• Activities

    Fun Friday Program: Happy International Dot Day!

    Today is International Dot Day based on the absolutely adorable book, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds.  In the story, Vashti is upset because she doesn’t believe that she can draw.  With a little encouragement from a teacher, Vashti realizes that she is an artist and begins creating her own masterpieces.…

  • Lifestyle

    Picture Books in the Classroom – Not just for storytime!

    I tweeted this story yesterday, but thought that it was so interesting that I wanted to get the chance to comment on it today. Yesterday, on the School Library Journal website they posted an article titled, “Teachers Find Many Reasons to Use Picture Books with Middle and High School Students.”  The…

  • Lifestyle

    Reader's Advisory

    I love Reader’s Advisory, I read a ton of books and get so excited to share them with the kids in my library.  I love reading something and know exactly who I’ll recommend it to, other times I get the chance to talk to someone and pull out a book that…

  • Lists

    Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Fairytale Retellings I've Read

    I absolutely love fairtale retellings and fractured fairytales.  They’re some of my favorite stories.  Below is a list of books I’ve read and there’s a bunch more on my TBR pile.  I’m going to try and write up 140-character or less (a la Twitter) descriptions of each book.  Find something…

  • Activities

    Toddler Storytime – Summer Week #4

    This week by far, the kids liked Now I’m Big! by Karen Katz the best.  Every time the story repeated “Now I’m Big!” we reached our hands up to the sky and the kids loved participating in this way.  My non-fiction book for the week I Drive a Dump Truck did not go…

  • Lists

    4th of July Books – Just to Get You Started!

    Here are five books for the 4th of July! Some I’ve used for storytime, others are just really fun read alouds and still others make great resources with lots of quality information that is easily accessible for elementary school students. These are not by far, the best or only books…

  • Lifestyle

    Concept Picture Books (or How to Make More Room!)

    In my library our pictures books are shelved around a large square with shelves around the inside and outside of the square.  It’s a really cool idea – leaving space for families and kids to read on the inside and is open so that adults can see over the shelves…

  • Activities

    Miss Laura's Favorites #6

    It is finally our last week of storytime (2 or 3 weeks longer than usual due to the weather) and I have two weeks off before starting back again for our spring session.  After six weeks of choosing “my favorites” rather than choosing theme-related books, I can say it was…

  • Activities

    Miss Laura's Favorites #4

    I focused this week’s books on very simple books that the kids could “read” with me.  It’s not too much of a theme, but the kids loved it!  I don’t know if the kids truly got Duck Duck Moose, but they loved shouting out duck and moose as we read…