Planning and Conducting a Children's Storytime

BE SURE TO READ AND RE-READ THE BOOK BEFORE SHARING

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

• The quality of the text and illustrations, do they work well together
• The physical book including size and format
• The length of the book

LOOK FOR BOOKS:

• with brief text
• of high interest to kids
• that are predictable with repetitive words or actions
• with familiar characters
• with silly words and sounds, or songs
• of classic stories, fairy tales
• of Mother Goose and poetry

When choosing books to share with infants look for stories that invite participation from caregivers.  Look for stories with rhythm and colorful illustrations.  Don't be afraid to put a story to a familiar tune such as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"  At this age children are just getting familiar with books so let babies touch and hold the books.

Use the same criteria for choosing books for toddlers as you would infants and then some.  Choose books that introduce basic concepts such as the alphabet, numbers, and colors.  Rhyming text is important as is an interactive piece.  Toddlers are still learning about books and need to be given the opportunity to explore.  Lift-the-flap and touch-and-feel books will be a big hit.

Continue to choose books with basic concepts as well as longer stories.  Don't be afraid to ask preschoolers to retell the story at the end.  At this age be sure to point out and start discussions about the illustrations.  Rhyming text is still a key element but preschoolers have the attention span to follow stories with more complex plots and will be able to understand humor in the text and illustrations.