Storytime Favorites

A few weeks ago, Abby the Librarian discussed some of her favorite storytime picture books and invited others to join in. I don’t do many storytimes during the summer, so at the time I drew a blank. Ditto for last week, when folks at my SCBWI network meeting were asking the same thing. Admittedly, it was eight o’clock, and my brain stops working at six.

Now that August is drawing to a close, it’s time I put the storytime hat back on and gave consideration to my fall curriculum. I do storytime three times a week, repeating the same program for 2 ½ to 3 ½ year olds the whole week. I always pick a theme, whether seasonal or simply fun. Storytime lasts half an hour, including a small craft (which I start five minutes from the end). We don’t require registration, but my groups average 15 to 25.

Because my audience is quite young and has the corresponding attention span, I pick books that are short: no more than two or three sentences per page. They should be concrete (think Piagetian stages of development). Concept books are good in moderation, but I also want books with plot. The pictures should be big and bright enough to see across the room. A great many books that work wonderfully for one-on-one sharing with a toddler don’t hold the attention of a group the same age.

I understand the love of Mo Willems’ Pigeon books and Zhaohua Ji’s No! That’s Wrong!, but experience has taught me to steer clear of them. Whether it’s my young, often not-very-verbal audience or my reserved personality (probably both), this particular style of interactive picture book usually falls flat for me.

Richard Egielski’s The Gingerbread Boy (Geringer, 1997) may top my list of favorite storytime books. It’s traditional. You can read it any time of year. It’s got great illustrations in a fun, New York setting. It’s the perfect length for three year olds but still works for older kids.

For concept books, some of my favorite authors are Monica Wellington (for careers) and Zoe Hall (for agriculture). Short, sweet, and appealing. Lois Ehlert and Anne Rockwell are up there, too, for various topics.

Some more of my favorite picture books, which are appropriate any time of year:

• The Best Pet of All, by LaRochelle and Wakiyama (Dutton, 2004)
• Big Smelly Bear, by Teckentrup (Boxer, 2007)
• The Bus for Us, by Bloom (Boyds Mills, 2001)
• Fluffy and Baron, by Rankin (Dial, 2006)
• I’m Not Cute, by Allen (Hyperion, 2006)
• Tiger Can’t Sleep, by Fore and Alley (Viking, 2006)
• Whistle for Willie, by Keats (Viking, 1964)

I like to sing, and I love singing picture books like these:

• If You’re Happy and You Know It (Jungle Edition), by Warhola (Orchard, 2007)
• Punk Farm, by Krosoczka (Knopf, 2005)
• The Seals on the Bus, by Hort and Karas (Holt, 2000)

Now that I’ve been doing storytime for almost three years, I’ve got a lot of programs together, many of which I’ve blogged about on Story Window, my library’s storytime blog. I make adjustments each time, working in new and new-to-me books, taking out books that fell flat. These are two of my best-received, most fun storytime programs:


• Great Garbage!
  Featuring Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash (Odanaka/Hillenbrand), Trashy Town (Zimmerman/Clemesha), I Stink! (McMullan/McMullan), and some original action and counting rhymes.
• Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake, Pizza Man
  Featuring Pizza at Sally’s (Wellington), The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) (Sturges), Hi, Pizza Man! (Walter/Goembel), and some fun songs and action rhymes.

If you do storytime for young children, please check out Story Window to get/share ideas! We’ll be posting more once our fall storytime season begins.