• Activities

    Storytime Theme: Baby Animals

    baby turtle header

    Probably one of the sweetest storytimes I’ve ever created, this adorable theme will have the entire audience saying, “awwwwwww!” With both illustrations and photographs, the books below share what it’s like to be all sorts of baby animals! The craft ideas have multiple options and there’s a great matching printable…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Crows

    crow header

    I am fascinated by these animals. We have a murder of crows that live in our neighborhood that I see most days that I walk my dog and they absolutely fascinate me. Crows and other birds in the Corvus genus are some of the most intelligent animals in the world…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Cinderella

    While this one might not be as interesting to everyone, I think it would be a fun program to run as a series as you introduce kids to different versions of the same story. You could easily make this a typical storytime for toddlers or preschoolers. But, you could go…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Pond

    lily pads on a pond

    Somewhat specific, I think this storytime lesson plan turned out better than I expected! There are a lot more picture books about ponds than I originally thought and it’s a great look at a small ecosystem of animals that live together in an area. Some of these are older titles…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Worms

    worms header

    This is a fun, squiggly little storytime theme all about worms! As is typical, I’ve included a few nonfiction titles among the list as well as your typical stories. And while I’ve done countless storytimes about springtime and rain, I’ve never done one focused on worms before! You can focus…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Earth Day

    Earth Day header

    I know, I know, this post is coming extremely early for Earth Day, but I’m doing a disservice to you when I post a themed program the same week it’s being held. There’s no way you can pivot fast enough to incorporate all the great ideas I’m offering. So, you’ll…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Farm (2023 update)

    farm header

    It’s been a hot minute since I’ve created a lesson plan for a storytime theme all about farm life. And you’ll be seeing over the next few months, that I’m hoping to update some of my storytime themes with more updated (recently published) picture books, some new songs and crafts…

  • Lists

    Cats & Dogs Picture Books

    cat and dog snuggling

    It’s the age-old question,”What do you like more cats or dogs?” Well, with today’s book lists (that’s right two!), you don’t have to choose! Whether you love those sweet, but saucy little cats or the lovable and energetic dogs, you’ll find everything you’re looking for right here with these cats…

  • Lists

    18 Middle Grade Books Featuring Cats

    cat lying down

    I’m going to start with a statement that might seem a little sacrilege as a librarian – I am much more a dog person than a cat person. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy cats and will always give pets to any of my friends’ cats, but personally,…

  • Activities

    Storytime Theme: Monkeys

    monkey header

    I don’t know how I’ve created years’ worth of storytime themes and have never done a theme around monkeys?!?!? I’ve created literally dozens of storytime themes, all of which you can check out on the blog, but never monkeys! Well, today changes all of that, I’m sharing monkey picture books,…