Singer-guitarist Cat Catalani embarked on a musical career relatively late in life but seems to be making up for lost time.

Catalani was 40 before she wrote her first song, 42 when she gave her first concert.

Now 45, her recordings are being played on a growing number of radio stations across the country and she performs, she estimates, about 250 times a year.

Catalani will visit the area next week to present three free concerts for children and adults.

"Songs of War, Songs of Peace" is the title of a program Catalani will perform at 6:30 pm Tuesday at Hayner Public Library, 401 State Street, Alton and at 7:30 pm Wednesday at the Wood River Public Library 326 East Ferguson Avenue.

The Performance will include songs from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World Wars I and II and the Vietnam War, selections such as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," "How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm," and "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree."

Catalani will present a "Family Reading Night" program tailored for children at 6:30 pm on Nov. 15 at the library in Wood River. The performance will feature Catalani's original songs inspired by the "Harry Potter" books of J.K. Rowling. Children are encouraged to sing along, clap, move and even supply the endings to songs.

Catalani's appearances are sponsored by the Illinios Humanities Council. She is one of the council's "Road Scholars," a group of musicians, poets, artists, lecturers and scholars who are available to nonprofit organizations statewide for free-admissions humanities programs. The only charge to an organization is a $25 processing fee.

A native of Franklin Park in Chicago's west suburbs, Catalani tried performing at the University of Illinois but found it so terrifying that she avoided the spotlight for 20 years. She spent the time earning a master's degree in poetry, teaching at Stanford University and proofreading for law firms.

Catalani regained her performance poise singing in a weekly song circle and has gathered a growing following over the last few years.

"I'm very pleased with what's happened," she said in a telephone interview this week. "I surprised my family and friends and myself, really."

Catalani's mucial influences are varied. She lists Ray Charles, Joni Mitchell and Ella Fitzgerald as among the singers she most admires.

When she was preparing the "war and peace" program last winter, Catalani had no way of knowing it would be so timely this fall.

"It's very moving to me to give that program," she said. "People have written about war and peace since the 1700s. It's wonderful to have those perspectives from different eras."

The songs, Catalani said, stir various emotions.

"Some people sing along and some people cry," she said.

For more information, call the Hayner Public Library at 462-0677 or the Wood River Public Library at 254-4832 or visit Catalani's Web site at www.CatCatalani.com. For information on the Road Scholars program, visit http://www.prairie.org/programs/speak2.asp.