been restored and updated, and is now considered a historic landmark. The aquarium is a conservation leader around the world.

The Art Institute of Chicago is located in Chicagos Grant Park. At one million square feet, it is the second largest art museum in the United States behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The two bronze lions that flank its entrance were made for the buildings opening in 1893. Find interesting information about these museums via the Web at www.adlerplanetarium.org, www.sheddaquarium.org, and www.artic.edu.

A is for Art Institute or Adler Planetarium.

And if we want a triple A well add the Shedd Aquarium.

Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States. He is the first African-American to hold the office. Mr. Obama was the junior United States Senator from Illinois from January 2005 until November 2008, when he resigned following his election as president.

Mr. Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first AfricanAmerican president of the Harvard Law Review. He laid down roots in Chicago after graduating from Columbia. He worked as a community organizer in Chicago prior to earning his law degree and practiced as a civil rights attorney in Chicago before serving three terms in the Illinois Senate. From April to October 1992, Mr. Obama directed Project Vote! in Illinois. It achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African-Americans in the state. He also taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.

Barack Obama is the B who left Chicago for D.C.

He opened up the White House door as president number fortyfour.

Two baseball teams call Chicago home. On the south side, the Chicago White Sox play at U.S. Cellular Field (formerly Comis key Park). But around the world, since 1876, Chicago is known for its beloved Cubs. The Cubs have played at the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field since 1914. The team won the World Series in 1908.

According to legend, the owner of a restaurant and his goat tried to attend a Cubs game in 1945. The man was denied entrance to the game by an usher who declared, No goats allowed. The restaurant owner put a curse on the team. You Cubs will never win another world championship, he said angrily. The Cubs have not won a world series since that time.

Baseball is not the only game in town. Sports fans can catch the Bulls playing basketball and the Blackhawks playing hockey at the United Center. For football fans, the Bears are Chicagos team. Soldier Field is home to both the Bears and the Chicago Fire, the citys major league soccer team.

Chicago Cubs, a double C, will surely live in infamy.

For though its known they often lose, theyre still the team that most fans choose.