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The Loudest Librarian!

Weekly library storytime themes, book recommendations, songs, crafts, and other library programming ideas

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Going Batty: A Storytime for Bat Appreciation Month

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/10/09

October is Bat Appreciation Month, so I was excited to devote a couple of storytimes to celebrating bats. I started by sharing photos of three different kinds of bats: two that are common in the Bay Area (the Mexican free-tailed bat and the large brown bat), and one that families can visit at the Oakland […]

Take Care: A Caregiver Appreciation Storytime

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/09/27

This week, our libraries have been observing what we called “Caregiver Appreciation Week,” a celebration of everyone who cares for children in our communities: parents, grandparents, babysitters, nannies, daycare providers, teachers, etc. We have been using it as an opportunity to promote library cards to some of the adults who bring children to storytime, but […]

Without Missing a Beet: A Storytime About Vegetables

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/09/20

September is National Fruits and Veggies Month, so I thought it might be fun to do a storytime about vegetables. Here’s what we did: Books: How Are You Peeling? by Saxton Freymann & Joost Elffers This is an older title, but the adorable faces made from various fruits and vegetables always draw the kids in. […]

Chicken-Hearted: A Storytime for National Chicken Month

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/09/12

At our libraries, we just learned that September is National Chicken Month, which has led to some adorable “book book book” displays. It made for a fun storytime theme this week too. Here is what we did: Books: Chicken Story Time by Sandy Asher; illustrated by Mark Fearing Just like the title says, this book […]

The Cat’s Meow: A Storytime About Cats

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/09/05

I just learned that September is Happy Cat Month, so it seemed like the perfect time to share some of my favorite cat books and songs at our storytimes this week. I started by teaching the kids the ASL signs for Happy and Cat. Here’s are the books and songs we used: Books: Pete the […]

Making Sense: A Storytime About the Five Senses

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/08/31

This week I decided to do a storytime about the five senses, using a mix of books about all five, as well as a couple of titles featuring specific senses. At the beginning of both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime, I asked the kids to name the five senses. Most of the kids who […]

My Summer Adventure: A Storytime About Summer

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/08/24

This year, our library system decided to revamp our annual summer program. For the past several years, we called our program Summer Learning, and gave out reading logs that asked kids to fill in little bubbles each time they read for 20 minutes. This summer, we called our program My Summer Adventure instead. We gave […]

Keeping Fit: A Storytime About Exercise

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/08/18

Last week was National Exercise with Your Child Week, so I thought it would be fun to do a storytime about different types of exercise families could do together (yoga, dancing, playing catch, etc.). Here is what we did. Books: You Are a Lion: And Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo There are a […]

Life Lessons: A Back to School Storytime

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/08/08

Our local high schools started back this week, and the elementary and middle schools start next Wednesday, so I decided to do a school-theme for both Outdoor Musical and Family Storytime. Here is what we did: Books: Lena’s Shoes Are Nervous by Keith Calabrese and Juana Medina This was a favorite book of my coworker, […]

Rainbows and Unicorns: A Storytime About Unicorns

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/08/01

Several years ago, I remember a little girl asking me if we had any picture books about unicorns. At the time, we had barely any on our shelves or even in the catalog. Thankfully, now we have dozens of fun books about unicorns, and since kids frequently talk about unicorns during my preschool visits and […]

Let the Games Begin: A Storytime About the Olympics

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/07/26

The Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games was held today in Paris, so this week for Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime, I focused on the Olympics and some of its featured sports. I started out by describing the Olympics and some of the sports the kids might see if they watched it […]

Give and Take: A Storytime About Gifts

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/07/18

Monday (July 15) was National Give Something Away Day, so this week we focused on gifts and giving at Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime. Here’s what we did: Books: Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Jon Klassen This is one of my favorite picture books, which was a bit too long for my […]

Here There Be Dragons: A Storytime About Dragons

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/07/11

This week, we celebrated Dragons in both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime. Here are the books and songs we did: Books: Roar-Choo! by Charlotte Cheng; illustrated by Dan Santat A proud dragon brags about the strength and bravery of his kind, but every time he roars, he sneezes. Luckily, his friend Phoenix is there […]

This Land Is Your Land: A Storytime for the Fourth of...

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/07/02

The Fourth of July is this Thursday, but since there aren’t very many Fourth of July picture books that work well for my storytime audience, I decided to focus on the theme of birthdays instead. I started by asking the kids what happens on the Fourth of July. Several kids shouted “fireworks!” which is definitely […]

Fish Tales: A Storytime about Fish

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/07/02

Last week, we did a Fish-themed storytime for both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime. Here are the books and songs that we did. Books: The Blobfish Book by Jessica Olien This is such a great book for kids who love deep-sea fish. It reads like a nonfiction guide to creepy, toothy creatures like the […]

Purple Prose: A Storytime About the Color Purple (and...

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/06/26

I actually did this storytime a couple of weeks ago, but haven’t had a chance to post about it until now. I’ve enjoyed doing this series of storytimes about the colors of the rainbow, but I admit I had a hard time deciding what to do about indigo. From everything I’ve read, indigo was included […]

Out of the Blue: A Storytime About the Color Blue

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/06/09

This past week, I continued my rainbow color series of storytimes by focusing on the color blue. I started by asking the kids to suggest things that were blue. They enjoyed looking around and pointing at different things around them, including the sky, backpacks, blueberries, and blankets. Here’s a combination of the books and songs […]

Green Means Go: A Storytime About the Color Green

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/06/03

Last week in Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime, we enjoyed books, songs, and activities celebrating the color Green. As usual, I started out by asking the kids to name things that were Green. They suggested: trees, grass, snakes, and turtles. Here’s a combination of everything I did for both storytimes. Books: Green by Laura […]

Yellow Pages: A Storytime About the Color Yellow

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/05/27

Last week we continued our colors of the rainbow series of storytimes by focusing on the color Yellow. I started by asking the kids to suggest things that are yellow. They came up with bananas, lemons, flowers, and school buses. Here are the books and songs we did for Family Storytime and Outdoor Musical Storytime. […]

Orange You Glad? A Storytime About the Color Orange

The Loudest Librarian! ·

2024/05/19

This week, we continued our journey through the colors of the rainbow in Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime. I started by asking the kids to call out things that could be Orange. They suggested oranges, carrots, flowers (we talked about the state flower, the California Poppy), butterflies, tigers, and clothes. Here are the books […]

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