• Activities

    Storytime Theme: Polar Bears

    polar bears storytime

    Today’s storytime theme is a perfect theme for the upcoming winter as nights get longer and the days get colder. While this can be a simple bear-themed storytime, you can also use this as a topic for a STEM program that discusses the effects of climate change on the polar…

  • Lists

    Top Ten Tuesday: Great Books for Third Graders

    Top Ten Tuesday

    I very rarely completely ignore a Top Ten Tuesday prompt, but I just couldn’t get enough brain power around this week’s theme – Characters that Authors Surprisingly Redeemed. So instead, I went in a completely different direction. I think the most difficult age group to find books for is that…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Letter K

    header

    It’s Letter K’s day to shine! And this one was a lot of fun with knights and knees that make the letter k a little trickier and a whole lot of time spent down under with koalas, kangaroos, and kiwis. In fact, if you want to do a whole storytime…

  • Lists

    25 Books Written by Celebrity Authors

    25 Books Written by Celebrity Authors header

    You might not have thought about this topic before, but there are a lot of celebrities out there who have written children’s books. I’ve included 25 titles on this list and barely scratched the surface of the number of books out there. While I have conflicting feelings about celebrity authors,…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Pajamas

    pajama storytime

    There’s never been a better lesson plan that one that involves wearing your pajamas! This is a cozy storytime that’s perfect for an evening time slot or some great ideas that you can use at home (especially if you build a blanket fort). With great authors like Sandra Boynton and…

  • Lists

    Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Provide a Much-Needed Escape

    Top Ten Tuesday

    Work has been SO extremely stressful for me for the past few months. There’s a lot going on in a lot of different places, so I’ve been trying to read as much as possible! Here are some of my favorite adult novels (mostly romances) that I’ve enjoyed recently. And some…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Letter J

    letter j storytime

    We’re moving on through the alphabet and today we’re working on the letter J! With fun words like jam, jump, jellyfish, and Jupiter, this storytime can easily move into a STEM themed focus with nonfiction titles like turning apples into apple juice or learning about jaguars or Jupiter. But, you…

  • Lists

    Pairing Classics with Contemporary Titles

    classics to contemporary

    About five years ago I created a book list of classic middle grade titles and included a contemporary option that had a similar theme or feel. I loved the idea so much, I thought I’d expand the list by adding eight more classics paired with their own contemporary titles. Classic…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Painting

    Painting storytime header

    While I’ve done an art themed storytime lesson plan, I haven’t expanded beyond just the general theme. So, for today, I’m focusing solely on painting. Obviously, the activities are all paint-based. And there are a number of different directions you can go in – different types of paint, paintbrushes, and…

  • Lists

    Top Ten Tuesday: Romance Books Involving Food

    Top Ten Tuesday

    Feeding people is my love language. I love to cook, I’ll bake, but I truly love to cook and love to spend time in my kitchen. I’m the type of person that (tries) to meal plan every week with well-loved recipes and new options that make both my partner and…