• Activities

    How to Host Baby Storytime @ Your Library

    baby and mom

    We’ve hosted a baby storytime at our library for years. But, since COVID we’ve had to rearrange a lot of our space and staff and our baby storytime leader decided that after many, many years, she was ready to take a break. A few staff members were a little nervous…

  • Activities

    Music & Movement for Preschoolers

    kids dancing

    This was a new program I tried at my library. We’re hosting regular storytimes, but we’re also always looking for ways to try new and different programs for our toddlers and preschoolers. This was a departure from what we’ve done in the past – not a storytime and not a…

  • Lists

    15 Picture Book Biographies About Musicians

    sheet music

    Picture book biographies are certainly having their heyday right now. There are a number of titles being published monthly – and often of people that I am unfamiliar with. Today’s post started out just highlighting some of the great picture book biographies, but I soon realized I needed to narrow…

  • Lists

    12 Titles for National Jukebox Day

    It’s National Jukebox Day! The first use of a jukebox was on November 23, 1889 in San Francisco. I was so surprised that jukeboxes have been around for that long! The first ones were coin-operated and used an Edison phonograph. There were also called “Nickel in the Slot” at the…

  • Reviews

    The Losers at the Center of the Galaxy

    football

    Synopsis: “A tuba player without a tuba and his jellyfish-imitating sister cope with their father’s disappearance in this hilarious and moving novel by the author of The Mortification of Fovea Munson.  When Lenny Volpe, former quarterback of the worst professional football team in the nation, leaves his family and disappears, the…

  • Lists

    Four on Friday: Saxophone Day

    saxophone

    It’s Saxophone Day! This is a great way to introduce kids to music they might not be familiar with or to share all the great musical instruments in this world. So, grab a couple of these titles, throw on a groovy jazz album and learn about this amazing instrument! Four…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Jazz

    piano

    Black History Month is here! And I wanted to share a way you can celebrate this special month with some of your youngest patrons, students, or family members. Today I wanted to focus solely on one specific music style – jazz! I love taking the time to introduce young children…

  • Reviews

    #blogbookaday: Flowers for Sarajevo

    Summary:  “The moving story of a young boy who discovers the power of beauty and kindness during a time of war. Drasko helps his father sell flowers in Sarajevo, but when war threatens and his father is called to the battlefront, Drasko must take over the flower stall. One morning the…

  • Reviews

    Middle Grade Review: The First Rule of Punk

    Synopsis: It’s the first day in a new school a thousand miles away from her dad, best friend and everything she knows and loves and Malu is nervous. After a tough day (violating the school dress code, upsetting the school’s queen bee and so much more), Malu has disappointed her…

  • Reviews

    Book Review: Sparrow

    The story opens in a white hospital room after Sparrow’s apparent suicide attempt. The custodian found Sarah on the edge of the school’s roof, but no one will believe that she wasn’t up there to jump. She was up there to fly. When the world on the ground gets to…