Category: Library world

Nonfiction picture books in storytime

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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!

Picture books on the railing

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.

Photo collage of egg crafts

What nonfiction read-alouds do you use in storytime?

Book Tasting

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What is a book tasting? In this case, it’s a chance for a group of people (about 12 homeschooled kids from about third through sixth grade) to meet a group of books. They get a chance to browse, then get officially introduced via a book trailer, jacket copy, a brief read-aloud, or a book talk. Then they get to examine the books again, and vote for their top five to be the choice for their first book club meeting. Some spreadsheet-ing occurs, and then the winner is announced, and many books are checked out.

I planned this event with one of the homeschooling parents. I modeled the “menu” of books on past MCBA lists, which is how we ended up with 24 titles to “taste” today. It’s so hard to limit the list once the ideas start flowing – some of the kids in the group had suggestions as well – but 15-20 titles would have been sufficient, still allowing for various genres and formats without being overwhelming. (Although I don’t think the kids were overwhelmed, and those who had suggested titles were pleased to see them!)

HomeschoolBookTasting1HomeschoolBookTasting2

Kids browsed the books while everyone trickled in. Once everyone arrived, we did introductions (name, pronouns, favorite baked good) and considered the question, “How do you choose a book to read?” Kids mentioned the cover, the back or jacket copy, and the “first page test.” Perfect!

To introduce the books, I found some book trailers (links below) so I didn’t have to talk for forty minutes straight, and so kids could hear directly from some of the authors. (I also found one playlist – thank you, Lisa Graff! – which we listened to as people arrived, and an “AWWWW”-worthy photo of M.T. Anderson’s dog.) I wondered if the quality or format of the presentation for each book would sway the votes one way or another – would the top-choice books be the ones with the glossiest production value? – but my guess is this only happened in one case (Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library).

In the end, Gary Paulsen’s classic Hatchet won, with Lemoncello close behind, and Another Kind and The 500 Million Dollar Heist tied for third. I used an English major version of ranked choice voting, assigning 5 points to each person’s first-choice book, 4 points for second choice, 3 for third, and so on. The most votes (not points) any title got was five, and kids cheered or at least accepted the outcome (especially since other titles might be future discussion choices, and they could check out any book they wanted from the table today).

Book Tasting Comment Card - Top Five

Book trailer, articles, photos, and playlists:

We’ll reconvene in about six weeks to discuss the book, and I’ll be looking for a companion picture book for some of the group’s younger siblings to discuss. Maybe something about forests or general outdoorsy-ness, rather than a survival story. What picture book pairs well with Hatchet?

Book Browse Bear: Serendipitous Suggestions

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Inspired by the “don’t know what to read?” jar up in our teen room, which has suggestions by genre, and by an empty bear-shaped container I found in the closet, Book Browse Bear was born! There are about 40 titles in each of the following categories: picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle grade graphic novels, and middle grade fiction & nonfiction. (These are color-coded, naturally.) It’s been fun to see people digging into the jar, and fun to help them find the books on the shelves (or another book, if that one is checked out).

Book Browse Bear

If you’d like to make something similar for your library, you can use the link above to make a copy of my lists and adapt them to the collections on your shelves. It’s a great way to promote some favorite titles, especially backlist ones that may not be circulating as well anymore. Happy browsing!

To theme or not to theme?

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Some storytime leaders are committed to themes; some aren’t. I fall into the latter camp, for some of the reasons articulated by Kary Henry on the ALSC blog, and Lindsey Krabbenhoft at Jbrary (“Storytime themes vs. storytime flow”). However, sometimes a theme emerges naturally, which happened this week.

Books on window ledge: Dancing Hands, Song in the City, I Can See Just Fine, and Mel Fell

There was an unusually small group at storytime this week, all regulars, so it was actually nice and cozy. As usual, we started with our “Hello, Friends” song with sign language, and it’s so cool to see the toddlers signing along. We read four books this week, with song cube songs and the Little Mouse flannel board activity in between:

  • Dancing Hands: a story of friendship in Filipino sign language, by Joanna Que and Charina Marquez, illustrated by Fran Alvarez, translated by Karen Llagas (a Schneider Family Honor Book)
  • Song in the City by Daniel Bernstrom, illustrated by Jenin Mohammed
  • I Can See Just Fine by Eric Barclay
  • Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor

Cover image of Dancing HandsAll of these books, in their own way, are about ability. Perception and communication also emerge as themes.

Dancing Hands worked well because it has minimal text, but shows readers how to make the signs the girls in the story are making (signs are also illustrated on the endpapers!). Dancing Hands feels a lot like My Best Friend by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, another favorite storytime book.

Cover image of Song in the CitySong in the City is a little bit longer, but the illustrations are super bright – featuring that warm yellow from the cover – the text rhymes, and there are a lot of sound effects. This was definitely the book that the adults in the room loved best. We all paused in the middle to close or cover our eyes, as Emmalene helps Grandma Jean do in the book, to focus on what we could hear.

icanseeI would love I Can See Just Fine based on its title alone, but the execution is just perfect. A little girl named Paige has trouble seeing the board at school, reading her sheet music, and even identifying animals (she picks up a skunk and calls it a kitty). She is not excited to go to the eye doctor, or when they tell her she needs glasses, but when she stands in front of the huge array of frames to choose from on the wall, you can just feel her wonder and awe. She tries on lots of frames and chooses the right ones for her. I showed the group my own glasses, identifying the different parts (frames and lenses). I also shared with the group that the eye doctor is my favorite one to go to – they never give shots!

Cover image of Mel FellWe wrapped up with Mel Fell, which is about confidence and ability in a different way: a baby kingfisher’s first flight/dive. The orientation of this book is unique (in the photo above, the spine is actually on top), and there’s a fun rotation required part of the way through the story. We see community members – other residents of Mel’s tree – attempt to help, but ultimately, Mel was right about their readiness to fly!

After stories, songs, and Little Mouse, we sang and signed “Goodbye, Friends.” Our craft wasn’t connected to the books, though I did mention that peeling and placing stickers is good fine motor practice. And, as a kid, how often do you get to use as many stickers as you want? (I’m lucky in that my predecessor spent years hoarding stickers from various sources, so we have an entire box to choose from.)

Next week, we’ll be hosting a group from The Family Center, reading Hugs from Pearl by Paul Schmid, and making valentines.

Mock Newbery: Heavy Medal 2024

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The Heavy Medal Award Committee (HMAC) is a Mock Newbery committee organized by Emily Mroczek-Bayci and Steven Engelfried (who have both served on the real Newbery committee previously) and including a mix of librarians (and, this year, one high school student) from all across the U.S.

Readers of the Heavy Medal blog nominate Newbery-eligible titles throughout the year, and eventually the nominees are winnowed down to a final fifteen(ish). Then the HMAC is assembled: every committee member reads all fifteen(ish) books, and each of us write an intro to one of the books on the blog, starting in late December and continuing into January. In the blog post, we consider the ways in which the book meets the Newbery criteria. After all the books are introduced and discussed in the comments, we vote on a final five books to discuss in a live webcast before the actual ALA Youth Media Awards (including the Newbery) are announced.

Cover images of HERCULES BEAL, LOST YEAR, FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING, MONA LISA VANISHES, THE SKULL

This year, the webcast was Friday, January 19 (you can view the recording here). The ALA YMA are next Monday, January 22, starting at 8 a.m. EST; you can watch the livestream here. (This is like the Oscars for kidlit.)

The real committees do a tremendous amount of reading and engage in carefully considered, thoughtful discussion, and there are always so many worthy books eligible for every award. Just because a book doesn’t wind up with a shiny medal or honor sticker after next week doesn’t mean it isn’t an excellent book. After all, “every book its reader, every reader their book.”

That said…I’m rooting hard for Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow to win the Newbery this year. We’ll find out on Monday!

Tis the season for picture books and graphic novels

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I developed these two presentations for the senior center, but why not share more widely?

“Picture This: Picture-Perfect Gift Books“ for the 2023 holiday season (or whenever! Books are good 365 days a year).

With an older audience in mind, I focused on recent titles from our current golden age of picture books, from wordless wonders like Aaron Becker’s Journey to Caldecott winners like Sophie Blackall and Matthew Cordell, from nonfiction to humor to holidays. Does a kiddo in your life need a new picture book this month? Sure they do!

Humor slide from Picture Books presentation: The Big Cheese, Bathe the Cat, Gotta Go, A Very Cranky Book

“What Are Graphic Novels (and why are they so great)?“ is an attempt to introduce adult readers to a format that might be new for them, and to dispel the harmful idea that graphic novels aren’t “real” books. (Graphic novels ARE real books! If your kids/students are reading graphic novels, they’re reading! And they probably have better visual literacy skills than you do. While I’m up here on my soapbox, audiobooks are real books, too.)

"What is a graphic novel?" slide from GN presentation

Links will take you to Google Slides presentations. For both sets of slides, I used SlidesCarnival (shout-out to my grad school friend Becca for introducing me to this resource).

Readers, I hope you check some of these books out from the library, or buy (local if you can!). School and public librarians, feel free to copy and remix if that’s helpful to you; please give credit. Neither of these presentations is intended to be comprehensive – just some award winners and lots of my own personal favorites. Happy reading!

MLS Annual Meeting 2023

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This year’s Massachusetts Library Association (MLS) Annual Meeting was at Fort Devens, where I have been many times – but only to play in ultimate frisbee tournaments. The meeting involved no cleats, frostbite, or heatstroke, which was an altogether different experience!

After a brief welcome from MLS Executive Director Sarah Sogigian and MLS Executive Board President Anna Bognolo (also the director of the Greenfield Public Library, which has a beautiful new building!), reporter Matt Shearer delivered a morning keynote full of short, funny videos of hyper-local news stories, such as the famous (in internet circles) story of one of the three Market Baskets on Boston Road closing in Billerica, and the sad tale of the Dunkin Donuts-less town of Stow, MA. Matt’s approach to reporting is, “I show up in small towns and try to find something cool.” After much exploring, he has concluded, “It is the people who make these towns special.” He says, “I’m trying to find the things that aren’t getting covered, the people whose voices aren’t getting heard.” And he recommended, when creating content, to have fun with it, and people will find it engaging.

The way that people respond to Matt’s videos – locally and more broadly, as many of his videos have gone viral – makes me think of the decrease in local news coverage over the past few decades, as local and regional papers fold, and people are left to rely on social media (e.g. Facebook, NextDoor) or national papers like The New York Times. This has contributed to a lack of trust in the print media, as there can be such a great distance between the issues that have a real impact on peoples’ day-to-day lives and the issues that national papers cover. Matt’s use of humor helps, too, and his genuine curiosity about people’s lives.

The business meeting was short and sweet, followed by an update from MBLC Director James Lonergan. He urged everyone to continue contacting state representatives to support library budget lines, all of which have seen increases recently. The focus next year will be on continued support for State Aid to libraries, and a bigger increase for the Massachusetts Center for the Book. Lonergan also mentioned MLS’ partnership with Unite Against Book Bans (MLS, MLA, and MSLA are all partners).

UniteAgainstBookBansUniting against book bans tied in nicely to William Adamczyk’s update from the MLA Legislative Committee. There was a hearing on Monday, October 30 that was relevant to several different library interests (you can watch it here), including library access to e-books and digital audiobooks, freedom to read, and protection against book bans. MLA has been working closely with MSLA and with EveryLibrary to have a funded, effective school library program and a licensed school librarian in every school in the commonwealth (see “The Top 5 Reasons for having a Licensed School Library Teacher in Every School“). The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) is in full support of this effort. Another goal is for the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to designate a school library point person – someone who understands the importance and value of librarians in schools.

Title page of Evelyn Del Rey, with signatureAfter lunch, it was time for MEG MEDINA! Yes, she’s caps-lock-worthy: she’s the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a faculty member of the Hamline MFA program, and the author of Merci Suárez Changes Gears, which won the Newbery Medal in 2019. She has written two sequels to Merci, as well as picture books Mango, Abuela, and Me; Tía Isa Wants A Car; and Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away. Most recently she has contributed to Chelsea Clinton’s She Persisted series of biographies, with entries on Sonia Sotomayor and Pura Belpré.

Medina graciously answered questions from Christi Showman Farrar and Kristi Chadwick from MLS. Some excerpts from their conversation:

  • When did storytelling start for you? When did you decide to become a writer? Medina’s family moved to the U.S. in the 1960s, due to political turmoil in Cuba; she believes that her family “used story to deal with the trauma of loss of homeland.” She did not begin writing fiction until she turned 40.
  • How do you decide whether the story is a novel, a picture book…does the story tell you what it’s going to be or do you make that decision? A little of both. Tía Isa would have made a funny middle grade novel. “When you sit with a story for a second, your heart sort of tells you the piece of it that matters most, and that helps you navigate” what age to write it for. What matters to you the most in that moment about telling that story?Cover image of Merci Suarez, with Newber
  • When books are published simultaneously (or nearly) in English and Spanish, what is the translation process like? “We have all points of language” in Latino families, with some fluent in English, some in Spanish, some in both. Availability of books in both languages allow the family to experience the story together, in the language they’re most comfortable with. “More language is more people you can talk to.”
  • What was your involvement in the graphic novel adaptation of Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass? Medina said it takes her a while when she sees visual representations of her work, even book covers, because the artist’s representation is always different from what she sees in her head. “I feel about graphic novels the way I feel about movies….This is a new generation and it’s a different art form….[I’m] glad it’s coming to a new generation of readers.”
  • What was the research process like for Burn Baby Burn? “You think you remember everything accurately…you don’t!” It was fascinating to dig into the research, including the NOW archives at NYU, which covered the Women’s March in much more detail than The New York Times. She asked, “Who’s telling the story? And what was omitted?” and added, “That idea of not being erased is vitally important right now.”
  • Question from a school librarian: How do you help teachers who are attached to classics understand that there is so much new talent? You’re not throwing away the classics, but nothing can become a classic if no one reads it. Medina suggested shelf talkers that pair the classic with the new, like Little House on the Prairie with Linda Sue Park’s Prairie Lotus. “Give people a way to think about those books. Give them a way to preserve both, if they must.”

Other questions and answers covered what it was like to get “the call” (from the Newbery committee), what she does in her role as the National Ambassador (“Book friend to America’s children”), outreach to Latino populations, how to get kids passionate about stories, and challenges to youth materials (she spoke to both the Senate and the House).

Thank you, Meg, for coming to our meeting, and for everything you do for children’s literature!

Pajama Storytime

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When I started as the children’s librarian, I had to make one change almost right away, taking away the Monday morning storytime because I don’t arrive at work on Monday until 11:30 (then I’m here till we close at 8pm). However, I didn’t want to reduce the number of storytimes, so I decided to try offering an evening one – a pajama storytime! Also, it was a way of expanding access for families who can’t get here mid-morning on a weekday. I wasn’t sure if it would take off, but I spent a month talking it up, and attendance has been good so far!

Pajama Storytime happens in the Storytime Room, where we have a rug and some colorful, cozy bean bags. I brought in a string of twinkle lights and stuffed them into a clear glass jar (my “star jar”) and I put that on the table with the books. We start right at 6:30 and read till 7. Most attendees are older – first through fourth grade – but a few toddlers show up too, so I try to put the shorter, simpler books first in the lineup, and save longer ones for after the toddlers’ attention span is exhausted.

Not every book I read at Pajama Storytime is specifically bedtime-themed, but a lot of them are. Here’s what we’ve read so far:

AreYouAwake

Goodnight Veggies by Diana Murray/Zachariah Ohora
Are You Awake? by Sophie Blackall
Goodnight, Everyone by Chris Haughton
In the Night Garden by Carin Berger
Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
Everyone’s Awake by Colin Meloy
Time for Bed by Mem Fox/Jane Dyer
Awake, Asleep by Kyle Lukoff/Nadia Alam

TellMeWhattoDreamAbout

Just Because by Mac Barnett/Isabelle Arsenault
How to Put Your Parents to Bed by Mylisa Larsen
City Moon by Rachael Cole/Blanca Gomez
Tell Me What to Dream About by Giselle Potter
Bedtime Monsters by Josh Schneider
Hoodwinked by Arthur Howard
There Is A Crocodile Under My Bed! By Ingrid & Dieter Schubert

KittensFirstFullMoon

The Yawns Are Coming by Christopher Eliopoulos
A Spoonful of Frogs by Casey Lyall and Vera Brosgol
Night in the City by Julie Downing
Chicken Wants A Nap by Tracy Marchini
Every Dreaming Creature by Brendan Wenzel
Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

SleepLikeATiger

Good Night, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony
Windows by Julia Denos
A Bedtime for Bear by Bonny Becker/Kady MacDonald Denton
The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld
Hank’s Big Day by Evan Kuhlman & Chuck Groenink
Sleep Like A Tiger by Mary Logue/Pamela Zagarenski

Books face-out on window ledge

As you can see, there’s a mix of longer and shorter ones, dreamy and goofy stories, rhyming and not, silly and soothing. I even had one parent thank me because no one had read a story to her in such a long time! (Children’s programming is important for the caregivers, too!)

Is there a Pajama Storytime at your library? What do you like about it? What would you change?

More storytimes, and rhyme time

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A month flies by! Storytime is always one of my favorite parts of the work week. Here are the books and art projects we’ve done for the past few weeks, and of course we look for Little Mouse every time (“Little mouse, little mouse, are you in the [color] house?”), and open and close with “Hello Friends” and “Goodbye Friends.”

September 28 Storytime

  • I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (with flannel board)
  • Carrot & Pea by Morag Hood
  • Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek
  • Craft: Coloring with crayons on butcher paper taped to the floor

Where is the Green Sheep? surrounded by felt board sheep

October 5

  • Please, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony
  • Circle Under Berry by Carter Higgins
  • Perfect Square by Michael Hall
  • Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett
  • Where’s Walrus? by Steven Savage
  • Craft: Collage with tissue paper and glue sticks on construction paper

Book spines with Little Mouse

October 12

  • The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
  • Pirate Jack Gets Dressed by Nancy Raines Day (with flannel board)
  • There’s a Monster in This Book by Tom Fletcher
  • Mr. Scruff by Simon James
  • Some of These Are Snails by Carter Higgins
  • Craft: Decorating die-cut paper pumpkins with markers and crayons

storytimebooks

Pirate Jack flannel board

October 19

  • I Will Chomp You by Jory John and Bob Shea
  • Bathe the Cat by Alice B. McGinty and David Roberts
  • Tickle Monster by Edouard Manceau (with flannel board)
  • Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins
  • Somewhere in the Bayou by Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey
  • Craft: Flannel board play with different shapes, colors, and sizes

Picture book covers

October 26

  • Sam and Dave Dig A Hole by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
  • Maybe… by Chris Haughton
  • How do you say? = ¿Cómo se dice? by Angela Dominguez
  • Imogene’s Antlers by David Small
  • I’ll Wait, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony
  • Craft: Dot markers, crayons, markers on butcher paper on the floor (collaborative)

Picture books, covers out, on window ledge

Storytimes I’d done plenty of before coming to SHPL, but Rhyme Time was a new program for me to lead. It’s kind of like storytime, but without books (although, I think I am going to start adding in one book each time). We do lots of songs, rhymes, fingerplay, and movement, followed by free play. I lead a lot of the songs and rhymes myself, but I also have a computer and speakers to play music. Soon, everyone will be singing and dancing along to Caspar Babypants’ “Butterfly Driving A Truck”!

I start every Rhyme Time with the same three songs:

  • “Hello Friends” song
  • Hello song (“We clap and sing hello…”)
  • The Name Song (“If your name is _____, jump up and down”). This is great because each child gets their moment in the spotlight (if they want it – some just sit on laps and that’s fine!) and it creates a sense of community, helping us all get to know each other.

Then we do a selection of these songs/rhymes with movement and fingerplay. Some of them are on my song cubes (homemade tissue-box creations with a different picture on each side, corresponding to a song, like a teapot for “I’m A Little Teapot” or a spider for “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.” Because these are short little songs, we sometimes do them three times: regular/fast/slow or regular/loud/quiet.

We end with two goodbye songs:

If the weather is nice (or, okay, decent) and we’re outside, I bring out sidewalk chalk and balls for the kiddos to play with. If we’re inside, it’s parachute and bubbles. This gives everyone a chance to move around and socialize.

Toddlers drawing with chalk

Back to storytime!

Jenny1 Comment
Child's legs and feet, standing on a smiling ladybug drawn in chalk

This month I returned to public libraries and am really enjoying being a children’s librarian again, serving kids and their caregivers with book recommendations, weekly storytimes and rhyme times, arts and crafts, and all those “did you know…?” hidden gems that the library offers, like the OpenDyslexic font built into Libby.

I’m especially thrilled to be doing storytimes again. I’ve modeled my current program on the “Step Into Storytime” I did at the Winchester (MA) Public Library, which was aimed at two- and three-year-olds and their siblings and caregivers. I don’t intentionally choose themes (although three of today’s five books involved elephants), and I lead off with the longest book, as attention spans tend to wane over time.

Here’s my storytime format, with today’s books and activities as an example:

  • Welcome, introduction
  • Early literacy tip: the five ECRR practices (TALK, SING, READ, WRITE, PLAY) all support children’s early literacy skills
  • “Hello Friends” (Jbrary) with ASL
    • Teach/review signs for “hello” and “friends” 
  • There’s A Bear on My Chair by Ross Collins
  • Oh, No! By Candace Fleming
  • A Kiss Like This by Mary Murphy
  • “Little Mouse” game with flannel board (“Little mouse, little mouse, are you in the [color] house?”)
  • A Parade of Elephants by Kevin Henkes with flannel board (today it just so happened that there were five kids, and I have five elephants! So they each got to hold one the whole time, and stick them to the board at the end)
  • Now by Antoinette Portis
  • “Goodbye Friends” (Jbrary) 
    • Teach/review signs for “goodbye” and “friends” 
  • Craft: Rubber stamps and stamp pads on construction paper 

Last week’s books were Mina by Matthew Forsythe, Huff & Puff by Claudia Rueda, Pete’s A Pizza by William Steig, Matilda’s Cat by Emily Gravett, and Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier. Books that have interactive elements, like Huff & Puff, or can be made interactive (like pretending to roll out dough and sprinkle cheese for Pete’s A Pizza) are great for holding the attention of little ones and the engagement of adult caregivers as well, who can help the littles with the actions, improving large and fine motor skills. 

 

Picture books Mina, Huff & Puff, Pete's A Pizza, Matilda's Cat, and Lots of Dots in front of a flannel board set up with Little Mouse

Books we read the first week of September were The Giant Jumperee by Julia Donaldson, Spots in a Box by Helen Ward, Triangle by Mac Barnett, and Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer. Both Jumperee and Triangle were checked out afterward, which I take as a mark of success; I always tell families that they are welcome to borrow anything I read aloud at storytime.

As it’s September, one batch of kids has just started preschool or kindergarten, so the storytime regulars are on the younger side; lots of them come to Rhyme Time also (more on that later). I’ve been pulling from my list of great books to share with two- and three-year-olds, as well as newer picture books (I made that list in 2019). I’ve also been keeping crafts basic and process-oriented: so far, we’ve used dobbers/dotters (“do-a-dot art sponge tip applicators”), glue sticks, and rubber stamps – all washable and nontoxic, of course.

What are your favorite read-aloud books to share with littles? Favorite arts and crafts?