Today, a few page spreads from picture books to surprise, delight, and amuse:
From I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen: This wordless spread captures the moment when the Bear confronts the rabbit who stole his hat. It’s a moment of tension and uncertainty, though the readers – and the rabbit – have a good guess what’s coming next.
Next up is Mina by Matthew Forsythe, and if you haven’t read it yet, please stop reading this and go find a copy; or at least request a copy from your library, close your eyes, and scroll down a bit, because I don’t want to be responsible for ruining perhaps the single greatest page turn ever:
“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about,” said the doctor. “But let me take a look at these squirrels.”
“Oh, I see the problem,” said the doctor. “The problem is that these squirrels are definitely cats.”
This is the part in Snail Crossing by Corey Tabor where the snail realizes it has journeyed back to its starting place instead of making it across the road to where the delicious cabbages are. “Well, shoot.” I love the understatement of this, and the slime trail showing the snail’s path.
“Tommy closed his eyes. If he were a pterodactyl, he wouldn’t have to put up with this.” This gem is from You Can’t Be A Pterodactyl! by James Breakwell & Sophie Corrigan. Haven’t we all had moments like this? Kids, especially, often find their imaginative flights of fancy reined in and pulled back down to earth by adults (or even other kids).
This “final” page from Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder and Dan Santat reminds readers “that every day…you choose.” The simple message is emphasized and made even more powerful by the 96-page book’s “pick your path” structure. In my experience, kids will want to read this one over and over again until they’ve made all the possible choices. And then they’ll want to read it again.
Do you have a favorite page turn or page spread from a picture book?
This Monday was the one-year anniversary of the 
Endlessly Ever After has become a mandatory staple since last December; it’s the book we always end with, but it’s different every time because of its pick-your-path nature. (Our storytime group is beyond excited that there is going to be another one in, I think, 2026? Laurel and Dan, if you need beta readers, we are at your service.)
As you can see, we lean toward bedtime books and fairy tales, including fractured fairy tales. I can already tell All at Once Upon A Time is going to be a repeat read; it goes so well with Endlessly, and the kids – and grown-ups! – who come to Pajama Storytime are old enough to understand and enjoy the humor. That’s something I love about Pajama Storytime: I get to read some wonderful books that are simply too long or complex for my morning storytime, which is mostly toddlers. There are great picture books for that age, too, and I love them, but Pajama Storytime lets me share more books with a different audience.
When I started my current job as the children’s librarian at a public library, I found an unused mailbox shaped like a bear, complete with little beehive flag. I set it up on my service desk, inviting people to leave notes – questions, comments, suggestions, anything! On a nearby column, I tape up the notes with my responses.
A few sample notes and responses (lightly edited for spelling, etc.):
To end on a happy note (no pun intended): My favorite note so far was about how the book Molly’s Tuxedo by Vicki Johnson, illustrated by Gillian Reid, was affirming for a child deciding what to wear ahead of a family holiday, and helped foster a conversation with a grandparent too. The note-writer concluded, “Thank you for your commitment to diversity + inclusion!” It’s gratifying to see that books really do make a difference. I was able to share this note with the book’s author on social media, and I hope she was half as pleased as I was.
But then – I forget where, and I’m sorry because I’d love to give credit for this – I heard about a “My First Book Club” program at another library, and I decided to give it a try. We had our first meeting in July; I was thinking that people might have a bit more free time in the summer, and it could also help rising kindergarteners meet each other and get used to a semi-formal aducational environment if they hadn’t already been in a preschool program.
For “My First Book Club,” there is no need to read the book(s) ahead of time; I request enough copies for everyone to follow along as we read together. In July we read Meet Yasmin by Saadia Faruqi, illustrated by Hatem Ali, and the Geisel award-winning See the Cat: Three Stories About A Dog by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka. I asked the kids to make some predictions, observations, and ask and answer questions about the story; then we decorated bookmarks with a flower pattern like Yasmin.
Here’s the “I Heart Back Matter” part of this post: Back matter is the stuff you find at the end of the book, after the story. It’s more common in nonfiction (think glossary, sources, index), but a lot of picture books, early readers, and especially graphic novels also throw in a little bonus content: a recipe, an art project, step-by-step instructions for how to draw the main character. This is where I got the model for Yasmin’s flower-patterned bookmark. (More on back matter later.)
In August we read Fox and Chick: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier and What About Worms?! by Ryan T. Higgins, and colored some What About Worms?! 
Finally, a perk of coming to the first meeting: the kids got to vote on what they wanted to read next. I pulled three books from our collection: Bedhead Ted, Things in the Basement, and Witches of Brooklyn. Witches of Brooklyn won the vote, so that will be October’s book!
I hope that, by now, we have largely dispensed with the myth that librarians spend all day reading in buildings that are temples of quiet. There’s not much quiet, there’s not much sitting, and there’s barely any reading, unless you count reading aloud at storytimes, or reading professional review journals to decide what books to add to the collection. So what DOES a children’s librarian do all day? Here’s a sample of one day this week, during which I…
Alma, Head to Toe by Juana Martinez-Neal (bilingual, Spanish/English)
On May 14 I attended the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) workshop on Wayfinding & Signage, taught by Anna Popp. I’ve had an interest in this topic as long as I’ve been working in libraries (and maybe, as the kind of person who actually reads signs, for most of my life); I read 
Wayfinding helps people orient themselves in a space, figure out where they need to go, and how to get there; essentially, wayfinding is navigation. Signage is meant to influence a person’s behavior (e.g. borrow this book, attend this program, keep your voice down). Signage may be promotional (programs and services), operational (hours, policies), or instructional (how to use the printer), and therefore has an expiration date. 
So, wayfinding aids users navigating the space; signage influences users’ behavior. But before putting up any signs, ask: Who needs to know this? Where are they? What information do they need to make a decision? (In fact, Anna suggested inventory: taking down all signs, and only replacing the ones that are essential.) Try to avoid visual clutter by identifying the minimum amount of information necessary and including only that. 
orientation, route decision, and destination. Where on their journey are people pausing and looking for help? 
Anna didn’t specifically mention it, but another consideration is users who don’t speak English. I do like visual signs and color coding, partly for this reason (although color coding will only work for about 85% of users).
Jenny Arch 