It’s time for another month’s read alouds to celebrate wacky, silly, important, and historical holidays! This list combines not only great fictional read alouds, but some nonfiction and biographies as well to teach kids about fun and interesting facts and people. I’m not taking all the credit, as the blog Growing Book by Book has a post just like this! I tried hard to either choose different holidays to highlight when I found something that could work or at the very least, provide some additional titles for you instead! January Read Alouds February Read Alouds March Read Alouds April Read Alo ..read more

While I don’t necessarily have all of these books in my hands, per se, I do count the fact that they’ve all been added to my public library’s catalog and I am excited to read them all! All of these are middle school titles that have been published in 2024 and all are written by authors that I love! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on But Still Haven’t Read Amil and the After by Veera Hir ..read more

I’m not sure in all the years of offering storytime, I ever did a “hats-themed” program! Isn’t that just absolutely crazy? There are some seriously adorable books about hats for kids and you could do so many cool activities with kids as well. PIck from classics or newly published titles, add a few rhymes and songs, and if you’re feeling crazy extend your learning beyond the book and do a craft or activity. This simple lesson plan gives you lots of options and the best part is, it’s free! And remember, you can adapt this information any way that works for you and your readers – toddlers, preK ..read more

As kids get older and their attention span gets longer, you may find yourself looking for longer stories to share together. While I do mention five years old in the title of this post, that may or may not be the right time for your little one to check out longer chapter books. It could be earlier and it could be later, and that’s okay. Eventually, kids will learn to build up their reading tolerance to be able to read for longer periods of time by themselves, but that’s not necessarily the focus right now for you. The focus on reading aloud should always be enjoyment, if you’re forcing your chi ..read more

Let’s start off with yes, that the correct pluralization of the word octopus! I’ve done a few other book lists about octopuses because I find them absolutely fascinating creatures! They are super smart animals using tools, have camouflage that allows not only a change in color, but also texture, and can solve complex puzzles to find food. You can learn more about octopuses on my post over here for World Octopus Day! This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost. Please read the full disclosure for more info ..read more

For today’s Top Ten Tuesday theme, I was excited to revisit some of my favorite middle grade authors. These are my automatic must-reads when anything new is published. And you may look at this list and think, that author just published a new title last year, and that may be so, but I’m always waiting for something new to come out! I’m sharing some of my favorite authors and my favorite works of theirs in today’s post. And while some of these might be new to you, I promise you, they’re well worth a read! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchas ..read more

Alright, since we’re finished with all five senses, we’re back to new (and sometimes random) storytime themes! I had realized a while ago that I had a few storytime themes on illness, sneezes, and sniffles, but nothing on the people who helps us feel better! So without further ado, today’s free storytime lesson plan is all about doctors and nurses. Ironically, this week, I have my regular wellness exam, which makes it a perfect time to share stories about doctors and nurses. Both of these groups of people can be daunting, especially for little kids, I mean, even when I’m healthy going to the d ..read more

Today I’m going to share about a little known government agency that has a huge impact on public libraries across the country. The government agency is called the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and its mission is to “advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development.” This is an agency that I don’t think most people really know anything about, but while in graduate school for my library science degree, I had the opportunity to intern at the IMLS for an entire semester and it was such a gr ..read more

For kids who have graduated past the easy reader section of the library and are looking for stories with a little more weight to them, look no further than this fun list of 15 chapter book mysteries. These books are perfect stepping stones for newly minted chapter book readers hovering between 80-120 pages, many of which are still heavily illustrated and all are a lot of fun! Kids can try to solve the mystery right along with the characters in these stories, whether it’s classics like Encyclopedia Jones or new characters like P. I. Butterfly! Whether you figure out whodunnit or not, these are ..read more

This is the fifth and final lesson plan in a five-part series for preschoolers to learn more about their five senses! Combining fiction and nonfiction titles, kids will learn about their own sense of touch with interactive stories and fun activities to learn about different textures. This would also make a great lesson plan for a simple STEM program for preschoolers at a PreK classroom, library, or at home. Combine this lesson plan with a few science “experiments” using your taste for a complete program. This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I’ll receive a commission if you purchase t ..read more