Chandler Parade of Lights

Kick of the holiday season with Chandler's annual Parade of Lights event on Saturday, December 1. The fun begins at 4:30 pm with a variety of musical and dance entertainment, fun activities for children, and visits with Santa Claus in A.J. Chandler Park. The Parade of Lights begins at 7 pm. Immediately following the parade will be the lighting of the 56th Tumbleweed Tree.

The Tumbleweed Tree tradition began in 1957, when Chandler resident Earl Barnum raised the idea of a tumbleweed tree after he saw a similar one in Indiana built out of cone-shaped chicken wire with pine boughs stuck in the holes. Many members of the community helped create the first tree in Chandler using tumbleweeds that they gathered from around town. Today the city's Park Operations Division gathers tumbleweeds from the outskirts of the city, between 1,500 and 2,000 each year, and about half of them are used to adorn the 25-foot tall wire frame. The lighting of the Tumbleweed Tree draws a large crowd, with more than 12,000 expected to watch the Mayor and members of the City Council flip the switch to light this magnificent sight.

For more information, including a schedule of events, visit the City of Chandler's Special Events page. Also check this page for road closures and a parking map.

Basha Library staff picks

Check out November's suggestions from Basha Library staff!

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
The Anteater of Death by Betty Webb
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Tiger Can't Sleep by S.J. Fore
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
Weird Al by Nathan Rabin and Al Yankovic
Phantom by Jo Nesbo
Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay
Black List by Brad Thor
An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski

Closed November 12 - Try out language learning materials

All four Chandler Public Libraries will be closed Monday, November 12 for the Veterans' Day holiday observation.

Many of the library's resources are still available through our website even when we're closed, including Mango Languages, an interactive language learning program. Mango features over 40 different languages, from Spanish and French to Danish and Dutch, as well as English language learning materials for speakers of a variety of other languages. Each language learning unit includes written and audio materials, as well as an opportunity to practice speaking yourself. For more information about how Mango works, watch this video demo.

To get started with Mango, go to chandlerlibrary.org, hover your mouse over the purple RESEARCH tab, and choose Interactive Learning. Then click on Mango Languages - you'll need your library card and PIN numbers to sign in from home - and Create a Profile. This will allow Mango to save your work each time you log in. You can also use Mango on your mobile device by downloading the Mango Mobile app for Apple devices or the Mango Mobile app for Android.

Book Review: Freebooter's Paradise

All Cameron wants to do is spend his summer with his friends. But a day of bicycle riding and Icees is interrupted when super-sized dust devils sweep into his Apache Junction neighborhood, and a pirate ship sails in on the dust and lands in front of a newly opened HeapsMart store. But Blackbeard isn't just there to sell toys and clothes - shoppers must first walk through his ship, where they fall prey to high-interest credit cards and devious spells that brainwash them into spending more money than things are worth. And Cameron discovers that Blackbeard might be after more than Apache Junction's money. He's there to track down the Lost Duchman's Mine and steal its gold.

Freebooter's Paradise is middle-grade chapter book that kids will love, full of action and strange adventures, a wild ride of chases and magic, where Cameron and his friends must find the courage to fight the pirates and save their town... because they're the only ones who can. Author Tim Loge is a librarian at the Hamilton Library and this is his first novel. Look for more from Tim in the future! - Michelle (Sunset)