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.

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

Librarians, teachers, parents, and caregivers can energize storytimes and curricula with this informative and entertaining resource filled with engaging and creative ways to integrate storytelling and story-related materials into programs for children, ages birth-12.

According to recent research, the best way to make new connections in a child’s brain is by building on something already known. A child who loves a book will listen to it repeatedly, maintaining interest. Using a selected book in a number of consecutive preschool storytimes, but presenting it differently each time, can help children learn new skill sets. This book presents a new approach to storytime, one that employs repetition with variety to create an experience which helps children connect and engage with the story on a higher level. Diamant-Cohen, recently awarded the 2013 ASCLA Leadership and Professional Achievement Award, and Hetrick offer a year’s worth of activities specifically designed to address multiple intelligences through a repetition-based process. Incorporating recent theories on developmental learning, this book includes Scripts for 8 different books, with enough activities to repeat each one for six weeks, along with lists of optional alternative books Planning aids such as outlines of storytime sessions, a fill-in-the-blanks planning sheet, questions for evaluation, and tips for enhanced storytimes using props and crafts Detailed but straightforward explanations of theory and research that will help readers communicate effectively with parents, caregivers, and other stakeholders From setup to execution, here’s everything you need to create and implement a successful, elevated storytime.

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.

Many public libraries have instituted baby and toddler programs, but finding exciting materials for baby storytime that go beyond nursery rhymes can be a challenge. Baby Storytime Magic is a treasure trove of new and exciting ideas for programs, all of which revolve around themes from a baby's world.

"The 15 lesson plans use a combination of reading aloud, storytelling, poetry and wordplay, and musical and movement activities to get young children excited about books. Each lesson plan is designed as a 30-minute program that includes a few picture books and activities designed for heavy audience participation"--Page 4 cover.