• Reviews

    Open This Little Book

    This book is such a fun surprise when you open it.  I have seen this title flit across the blogs and book reviews, but I didn’t realize its structure until I opened it up and began to read.  Inside you’ll find the first on many “little” books, this one being…

  • Reviews

    Exclamation Mark

    Let me start with one simple fact – I ADORE Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s picture books.  Her ideas are absolutely spot-on for young children and are humorous enough to get a chuckle out the adults reading them as well.  Tom Lichtenheld’s illustrations are comical as well – he has an amazing way of…

  • Activities

    Story Time Theme: Clap, Tap, & Drum

    This was a new theme for me… Clap, Tap, and Drum and I was hesitant when I began planning this because I tried some new books and I wasn’t quite sure how they’d turn out.  I had a little trouble with my younger kids and the first book.  They did…

  • Reviews

    A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin

    A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet is a biography of AFrican American artist, Horace Pippin.  As I began this well illustrated biography, I was delighted to find out that Horace Pippin was born just down the road…

  • Reviews

    Do Crocs Kiss?

    This is an absolutely adorable story with lift-the-flaps and great rhymes!  Salina Yoon may be one of my new favorite children’s authors.  She also wrote Penguin and Pinecone which I fell in love with this winter and have use for multiple story times. Each page spread asks two questions about…

  • Activities

    Story Time Theme – Sniffles & Sneezes

    It’s that time of year when no matter how much orange juice I drink, if I take my vitamins religiously every day, and wash my hands constantly – I still get a cold.  I’ve had a sore throat (turned into a sinus infection) for a few weeks now and it…

  • Reviews

    The Goldilocks Variations

    First let me say, pop-up books can be the bane of my existence as a librarian because they never last long on the regular shelf, but if we keep them just for story times, they don’t get used regularly.  This week we decided to place our pop-up books with our toy…

  • Activities

    Story Time Theme – Penguins Everywhere!

    I absolutely adore penguins – they’re cute, fun to watch and make a great story time theme!  I chose to use penguins and focus on letter knowledge, after my first story time this week, I realized my error.  The letter “p” can look similar to “b”, “d”, and “q”.  I…

  • Activities

    Story Time Theme – Hugs & Kisses

    Being that Valentine’s Day is this week, I chose a “Hugs & Kisses” theme with some of my favorite stories about love.  I’ve already posted about a couple of these books this week, so to spare you, my story time plan is below.  I also gave the kids valentines this…

  • Reviews

    Otter and Odder

    Otter and Odder: A Love Story written by James Howe and illustrated by Chris Raschka is a delightful picture book about love – perfect for Valentine’s Day.  Although a bit too long for a toddler story time, this simple book about the strength of love would work very well for early…