Carolyn Crimi

Kidding Around Chicago

I had a hard time writing this book. Chicago is such a big place, and there are so many interesting things to do here. If I wrote about ALL the fun things to do, the book would be way too long and would probably weigh as much as the Sears Tower. So I had to be choosy. I picked places that I thought had lots of kid appeal, like the Chicago Children's Museum and Navy Pier.

My favorite part of doing all the research was eating at the different restaurants listed in the book. Hot dogs are my favorite food group, so it was important that I found the best hot dog stand in town. People may argue with my choice, but I feel that SuperDawg has the best dogs, paws-down, and I love the dancing hot dogs on the roof. Their eyes light up at night!

I am also an animal lover, so I especially enjoyed researching the Animals, Animals chapter. I had never heard of Doggy Beach before and really loved taking pictures there. By the way, I shot over half of the photographs in the book and now possess 470 color slides of Chicago! Bringing this fact up is a good way to end a party fast.

Here's a quick quiz for all you Chicago trivia buffs. There are no
prizes involved, only the joy of knowing that in your lifetime you've
learned all sorts of stupid things about Chicago.

Which building has 16,000 windows?
What is the Picasso sculpture made out of?
Which Oz character guards the entrance to Oz park?
Which two buildings were left standing after the Chicago Fire?
Who owned the Billy Goat Tavern in 1945, and what kind of pet did he have?

Answers: The Sears Tower, Cor-Ten Steel, The Tin Man, The Water Tower and The Chicago Avenue Pumping Station, Sam Sianis, a goat.

Related Home & Classroom Activities:
Trivia Book: have students write and illustrate their own Chicago trivia book.

Map of Chicago: create a giant map of Chicago that includes all the sites included in the book.

Plan a Trip: choose one of the sites in the book for a field trip. Have students figure out how to get there by bus, el, or train. Ask them to find out as much as possible about the site before the trip.



	Kidding Around Chicago I had a hard time writing this book. Chicago is such a big place, and there are so many interesting things to do here. If I wrote about ALL the fun things to do, the book would be way too long and would probably weigh as much as the Sears Tower. So I had to be choosy. I picked places that I thought had lots of kid appeal, like the Chicago Children's Museum and Navy Pier. My favorite part of doing all the research was eating at the different restaurants listed in the book. Hot dogs are my favorite food group, so it was important that I found the best hot dog stand in town. People may argue with my choice, but I feel that SuperDawg has the best dogs, paws-down, and I love the dancing hot dogs on the roof. Their eyes light up at night! I am also an animal lover, so I especially enjoyed researching the Animals, Animals chapter. I had never heard of Doggy Beach before and really loved taking pictures there. By the way, I shot over half of the photographs in the book and now possess 470 color slides of Chicago! Bringing this fact up is a good way to end a party fast. Here's a quick quiz for all you Chicago trivia buffs. There are no prizes involved, only the joy of knowing that in your lifetime you've learned all sorts of stupid things about Chicago. Which building has 16,000 windows? What is the Picasso sculpture made out of? Which Oz character guards the entrance to Oz park? Which two buildings were left standing after the Chicago Fire? Who owned the Billy Goat Tavern in 1945, and what kind of pet did he have? Answers: The Sears Tower, Cor-Ten Steel, The Tin Man, The Water Tower and The Chicago Avenue Pumping Station, Sam Sianis, a goat. Related Home & Classroom Activities: Trivia Book: have students write and illustrate their own Chicago trivia book. Map of Chicago: create a giant map of Chicago that includes all the sites included in the book. Plan a Trip: choose one of the sites in the book for a field trip. Have students figure out how to get there by bus, el, or train. Ask them to find out as much as possible about the site before the trip.