Kris Hartman

What is your favorite book/author and why?
I couldn’t possibly pick one book or author so I’ll share a few that have had a profound impact on me: A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum, The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, and There, There by Tommy Orange. Besides being books with endearing characters and gripping story lines, they are all books that I couldn’t put down but also never wanted to end, even as I raced towards the last page. I love that feeling of wanting a story to go on forever because I don’t want to say good-bye to the characters.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a few of my favorite children’s books as well. Both my children are avid readers and we spend quite a bit of time reading together. Thank you, Omu by Oge Mora, We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, and Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima are 3 of our favorites.

How long have you been a member of our community?  What’s your favorite thing to do in Grayslake?
I grew up in the area (Round Lake Beach) and after 10 years of living in greater Boston, my husband and I decided to move back here to raise our children near my family. We moved to Grayslake in 2016. 

Besides visiting the library (truly one of my favorite places in Grayslake), I love going on bike rides with my family and checking out the Little Free Libraries around town. When the pandemic first hit and the library was closed, we were so grateful to have Little Free Libraries to visit and borrow books from. My family loves Little Free Libraries so much that we’re actually in the midst of establishing our own library (opening summer 2021) so that we can give back to our community and share our love of books.

What’s your educational background?
I have a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and a Master’s in Special Education from Cambridge College.

Who is in your family?
My immediate family consists of my husband, Andy, our two children Cleo and Eleanor (ages 4 and 6, respectively), and our pets: 2 dogs named Tuli and Nutmeg and a cat named Moshi. 

Fun fact-
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer for 4 ½ years after graduating from U of I and my first placement was in The Gambia, West Africa, where I helped establish a library at a rural elementary school. One of my favorite projects was organizing and cataloguing the library and then teaching the students and teachers how to locate and check out books.