Research on early childhood brain development clearly shows the importance of storytime for toddlers. Toddler programs set the stage for the development of increased attention spans, superior language development, and a love of literature and libraries. The repetition of fingerplays, songs, and stories further enhance a child's cognitive development. Toddler Storytimes II is a source for books, games, fingerplays, puppet ideas, crafts, and other activities that make up a successful storytime. Each of the 25 themed programs presented contains approximately ten carefully chosen books, providing everything a librarian, teacher, or parent would need to plan storytimes. Also included are flannel board stories, poems, and songs with full-size reproducible patterns at the end of each section. A bibliography and discography are provided as well. Easy to use and practical, this book will inspire any reader to put on wonderful, creative programs children will love.

School Library Journal: With 25 theme-based chapters, this is a handy resource. Each theme includes book recommendations, often 10 or more, with a nice mixture of classic and newer titles, and a suggestion to choose two or three per session. Words and instructions for fingerplays, rhymes, and songs are provided, while a discography provides melody sources for all songs. Each theme includes a flannel-board activity, complete with reproducible patterns and brief directions on how to present the story or song on the board. Safe and simple crafts ideas are presented as optional activities. Activities are listed by type, rather than in an ordered list, so tellers can pick, choose, and order according to individual style and preference. An introduction provides tips and rationale for all of the types of activities. A couple of sentences note the potential impact on brain development and early-literacy skills, but the focus is on the activities themselves; strategies for sharing early-literacy information with parents and caregivers are not addressed. Judy Nichols's Storytimes for Two-Year-Olds (ALA, 2007) and Linda L. Ernst's Baby Rhyming Time (Neal-Schuman, 2008) provide more comprehensive looks at all aspects of storytime planning and presentation. This update of Briggs's Toddler Storytime Programs (Scarecrow, 1993) will be most useful as a resource for programming ideas and fleshing out themes.

Provides fifty storytime programs for two-year-olds, including ideas and suggestions for storytime content and encouragement to serve this age group.

For toddlers, every storytime can be a new adventure, while art activities are important for developing impulse control, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor dexterity in the hands. Hopkins’ new book fuses them together. Designed for children ages 1 to 3 years old, the book’s 52 storytimes promote pre-reading skills such as print motivation, vocabulary, and narrative skills. Based on themes familiar to children, including bears, bugs, springtime,clothing and hats, flowers and gardens, weather, music, pets, transportation, pirates, and many more, each storytime includes a list of books, action songs or rhymes along with their words, a flannelboard experience, plus instruction for two to three art activities. This complete toddler storytime resource also includes An introduction which discusses the differences between art activities and craft activities, a toddler’s ability in creating art, and why children this age should be exposed to art activities Advice for using different art mediums, such as food, plus important safety considerations Pointers on conducting playful yet educational storytimes Tips for finding inexpensive art materials, with a list of recommended supplies to keep on hand More than 100 drawings, all easy to reproduce and modify Weblinks to “Artsy Helper Sheets,” downloadable supplements complete with phrases, tips, and tricks that inform parents and caregivers about the benefits of doing art activities with toddlers Pick up Hopkins' book and you'll be ready to conduct a storytime within moments!

Librarians, teachers, and others who work with toddlers will find a treasure trove of useful material in Toddler Storytime Programs. Part I of the book contains twenty-five theme programs which feature book suggestions, fingerplays, puppetry ideas, games, activities, songs, and crafts. Among the program themes offered are: Gone Fishing, Teddy Bear's Picnic, Jungle Safari, Yummy!, Daddy and Me, Toddler Snow Party, and Spring Fling. Part II features a collection of flannel board stories, poems, and songs with full-size reproducible patterns. Each selection coordinates with a program theme in Part I and has simple directions for successful storytelling. A literature index, an index to fingerplays, and a music appendix with guitar chords are also included.

Story time is a popular activity in public libraries. Unfortunately, many librarians (and not just children’s librarians) are thrust into the role of providing this service have not taken a course or had the necessary experience of performing story times. Story times are so popular that they are now offered to children of many ages, not just to preschoolers. This book will help librarians who have never done story time to learn to promote, plan, and perform story times, and will be useful to experienced librarians to build on their story time repertoires. Because story times are essential components of library service to children and in such demand, in many libraries, even librarians who have never done story time before are being asked to step into that role. Story Time Success: A Practical Guide for Librarians is comprehensive handbook which can help any librarian learn to promote, plan, and perform story times even with no prior training or experience. Key elements include: Customizable planning templates Hints for choosing appropriate books and other materials Suggestions for overcoming performance anxiety Troubleshooting for common story time problems and pitfalls Evaluation rubrics for performers and supervisors Veterans and beginners alike will find many useful pointers for establishing and improving their story time skills and repertoires.

Designed to promote literacy in young children and to empower parents, educators, and librarians, this guide is filled with simple strategies, creative activities, and detailed instructions that help make reading fun. Encouraging a love of reading in young children can be a source of both great frustration and immense joy. This handy resource provides essential tips, techniques, and strategies for making early literacy development fun and inspiring a lifelong love of reading. Read, Rhyme, and Romp: Early Literacy Skills and Activities for Librarians, Teachers, and Parents explores the six basic pre-literacy skills that experts agree are necessary for a young child to be ready to learn to read. Special sections within each chapter are dedicated to the specific needs of preschool teachers, parents, and librarians, making the content relevant to different settings. Recommended book lists, personal anecdotes, and literacy-rich activities combine to create an effective and accessible plan for implementing an early literacy program.