This blog post may be a little meta - but WHY NOT do a storytime about libraries? It’s a no-brainer theme if you are an outreach librarian at an event sharing the valuable services your library offers, or if you are in-house kicking off a new season of storytime with a new group of kiddos. If you’re an educator, books about libraries are great for units on Community Helpers, Jobs, Books, or Read Across America Week! You can’t go wrong with these titles.
Chicken Storytime
By Sandy Asher | Illustrated by Mark Fearing
Published by Dial Books for Young Readers
A hilarious read aloud about a popular storytime program that becomes too chaotic to manage. How will the librarian accommodate all of the children AND chickens in the library? Bold, expressive illustrations and dry, sparse text make this a real winner to read aloud.
Book! Book! Book!
By Deborah Bruss | Illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke
Arthur A. Levine Books
A storytime classic! The farm animals are looking for something to do, and stumble upon their local library. Each animal tries to communicate with the librarian, but she can’t understand what they are saying until the chicken asks for a, “Book!” Delightful to read aloud and perfectly translatable to bring to life with puppets or a felt board.
Lola at the Library
By Anna McQuinn | Illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw
Published by Charlesbridge
I love all of the Lola books, and this one is particularly charming. Lola and her mommy go to the library on Tuesdays, and we follow along with them as they return books, attend storytime, and check out more books to take home and read together before bed. Sweet and informative for young readers, this book is a great introduction to libraries.
The Loud Librarian
By Jenna Beatrice | Illustrated by Erika Lynne Jones
Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Penelope has a dream to become a librarian… She diligently practices all aspects of the job, but worries she may not be librarian material after all because her voice is very LOUD. I strongly relate to her story, and love the message of this book - that not all library voices need to be quiet! A fun and dynamic pick for a library-themed read aloud with fun opportunities for being loud and talking about volume.
A Big Surprise for Little Card
By Charise Mericle Harper | Illustrated by Anna Raff
Published by Candlewick
This is an adorable book about mistaken identity. Every card has a job, and Little Card thinks he is supposed to be a Birthday Card. It turns out there was a mistake! This happy little guy is actually a library card. Will such a jubilant little card fit in at the library? Because this is a longer read-aloud, I love to do it instead as a storytime kit with props. You can make different cards out of paper, and one of my colleague’s got creative and put googly eyes on an old library card to give him some personality!
A Love Letter to My Library
Words by Lisa Katzenberger | Illustrated by Rob Sayegh Jr.
Published by Sourcebooks Explore
Each page is a “thank you” to the library and its many essential services. The sparse text allows room for children to share about their own experiences, and the bold illustrations show the magic of libraries. You can insert a pause after, “Thank you, library,” to allow children to describe what is going on in the illustrations, or conversely, “Thank you, library,” can be said in unison by the group and you can read the text that follows.