We Cheated on Our Library and So Should You!

Want to know one of the best things about libraries (besides being filled with books)? They're free, silly! And they're everywhere. So why not take your child on a trip? Go visit a new library!

I don't know why my son and I hadn't done this before. I had been thinking about checking out the collection of a library in a wealthy, nearby town with the plan of perhaps paying the annual non-resident fee for a library card. So we drove about 30 minutes up there and checked out their preschool story time too. 

Honestly, I think the preschool story time at our own local library is better, but something new was fun!

We sang a lot of songs, read one story, and then made a craft. 

The library we visited was decorated much more elaborately than either of our own local libraries. There was an enticing entrance to the children's room, and then lots of neat forest elements that created a magical atmosphere in the entire area. My son was totally enchanted, and asked me to take bunches of photos of him. "Take one of me here, Mommy. Now take one of me here!" I tried to browse the books, but he kept running from one feature to another, calling me over for more photos. 

I didn't end up getting a library card for several reasons, the main one being that the collection didn't impress me enough to make me feel it was worth the money (They had no Lunch Lady books in their collection! What?).

But taking a trip to a library in a neighboring community is a cheap, fun, and meaningful outing. Here are some thoughts I had on how it might work for you:

- Visit the website of neighboring libraries. Have your child look with you and compare photos and features of the various libraries and let your child decide which one to visit first.

- Make a "library passport" where you create a simple book with a page for each neighboring library you wish to visit. Then stamp the pages as you visit each one in your book. You could include photos too!

- Make a library wish list, including features that you like a library to have, programs you enjoy going to, kinds of books you might want to check out, etc. Look for those things when you visit a neighboring library and compare your checklists later to see which neighboring library is the most appealing to your tastes! Did any offer things that surprised you?

- Make a note of all your favorite features of neighboring libraries, maybe take photos, and then encourage your child design their dream library. 

- Print out a library scavenger hunt (Imagination Soup has a great one that my children really enjoyed). Take the scavenger hunt to several neighboring libraries and see what you can find!

- Be sure to note the various offerings of neighboring libraries. Remember that you can visit story times, shows, and exhibits for free. In addition to the library visit shown in my photos here, I have also taken my children to another nearby library district that performs elaborate marionette shows regularly. It's often worth the drive for a free show and sometimes a special craft to take home with you!

- Check out branch libraries in your own district. We have several libraries that are within our district and have their own unique charms and offerings. And of course, at a branch library you get the added bonus of being able to check out books!

- Be explorers! Think of visit as a new adventure! Make a game out of who can find the most unusual, or interesting book in the stacks! Perhaps your child has been interested in a particular subject, see what new and interesting books you can find on that topic. 

- Even though you can't check out any books if you don't have a card for a neighboring library, you can read the books while you're there! How many can you read in one visit? Keep count! Set a record! My son and I read the entire book #6 in the Franny K Stein series on this visit we have featured here. (Then his big brother came home from school with the same one today! Great minds think alike!)

- If you fall in love with a particular library, consider paying the annual fee for a library card. If their collection is more extensive than the collection at your own local library, a $50 annual fee can be a lot cheaper than buying all those books you want to read off Amazon! Just don't forget to return them on time!

- Looking for a fun time-filler on your next vacation? Look up the local library in the area you're visiting and see if there's a story time or interesting program that fits your schedule. Perfect for encouraging young readers and reminding them that reading is fun! Even vacation-fun! You could keep track on a map of all the places you have visited libraries on your travels!  

Choosing A Book to Read Aloud

Photo by Daveparker

I have been to my fair share of children's story times. I have heard librarians read aloud, teachers read aloud, babysitters, and parents. I am always intrigued to see what stories are chosen to be read aloud, particularly when it's librarians or teachers doing the reading. Often, I love the books that I listen to. But sometimes I'm left wondering, Why did they choose that book?

Today I'm posing the question: How do you chose a good story to read aloud? I am not the ultimate authority on this topic, but I do feel I have a little bit of expertise since reading aloud to small children is my job.

So here's how I chose a book to read aloud:

1. Get a good recommendation. Bookstores and libraries can be overwhelming if you're just browsing. Where do you even begin to look? Most good read aloud titles I find are inspired by reviews I read, Twitter feeds I follow, book lists, or just general buzz. So ask a librarian or book seller. Ask a teacher. Go poke around on Amazon, or the internet in general; you can find tons of "best of" lists to get you going on your hunt. Or, searching for new titles by an author or illustrator you already know you like can be a good starting point too!

2. Read the story aloud to yourself. How does it flow off your tongue? Is it awkward? Is it engaging and compelling? Do you want to keep turning the pages for more, or are you bored from the start?

3. Is the subject something that would interest your readers? This can be tricky if you are going into a cold read aloud in which you haven't previously met your listeners. But if you know you'll be reading to preschoolers, it's not too tough to venture a guess as to some topics they might find appealing, right? Stay away from titles that are nostalgic and are written more for grown-ups than kids. I'm not a big fan of I Love you Forever, or some of Patrick McDonnell's stuff for read alouds... unless I'll be reading to a group of grown-ups!

4. Make sure it's a format that's meant to be read aloud. One of my big pet peeves is seeing books like The Cat in the Hat or One Fish, Two Fish used for big, group read alouds. Don't get me wrong, Dr. Seuss has created some of the most amazing books to be read aloud; why do those never seem to be the ones used for read alouds? Save the limited vocab titles for reading one on one with your kiddos, especially those kiddos that are still mastering reading. That's my own opinion, at least.

5. Don't pick anything too long... unless it's really good! Most small kiddos won't stay attentive for very long, especially when you've got a bunch of them smushed together on a little reading rug (think mob mentality). My three year old son's attention span is slowly growing, but he has been able to sit for an entire Dr. Seuss book for a while now. Dr. Seuss titles can be long, but they are good! Happy Birthday to You! is one of my son's favorites.

The length thing is a real stumper for me when observing other readers' choices for read aloud books. You have to be a really engaging reader to successfully pull off a long book during a preschool story time. I've seen plenty of read alouds flop because the reader chose a really wordy book. Sometimes even I have lost interest part-way through. The text doesn't have to be short enough to fit on a post-it note, but just be mindful of length!

6. Chose a book with appealing illustrations. If you're reading picture books, the illustrations are just as important as the text. Kids aren't going to care about a great story if the illustrations are weird, boring, or just poorly done. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a story I loved that had poor illustrations. But there are some bad stories I can remember that also had sub-par illustrations. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its core, right? But if I don't like the illustrations in a book for some reason, if they are just totally unappealing from the get-go, I won't even bother reading the text. I will just chose a different book. In my experience, bad illustrations usually = bad story. And the opposite usually holds true as well; if a book has amazing illustrations, you're probably going to get a great story as well!

I am dying to know what criteria you use for choosing a good read aloud, even if it's just with your own children at home. How do you pick???

Making Story Time Magical

Looking for a way to add some magic to your story time? How about a visit form Cinderella!

My dear friend, Erin, embodies the Cinderella persona like nobody else! She came to visit our local library story time this past week. Word got 'round that Cinderella was coming to read stories and the story time room was packed to the hilt. Mostly with little girls in princess dresses, but there were some boys too! There was such a crowd that Cinderella had to use a mic to be heard.

Cinderella read stories, sang beautiful songs, had crafts for us to make, and took photos with the kids. The kids (and adults) were all dazzled, and a good time was had by all! Isaac's buddy was there at story time with him, and both boys seemed totally mesmerized. Isaac even wanted to stand in the mile long line for a photo with Cinderella!

I loved Cinderella's animated reading. Marsha, the librarian, worked as the book holder, and you know a good children's librarian when they can't resist making animated facial expressions even when they're just holding the book!

What a great idea to have Cinderella come be a great reading role model!

And Cinderella does story time at birthday parties too! What a wonderful way to celebrate a special day, and encourage reading! Brilliant!

My Library's Storytime Can Beat Up Your Library's Storytime!

Our local children's librarian has really devoted a lot attention to making her preschool storytime GREAT! Attendance seems to be increasing every week (from what I can tell). Lately, your lucky if you can find a spot to sit if you're even a little late.

I have visited my fair share of storytimes that were duds. So to have such an amazing children's librarian in our small town here is a blessing! She always chooses great themes and her after-story-projects are so much fun!

When it's time for craft My Little Reader and I go sprinting for a coveted spot at a table, and our lovely librarian is often scrambling to cut extra craft pieces out to meet the ever increasing demand. A great problem to have!

Today's storytime theme was alligators.

We HEART Our Local Library!

My Little Reader and I have had our fair share of library story time disappointment. We did finally fall in love with a librarian at one library, only to have our hearts broken when she left her position at the library. And even though we did love her enthusiastic and engaging read alouds, the craft time following the story reading always seemed a bit lacking in thought and effort.

BUT now we have discovered Ms. Marsha at the library right across town from us, and we LOVE her story hours. She is able to keep her audience captivated (as captivated as you can keep several dozen toddlers and preschoolers) without shouting the words she's reading or rushing through the books. Her storytimes have distinct themes, and the crafts always correlate with the stories, and are well thought out.

I actually suggested to My Little Reader that we go to the story time at the library further away this week, because we had some books on hold, and he staunchly opposed me. He wanted to go to make "crafts" at "the small library." I didn't have the heart to deny his request, so we visited both libraries that day, and he had a ball.

This week there was a food theme to story hour. We missed the beginning (I can never seem to get anywhere on time lately), but made it in time for Marsupial Sue Presents The Runaway Pancake. Check out the pancake My Little Reader made. He insisted on making a face with the fixins, and then ate every last bite of it all.

TODDLER Storytime!

My awesome Mom is in town visiting. She leaves today though. I think I'm going to cry. There is something so comforting about having your mom around, isn't there?

Anyhow, we wanted to get out and do something today, so we took Isaac to the local Toddler Storytime together. I must confess, I haven't been to storytime with Isaac in months! Life has just been too busy. ... And I haven't been ambitious enough to make extra excursions out of the house with him. Especially ones that require getting up and out of the house by 9:30 in the morning (storytime starts at 10 a.m.).

This was our first time visiting our local Toddler Storytime. We have been to the "Snuggle Bug Club" in the past, which is for newborns up to 18 months. And we have been to the Toddler Storytime at my sister's library up in the Chicago area.

I had heard good things about the Toddler Storytime, and I was quite pleased with it today. Though, of course, I had my critiques as well.

What I liked:

• The librarian leading the storytime had lots of energy. Especially for the cold, dreary, winter day that today was. Liked her! And so did the kids.
• She chose very age appropriate stories, and I loved that the illustrations in several included children of varying race and color (something my brain recently has tuned into a little more when exploring picture books).
• Music was incorporated. There was a mom there that played a couple interactive songs on her guitar (Isaac was very interested in her guitar). We all sang and did motions along with the songs.
• The librarian let the children and the parents get involved in reading the stories. We helped read along at parts, we got to make animal noises, do hand motions, and answer brief questions that made us giggle, and helped keep us focused on the story.
• The storytime was brief (about 20 minutes, maybe). The perfect amount of storytime for this age group.
• There was a craft afterward.

My Critiques:

• The set-up in the room wasn't the greatest in my opinion. We were in a different room than the big, wide-open room they use for "Snuggle Bug Club" (which I LOVE). There were lots of tables set-up for the craft and then some chairs arranged around a small rug for storytime. It seemed difficult to be able to sit with your child in a spot where you could both see and participate. I was lucky enough to get a chair in the first row right next to the rug, but I'm guessing there were other parents that had to let their toddler go sit on the rug by themselves while they sat in a chair a few rows back (this is what my mom ended up doing). Not really an ideal set-up for parent and child to experience the story and interact together.
• There wasn't really any discussion of the story after reading them. We jumped quickly from one book right into the next. I suppose it was a good pace for little ones, but a question or two afterward might have been fun. There were kids in the group that were definitely capable of commenting on the story and such.
• The craft afterward had absolutely nothing to do with any of the stories we read. It seemed like more of an afterthought. It was a snowman craft that involved taping cotton balls to a paper snowman. But there were only enough cotton balls on the table for each child to tape on one or two (times are tight for libraries, I suppose). Boo! I like a craft or activity that relates to what was read and can be used to further discuss the story, or at least as something to remember the story by and discuss it further at home. How hard would it have been to read a story about snowmen during the storytime?

I'm an certainly no storytime expert. I'm sure the librarians whose storytimes I critique would have a thing or two to say about my storytimes that I lead. Hee. But those are just a few thoughts I had about the experience today. We'll be going back, for sure! We enjoyed it. And I think these storytimes (even the ones for toddlers) will be great to attend with my Ethiopian children when they come home. Can't hurt with the whole English-learning thing, right?

My mom and I giggled a little afterwards at the Dad's that were at the storytime. They didn't know quite what to do with themselves during the singing and the hand motion parts. They all seemed to be pondering the same thing: "Hmmm... Do I participate, or do I just sit here awkwardly?"

When storytime was over we chose a few of the Carl books (by Alexandra Day) to check out. Isaac loves them! And he also chose a book about brothers that he loves (Big Brother, Little Brother). What's funny is that at the end of the book it talks about the brothers being adopted. What a crazy coincidence! Perfect for My Little Reader to read and enjoy as he prepares for his new brother and sister to come home.