At the MSLA conference in 2021, Melissa Sweet presented her “Tips and Tools for Nonfiction Read-Alouds,” and since then I’ve been mindful of trying to include nonfiction picture books in storytime programs, as well as in displays and readers’ advisory. This week I had so many to choose from that I didn’t even get to them all!

We ended up with a nice mix of fiction and nonfiction around a loose springtime theme. Today’s weather made Rain! by Linda Ashman and Christian Robinson a shoo-in for the lead-off book. Next we read  Shake A Leg, Egg! by Kurt Cyrus, which connected to our craft (see photos below). Shake A Leg is fiction, but the illustrations of different types of birds and the pond scenes are realistic and detailed. (I also had Whose Egg Is That? by Darrin Lunde and Kelsey Oseid; we skipped it for today, but I’ve had success reading all of their “Whose __ Is That?” books at storytimes. Preschool, kindergarten, and even first and second graders enjoy making predictions and guesses.)

Next we read Ahoy! by Sophie Blackall (and I’m just now realizing that four out of five of today’s books have exclamation points in their titles). A new Sophie Blackall book is always exciting, and this one features imaginative indoor play – perfect for a rainy day. Next we read Play Like An Animal! by Maria Gianferrari and Mia Powell, which features lots of unusual animals and plenty of active verbs and fun facts. And finally, the kids voted for Raindrops Roll for our final book. April Pulley Sayre’s photography is gorgeous, and every word is carefully chosen and necessary, with nothing extra.

The craft for today was inspired by the egg books, and also by the generous supply of die-cuts in the art room closet. I cut cracked egg shapes from pale gray paper so that kids could draw creatures hatching, and they were so creative! One kid made hers a lift-the-flap by only gluing down part of half of the eggshell; another (with help from Dad, I think) draw a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, pizza slice in hand.

What nonfiction read-alouds do you use in storytime?