BEDROOM FURNITURE FOR COLLEGE

Delta Disney Princess Table and Chair Set

TT89183PS_999 A perfect place to color, play, or study. The Disney Princess Table and Chair set gives your little princess a place to learn and grow. Hard surface makes clean up a snap and the whimsical design adds a hint of character to any room. Makes a great gift. Some assembly required. Features: -Perfect for snack time, meal time, art projects and more. -whimsical princess design with soft pink accents. -Features chic spindle style legs for a royal, feminine look. -Solid construction for strength and durability that will last. -Some assembly required. -In compliance with all ASTM safety standards and requirements. About Disney Princesses Disney Princesses is a lovely line up of childhood Disney royalty favorites. Spanning decades of successful animated films, Disney Princesses features Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, as well as Ariel from the little Mermaid and Jasmine from Aladdin. In 2000, Disney s Consumer Products division created the Disney Princess franchise to follow up on the success of recreations of movies in the Disney On Ice performances. Almost instantaneously, the demand for the regal products rose and the princess phenomenon was in full swing. With an array of styles and personalities, every little girl can find their perfect princess. Today, Disney Princess products can be found everywhere, from toys and videos to children s clothing. The most recognized Disney Princess products to date are the Princess Stories, and Princess Enchanted Tales that feature the animated starlets leaving their respective movies and interacting with one another in straight to DVD mini-films.

At the March 23 meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Villa Park Public Library, the Board approved a proposal to use a consulting design architect to help plan an attractive and functional preschooler area within the Youth Services Department. Tiffany Nash, a partner in Product Architecture and Design, will work with staff in developing a space appropriate to Early Literacy efforts. This is the next step in the implementation of the Library’s Early Literacy Initiative outlined in the Library’s Long Range Plan for 2010-2013.

The term “Early Literacy” refers to a set of important skills and concepts a child needs to acquire about language, reading, and books--before the child actually begins to learn to read. Educational research shows that a child’s chances for success in school are greatly improved by learning these literacy skills in the very early years of life. The Villa Park Library is participating in the project called “Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library,” put together by the Public Library Association and several early childhood organizations, and the Library already offers six different child-parent programs to assist preschool children (from babies to age five) in acquiring these Early Literacy skills. But there is currently no area in the Library designed especially for preschoolers to explore and interact with library materials and resources. Two board members, Patricia Hubbard and Bob Wagner, visited other libraries with outstanding Early Literacy programs to learn about the Early Literacy programs.

According to Library Director Sandra Hill, areas for preschool children should be decorated in bright attractive colors; have appropriately-sized furniture without sharp corners and edges; offer display areas at the proper height for the children to use books and learning materials; and provide a well-defined area that makes it possible to keep preschoolers safely in sight. The area should also have furnishings comfortable for parents to use with their children. Although a separate area, the early childhood section will be integrated and blended into the overall Youth Services Department.

Board President Stan Kosek says, “This particular Board is especially pleased to see the Early Literacy Initiative moving forward because four of our seven members have education backgrounds.” Seated (left to right) Gahda Fahmy teaches math at Villa Park’s Islamic Foundation School; Patricia Hubbard is a former District 45 teacher and past principal at Jefferson Middle School; Dan Hippensteel formerly taught primary school in Chicago; and Mark McCleary recently retired from 51 years of teaching high school science in Wheaton.

Anyone interested in learning about the Early Literacy Initiative or about programs for preschool children should call the Youth Services Department at 630 834-1176.

Standing (l to r) Board President Stan Kosek, Bob Wagner, Steve Seddon; Seated (l to r) Gahda Fahmy, Patricia Hubbard, Dan Hippensteel, Mark McCleary.

Victorian Parlor, c. 1850

The portrait of Queen Victoria, whose taste dominated fashion during her long reign, 1837–1901, sets the tone for the Victorian design of this parlor. Victorian design was dominated by heavy decoration including patterned carpets, comfortable furniture, knick-knacks, and decorated surfaces. Parlor furniture usually comprised a gentleman’s chair with high back and arms and a lady’s chair, which was low at the sides to accommodate hoop skirts. This furniture is from a period British dollhouse. The marble mantle is typical of the style. Other distinctive Victorian elements include the “gas” chandelier with crystal prisms and the wax flower arrangement under a glass dome. The newspaper rack holds one of the few exact copies of the 1924 London Times printed for the Queen’s dollhouse.

The Knoxville Museum of Art’s Thorne Rooms are among America’s most well-known miniature diorama groups. The Thorne Rooms were developed in the 1930s and 40s by Mrs. James Ward Thorne, Chicago, IL, who loved dollhouses as a child. After extensive travels in Europe where she collected miniature furniture and accessories, Mrs. Thorne had over two dozen miniature rooms created by cabinetmakers from her own drawings. They were made in a scale of one inch to one foot. She painted and stained woodwork, papered walls, and made textiles for the rooms. The rooms were displayed in several World’s Fairs. In 1933–1934 they were displayed at Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition. In 1939 they traveled to San Francisco’s Golden Gate International Exposition, and in 1940 they were displayed at the New York World’s Fair.

Later, Mrs. Thorne created 29 more rooms, copying Europe’s castles, museums, and historic homes. She commissioned architects to create historically accurate settings and had textiles and carpets made by the Needlework Guild of Chicago. The rooms, tracing English and French style 1500–1920, were exhibited in 1937 at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1942 Mrs. Thorne gave a third and final group of Thorne Rooms to the Art Institute. Those 37 rooms offered a view of American History, 1675–1940.

In 1962, IBM, which had purchased 29 rooms, gave nine of the original Thorne Rooms to Knoxville’s Dulin Gallery of Art, this museum’s predecessor. Our rooms contain many of the miniature objects Mrs. Thorne collected during her youth and on her travels. The Knoxville Museum of Art is one of five museums in the country to have a collection of Thorne Rooms.

The restoration of the Thorne Rooms has been made possible by the generous support of Sherri Lee, in honor of Mrs. McAfee Lee.