• Lists

    2023 CLEL Bell Award Winners

    play blocks

    The CLEL Bell Awards are announced annually by the Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy (CLEL). Five books are awarded “in recognition of five high-quality picture books that provide excellent support of early literacy development in young children.” CLEL doesn’t just award books an award. They also create early literacy activity…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Mail Time!

    mailbox

    I’m so surprised that I’ve never done a mail-themed storytime before! Who doesn’t love getting fun mail? Honestly, my reluctance probably stems from elementary school. For a few years, we’d spend the early part of February learning about the postal service system. We took a field trip to the post…

  • Lists

    2022 CYBILS Award Winners

    trophy and medal

    The CYBILS or Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards were presented on Valentine’s Day (or February 14th). And with a crazy week at work, I’m finally getting a chance to sit down and check out all the winners this year! The CYBILS “aims to recognize the children’s and young…

  • Lists

    Bedtime Books for Little Ones

    bedtime

    What theme is more popular than bedtime books for little ones? Bedtime is a prime time to snuggle together and spend time reading aloud. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of picture books dedicated to bedtime, but today I’m sharing just a few. This post may contain affiliate links,…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Favorites

    kids playing

    Today’s post – Storytime Theme: Favorites could have easily been named Storytime Theme: Oldies, but Goodies! When I was doing storytime regularly as a children’s librarian, these titles were some of my tried-and-true, must-have books. They would work every time, no matter the crowd! So today, I thought I’d pull…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Home

    home mat

    This storytime theme: home was a little tricky to pull together. At first, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find enough content, but then I realized you could really take this storytime in a lot of different directions for a lot of different age groups. I kept…

  • Reviews

    Like – Picture Book Review

    kids on the beach

    Summary: “Are you like a tin can?Not really. How about a swimming pool?Like a swimming pool, you are filled with water and chemicals and dirt, so you are a little bit like a swimming pool. How about mushrooms, excavators, hyenas . . .  Hey, wait a minute! You know what…

  • Lists

    ALA’s 2023 Youth Media Awards

    winning medal

    This morning, the American Library Association announced the Youth Media Awards. The most popular being the Caldecott and Newbery Awards. But, in actuality, there are over 20 award announcements this morning! Today, I’m sharing the winners and honors and a little note about what each award is for and what…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Interactive Books

    preschool children playing

    Today’s storytime theme is probably one of my most favorites to do with older toddlers and preschoolers – interactive books! At this age, the kids are able to follow the instructions the book typically asks of them and they still are young enough to have the wonder and magic of…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Community Helpers

    mailboxes

    Community Helpers is a popular theme for preschool and there are dozens of books that would work! You can actually make this one storytime into an entire series – choosing just one type of community helper for each week. For today, I chose to provide books about nine different types…