Author Archives for Annamarie Carlson

2025 Storytime Book Favorites

I’ve always got my eyes peeled for Jbrary’s annual favorite storytime blog post, and I enjoy adding some of my favorite titles to the blogging world, even if I don’t blog regularly anymore.

These lists are personal. The storytime books that work for me may not work for you–and that is okay! We each have our own storytime preferences. Also, I very well may have missed some great titles that were released over the last year–so make sure to check out all of the great lists all over the internet.

As a manager now, I also don’t present storytime quite as frequently, so, while I’ve identified some of these as favorite storytime books, I haven’t tested them all in storytime myself.

2025 Favorite Storytime Books

In no particular order.

Mama Hug
By Emma Straub

Age: Babies


Who Meows?
By Robin Page

Age: Babies, Toddlers


Peek-a-Boo!
By Guido Van Genechten

Age: Babies, Toddlers


Peekaboo: Zoo
By Camilla Reid

Age: Babies


I Can Babble!
By Ellie Rose

Age: Babies


Dino Rumble!
By Lake Press

Age: Babies


Hide and Seek with Herbie
By Mr. Aron

Age: Babies


Whose Eyes?
By Kristina Jones

Age: Babies


Whose Nose?
By Kristina Jones

Age: Babies


There There Little Bear
By Anna Milbourne

Age: Babies, Toddlers


I’m a Baby!
By Terry Pierce

Age: Babies


Don’t Trust Fish
By Neil Sharpson

Age: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade


Cranky, Crabby Crow
By Corey R. Tabor

Age: Kindergarten, 1st Grade


This Book Is Dangerous!
By Ben Clanton

Age: Kindergarten, 1st Grade


Who Ate Steve?
By Susannah Lloyd

Age: Kindergarten, 1st Grade


Go Go Dodo!
By Huw Lewis Jones

Age: Kindergarten, 1st Grade


Help Me Find My Hamster!
By Brooke Hartman

Age: Kindergarten, 1st Grade


This Is Not a Sleepy Bear
By Brian Gehrlein

Age: Kindergarten, 1st Grade


Bouncing Bunnies
By Fiz Osborne

Age: Toddlers, Preschoolers


Night Night Ladybug
By Chris Ferrie

Age: Toddlers, Preschoolers


Pêyak Little Duck
By Sandra Lamouche

Age: Toddlers


Cats in Construction Hats
By Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

Age: Toddlers


Is That My Hat?
By Kevin Payne

Age: Toddlers


In the Neighborhood
By Nikki Shannon Smith

Age: Toddlers


The Pigeon WON’T Count to 10!
By Mo Willems

Age: Toddlers


Sunshine Baby, Bofrot Cheeks
By Bernard Mensah

Age: Babies, Toddlers


Itsy Bitsy Spider
By Jane Cabrera

Age: Babies, Toddlers


Who’s Digging?
By Katrina Moore

Age: Toddlers


Hi, How Are You?
By Holly Rosensweig

Age: Babies, Toddlers


Pop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme
By Betsy Bird

Age: Preschoolers, Kindergarten, 1st Grade


Take a Breath, Big Red Monster!
By Ed Emberley

Age: Preschoolers


Calling All Bears!
By Diana Murray

Age: Preschoolers


Zebra and Yak: The Backwards Alphabet Book
By Paul Friedrich

Age: Preschoolers, Kindergarten, 1st Grade

Red Canoe Shows Up at Two!
By Victoria Allenby

Age: Toddlers, Preschoolers, Kindergarten

Chicka Chicka Tricka Treat
By Julien Chung

Age: Preschoolers

There’s a Dinosaur in Your Book
By Tom Fletcher

Age: Toddlers, Preschoolers

ZooBorns! When I’m Big
By Andrew Bleiman

Age: Preschoolers

Oh Dear, Look What I Got!
By Michael Rosen

Age: Preschoolers

Bear Loves His Home
By Karen Jameson

Age: Preschoolers

Don’t You Know It’s Bedtime?
By Lou Peacock

Age: Preschoolers

What Hat Is That?
By Nichole Mara

Age: Toddlers, Preschoolers

2024 Storytime Book Favorites

I’ve always got my eyes peeled for Jbrary’s annual favorite storytime blog post, and this year I felt like adding some of my favorite titles to the blogging world. I don’t update this blog nearly as frequently as the last time I wrote one of these lists (2020!) though you can find some more recent storytime book posts from Sarah.

These lists are personal. The storytime books that work for me may not work for you–and that is okay! We each have our own storytime preferences. Also, I very well may have missed some great titles that were released over the last year–so make sure to check out all of the great lists all over the internet.

As a manager now, I also don’t present storytime quite as frequently, so, while I’ve identified some of these as favorite storytime books, I haven’t tested them all in storytime myself. Also, since I haven’t done a list in a while, there may be some 2023 (and even 2022) releases on here as well.

2024(ish) Favorite Storytime Books

In no particular order.

Adventure Babies
By Rosamund Lloyd

Age: Babies


Bear Has a Belly
By Jane Whittngham

Age: Babies, Toddlers, Preschool


I Love Your Face!
By Karma Wilson

Age: Babies, Toddler


Peekaboo Who?
By Elena Selena

Age: Babies, Toddler


Swaddled with Love
By Alessandra Preziosi

Age: Babies


Hello, Face!
By Aya Khalil

Age: Babies


Can You Bark Like a Dog?
By Child’s Play International

Age: Babies


On Powwow Day
By Traci Sorell

Age: Babies, Toddlers


What Is Baby Wearing?
By Flowerpot Press

Age: Babies


I Can Say Goodnight!
By Stephanie Cohen

Age: Babies


See, Touch, Feel: Look at Me!
By Roger Priddy

Age: Babies


Rainbow Bear
By Bill Martin & Michael Sampson

Age: Toddler, Preschool


Ms. Rachel and the Special Surprise
By Ms. Rachel

Age: Toddler, Preschool


Paint with Ploof
By Ben Clanton

Age: Toddler, Preschool


Is That the Bus? By Libby Koponen

Age: Toddler


Greetings, Floof! By C.J. Hong

Age: Toddler, Preschool


Hen in the Bed
By Katrina Charman

Age: Toddler, Preschool


Name Your Numbers
By Smriti Prasadam-Halls

Age: Toddler


Knock Knock: Who’s There?
By Rob Hodgson

Age: Toddler


There’s a Bear in Your Book
By Tom Fletcher

Age: Toddler, Preschool


Go and Get with Rex
By David LaRochelle

Age: Preschool, Kindergarten


Bunny Loves Beans
By Jane Whittingham

Age: Preschool


Keep Up Duck!
By Ivan and Rachel Bates

Age: Preschool


On a Flake-Flying Day
By Buffy Silverman

Age: Preschool


Don’t Think of Tigers
By Alex Latimer

Age: Kindergarten, 1st Grade


The Man Who Didn’t Like Animals
By Deborah Underwood

Age: Kindergarten, 1st Grade


The Wrong Book
By Drew Daywalt

Age: Kindergarten, 1st Grade


The Book That Almost Rhymed
By Omar Abed

Age: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade


This Is Not My Lunch Box
By Jennifer Dupuis

Age: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade


All At Once Upon a Time
By Mara Rockliff

Age: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade




Babytime Boredom: Building Culturally Responsive Programming for Ages 0-3

Sarah and I were thrilled to present at the latest Public Library Association (PLA) conference (held near our libraries – in Columbus, Ohio!) a few weeks ago. Our presentation, Babytime Boredom: Building Culturally Responsive Programming for Ages 0-3, had nearly 450 (!!) people attend.

Plus, some awesome ALSC Bloggers talked about our presentation:

This presentation really highlighted a lot of the amazing work that Sarah has done at OSU’s Schoenbaum Family Center, with me highlighting ways to apply those concepts in a public library setting.

We wanted to continue to share the content that we created for this presentation – even for folks who couldn’t attend PLA. Find all of those resources below!

Babytime Boredom Presentation

Babytime-Boredom-PLA-Presentation_Final

Download the presentation here.

Resources & Handouts

Babytime-Boredom_Musicians-List-PLA

Download the Diversify Your Music Playlist handout here.

Babytime-Boredom_Reseach-List-and-Resources-1

Download the Research and Resource List here.

DIY-Baby-Play-Activities_PLA-1

Download the DIY Baby Play Activities here.

STEM-Concepts-and-Toy-List_PLA-3.24.24

Download the STEM Concepts and Recommended Toy List here.

Check out a prior version of this presentation, focused on baby play toys and beyond storytime programming, presented in 2019.

Diversify Your Storytime Music: 2024 Updated List

Storytime music is such a tricky thing – I want a song that is about 1.5-2 minutes long with clear actions and a great tune that has a good pace but isn’t so fast that a group of toddlers can’t keep up. (And let’s be honest, I also need to be able to keep up. I can’t jump, clap, and stomp at the speed I used to.)

After working on ALSC Notable Recordings for a few years, I was inspired to write this post about diversifying your storytime playlist. I can fall into a pattern with a few favorite storytime artists – Jim Gill, Caspar Babypants, and Laurie Berkner I’m looking at you. It’s always good to remind ourselves what amazing artists are out there, many of whom come from often underrepresented backgrounds or communities. Looking beyond those “traditional” storytime artists can broaden your storytime repertoire, introduce your families to new artists, and make your storytimes more welcoming and engaging for all.

I’m working on a few presentations on storytime musicians, and I thought I’d share that work here too. As I settle into management, I don’t present storytimes as much as I used to. I know there are amazing presenters and songs not included in this list. Please share in the comments! I’d love to add your favorite folks too.

Diversify Your Storytime Music: Children’s Musicians

Artists names link to their website. A link to their YouTube channel is also included. Underneath their name, find some of my favorite storytime songs.

123 Andres | YouTube
Count with Me
Feelings Song
Hola, Amigo – Hello Friend
Shapes are Everywhere

Aaron Nigel Smith | YouTube
Animal Song
Everybody Loves to Dance
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Simon Says

Alina Celeste | YouTube
Clap Hands
(Many rhymes on YouTube)



Alphabet Rockers | YouTube
Alphabet Rockers ABC
Countdown Boogie Down
Go!

Anthony Broughton | YouTube

Ants On a Log | YouTube

Asheba | YouTube
Go Itsy
Twinkle Twinkle

Baila Baila | YouTube 
Baila Baila
Hola
Maracas
Shake Shake



Big Don | YouTube
If You’re Happy and You Know It
Let’s Dance
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Blazer Fresh | YouTube
Banana, Banana, Meatball
Clap It Out



Brother Yusef | Spotify
Shake It



The Bruces

Cantare | Spotify

Culture Queen | YouTube 
I Like the Me I See
Super Shaker Song



Desmond Dennis | YouTube
Baby Shark
BINGO Was His Name-O
If You’re Happy and You Know It
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Teddy Bear
Wheels on the Bus 



Divi Roxx Kids | YouTube
Ready Set Go!



Eddie Peeples | YouTube

Ella Jenkins | YouTube
Head and Shoulder
Hickory Dickory Dock
Play Your Instruments
Stop and Go
Teddy Bear
You’ll Sing a Song and I’ll Sing a Song
…and more!

Falu | YouTube
Happy
Teddy Bear
Visit to the Farm


Father Goose | YouTube
Wiggle Shake Shake

FYÜTCH | YouTube 
Kwanzaa Slide

Gigi Gumspoon | YouTube 

Ginalina | YouTube
Alligator Stew
Gonna Get a Kiss
The Life Cycle (Hop, Hop, Hop)


Jazzy Ash | YouTube
Baby Loves Beignets
Bubbles
Leap Frog
Li’l Liza Jane
The Shimmies
Teddy Bear


Jay Laga’aia | YouTube
B-I-N-G-O
Grand Old Duke of York
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Open, Shut Them
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Wheels on the Bus



Joanie Leeds | YouTube
Freeze Dance



José-Luis Orozco | YouTube
Apples and Bananas / Platanos y Manzanas
Buenos Dias / Good Morning
Clap, Stomp, Tralala
Old Macdonald / Juancho Pancho
Popcorn
Up High Down Low



The Kuumba Kids | YouTube
Hello Song
Zoom, Zoom

Kymberly Stewart | YouTube
Autumn Leaves Are Falling
I Am a Robot
Down Down Up Up
Little Hip Hop Bunnies
My Rhythm Sticks
Rock and Roll with You
Timmy the Turtle

Lavender Blues | YouTube
Bunnies on a Rug
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

Little Miss Ann | YouTube
Can You Make a Circle
L.O.V.E.
Shake & Sing
Ube / Ube 2.0



Lucky Diaz and the Family Band | YouTube
Countdown Kids with Lucky
Let’s Dance
Shimmy
Skunk Strut
Wheels on the Bus


Lucy Kalantari | YouTube

Lucy Kalantari and the Jazz Cats | YouTube

May & Them Pups | YouTube

Miss Katie Sings | YouTube
Many songs/rhymes on YouTube



Mister G | YouTube

Ms. Niki | YouTube
Happy
Music in the Air



Nanny Nikki |YouTube
The Beat
The Caterpillar Song



Nathalia | YouTube
Animal Bop
Dinosaur Dance


Nnenna Freelon | YouTube

Papa Siama with Auntie Dallas | YouTube

Pierce Freelon | YouTube

Putamayo Kids | Spotify

Queer Kid Stuff | YouTube

Rissi Palmer | YouTube
Best Day Ever



SaulPaul | YouTube

SNOOKNUK | YouTube

Sonia de Los Santos | YouTube
Hey Little Bunny!



Uncle Devin | YouTube
Jump to the Beat


Uncle Jumbo | YouTube
Clap Clap Stomp Stomp


Wendy and DB | YouTube
Clap Tap (E-I-E-I-O)

Pint-Sized Paint Party

Babies + Paint = Chaos…or just a ton of fun?

I don’t program quite as much as I used to (and particularly not as much as I did during work-from-home pandemic times!). Stepping into management has meant stepping back from day-to-day programming. Most of my programming is filling in when my team are off.

I still enjoy programming, but since presenting programs is now adjacent to my job rather than its primary function, when I do program, I find myself repeating or reimagining programs I’ve done before. One of my favorite programs from both my current and last library has been a Pint-Sized Paint Party.

Pint-Sized Paint Party Logistics

  • Program Length: 45 minutes – 1 hour
  • Ages: 6 months – 5 years
  • Structure: station-based drop-in
    • 5-8 stations spread out in a large programming room
    • Tarps on the floor under potentially messy areas
    • Mixture of clean and messy stations, though everything is non-toxic and washable
  • Prep: Decent amount of pre-program prep but almost all tasks can be done by volunteers (freezing paint cubes, opening paint bottles, stuffing bags, securing tarps to floor)

Pint-Sized Paint Party Stations

Paint-in-a-Bag Activities (Clean)

Participants could choose from a selection of 3 contained paint activities:

  • Bubble Wrap Pack (5 x 7 clear bubble wrap envelope with cardstock inside)
  • LOVE Canvas Bag (9 x 12 canvas with the letters LOVE taped in painter’s tape, all in a large freezer gallon-sized ziploc bag) Inspired by Eat Teach Laugh Craft.
  • Shaker (circular food container with piece of white cardstock and ping-pong ball inside)

Participants brought their selection to staff or teen volunteers who added drips of up to 3 colors of paint before taping the item shut with packing tape.

Families took their creations home with them to dry – though the LOVE canvases most resembled a long-term keepsake.

Ice Cube Painting (Messy)

Kids selected a frozen paint cube to color on cardstock as the paint melted.

I’ve read blog posts about folks successfully doing this with water and food coloring, but I’ve never got this to work well (the water melts, but it remains clear on paper).

Instead, I froze Crayola Washable Paint in ice cube trays with half-popsicle-sticks inside each cube. (And plenty of written and verbal warnings to caregivers that those cubes are all paint.)

The timing can be mildly tricky – the cubes should come out of the ice cube trays within a few minutes of coming out of the freezer. They can sit in a different container until they are used, but if you leave the melting cubes in the ice cube trays, they will start to stick to the tray and collapse.

Of course, you don’t want to take them out of the freezer too early, or they will melt before a kid can use them.

If you take them out too close to painting, they won’t have melted enough and kids will grow frustrated that nothing is happening.

While that sounds complicated – it really isn’t too bad in practice. Kids liked touching and manipulating the paint with their hands, and the frozen-style kept the mess pretty contained.

Water Painting (Clean – can get wet)

I’ve talked a bit about water painting on this blog – it is so simple and mess-free.

Wall Painting (Clean)

Kids pushed, poked, and explored freezer Ziploc bags with paint inside. They experimented with mixing colors.

Bags were securely taped to a wall or large moveable dry-erase board.

Dot Markers (Clean-ish)

Not quite paint, but close! Kids used dot markers to color pre-printed coloring pages or to make their own creations.

Art Crawl (Messy)

I only ran this station at one library – the station is fun, but the setup takes a lot of time. I used a freestanding baby-gate setup to create an enclosed area layered with tarps on the ground and butcher paper on top. I added piles of paint and various toddler paint toys, and then…I let the babies have fun!

This was supremely messy and required lots of cleaning supplies for caregivers. Not too many caregivers dared to put their babies in the paint pit – but those who did had a blast.

Other Toys

To help keep the youngest ones engaged, I also put out a variety of on-hand brightly colored baby-friendly toys, such as:

Book Review: Amy Wu and the Ribbon Dance

Hi Book Cart Queen readers! It’s been a minute. (Or maybe a year). I’ve got a new job (back at my old library in a new role), and I worked through a fantastic year on the 2023 Caldecott Committee.

I’m not sure what future posts will look like. I miss blogging, but blogging is also time consuming – and I’m not sure I want to spend quite as much time on here as I did a year ago. I’m also in a different role now. I program occasionally, but not nearly as much as I did a few years ago. I still have a bunch of old programs I’d like to share, and I still read a ton of books each year, so there may be more content to come – but for now, know that things will be much more occasional and a little less structured.

All that said, I received an email from the lovely folks at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing about an opportunity to review the newest Amu Wu book – and I couldn’t pass it up. I featured Amy Wu a few years ago as part of a video book talk series, and Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao has been a regular feature in my storytimes for Preschoolers, Kindergarteners, and 1st Graders.

Learn more about this fantastic new title below!

Amy Wu and the Ribbon Dance

Author Kat Zhang and illustrator Charlene Chua return with another fantastic Amu Wu adventure. Amy continues to learn more about her heritage – this time exploring dancing and movement with Chinese ribbon dancing.

Amy’s want to wiggle, shimmy, and move will feel familiar to kids and their grown-ups – including librarians leading a room full of wriggling storytime attendees.

Amy is fascinated by the art of ribbon dancing, and she can’t wait to share her new passion with her friends.

But Amy doesn’t have a fancy dancing ribbon and all of her makeshift ribbons don’t work. Some are too heavy, some are too light, and nothing flutters and twists in just the right way.

Will Amy be able to show her friends how to ribbon dance after all?

Just like in Amy’s other stories, the kindness and patience of her family and friends help Amy figure out how to overcome her current challenge. Charlene Chua’s lively illustrations capture Amy’s emotions – from pure joy to confusion and occasional frustration and sadness. The bright colors and quick pace will keep young listeners engaged, particularly young fans ages 4-8.

Like other Amy Wu titles, this book lends itself to a storytime read aloud. As if written with librarians and teachers in mind, it includes your own Homemade Dancing Ribbon craft at the end – a perfect way to wrap up a storytime themed around movement and dancing (before a dance party of course!).

Amy Wu and the Ribbon Dance releases from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing on May 30, 2023.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Amy Wu learns about Chinese ribbon dancing, she can’t wait to try it out herself in this charming and brightly illustrated fourth installment in the Amy Wu picture book series.

Amy Wu loves to move. From wriggling to shimmying to toe-tapping, she just can’t keep still, not when there’s music all around her! So when Amy sees Chinese ribbon dancing for the first time, she has to try it out. Only, how can she throw the perfect dance party when she doesn’t have the perfect ribbon for her dance?

A special story from Mom may be just the thing to get Amy moving to the music again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kat Zhang loves traveling to places both real and fictional—the former have better souvenirs, but the latter allow for dragons, so it’s a tough choice. A writer of books for teens and children, she spends her free time scribbling poetry, taking photographs, and climbing atop things she shouldn’t. You can learn more about her at KatZhang.com.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Charlene Chua draws many things, from baos to dragons, and everything in-between. When they are not drawing, they enjoy cooking, reading, and playing with their cats. Charlene grew up in Singapore, and now lives in Canada. Her favorite baos are still char siu baos, and her favorite dumplings are air-fryer wontons!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

We participate in the blog trend of Monday posts about what we have read during the last week (6/21/2021-6/27/2021).

Annamarie’s Reading

Board Books, Picture Books, and Readers:

Everything Else:

Thoughts & Updates: Last post from me for a while! Wrapping things up with a few great chapter books and some cute picture books too. Don’t worry about blog content — Sarah has plenty of great things to share. I’ll still be lurking even while I don’t actively post during my Caldecott term, so feel free to comment and send emails. I’d love to still chat with all of you! This blog helped keep me grounded during the pandemic, and it has been such a wonderful platform to meet and learn from so many fantastic librarians and creators across the world. Until next time!

Reading by the Numbers:

  • 15 Books Read This Week
    • 10 Books with Main Characters of Marginalized Backgrounds (67%)
    • 8 Books by Authors of Marginalized Backgrounds (53%)

Favorites of the Week:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

We participate in the blog trend of Monday posts about what we have read during the last week (6/14/2021-6/20/2021).

Annamarie’s Reading

Board Books, Picture Books, and Readers:

Everything Else:

Thoughts & Updates: Powering through the picture books as blog posts slow down for a while. Some new graphic novels this week too. Listening to the new Rick Riordan presents title, which is good, but doesn’t quite live up to my love of Cece Rios. I feel like I am just absorbing as much information as I can while I learn about my new job and how things work in my new library. One more week of book updates before I take a break for a bit!

Reading by the Numbers:

  • 45 Books Read This Week
    • 21 Books with Main Characters of Marginalized Backgrounds (47%)
    • 11 Books by Authors of Marginalized Backgrounds (24%)

Favorites of the Week:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

We participate in the blog trend of Monday posts about what we have read during the last week (6/7/2021-6/13/2021).

Annamarie’s Reading

Board Books, Picture Books, and Readers:

Everything Else:

Thoughts & Updates: I’m finally into the new job which is very exciting! I’m still wrapping my head around all of the nuances of my new library. It is always so interesting to see how different each library is — even when moving between two systems that serve similar suburbs of the same city.

Reading has held steady, with many picture books and a few chapter books. I absolutely loved Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls, and Stamped (For Kids), the newest adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning, is well done for the intended age range, even if I am still partial to Jason Reynold’s version.

Reading by the Numbers:

  • 22 Books Read This Week
    • 11 Books with Main Characters of Marginalized Backgrounds (50%)
    • 8 Books by Authors of Marginalized Backgrounds (36%)
    • 6 Books by Own Voices Authors (27%)

Favorites of the Week:

Book Club in a Bag: Lumberjanes

Take-and-make kits; craft kits; programs to go: whatever your library calls these programs in a bag that have become a staple of no-contact offerings, one thing is fairly standard: these kits are well loved, but they take time to make. I love creating materials for kits and thinking about how a family might interact with program materials at home. I’ve introduced a new pair of kits for ages 6-11: Book Club in a Bag (also known as Leap Off the Page, since we already have book club kits at our library, and the original name became confusing). This week: Lumberjanes!

The Book Club in a Bag kits look a bit different from some of my previous kits. Instead of focusing on just one book universe, these kits each feature four characters, hopefully some old favorites as well as some new, diverse characters.

In May, these featured characters or books included (links provided as the bag contents are shared on Book Cart Queens):

Check out these previously featured Book Club kits:

– Elephant & Piggie (Mo Willems)
– Mindy Kim (Lyla Lee)
– Yasmin (Saadia Faruqi)
– Azaleah Lane (Nikki Shannon Smith)
– Wings of Fire (Tui T. Sutherland)
– New Kid (Jerry Craft)
– Phoebe and Her Unicorn (Dana Simpson)
– Shuri (Nic Stone)

Each bag contains some repeated resources:

  • List of kit contents
  • List of books in the featured series
  • List of readalike books
  • Discussion questions
  • Swag item (button, sticker, bookmarks)
  • 1-3 crafts, games, activities

Lumberjanes Kit

The Lumberjanes Kit can be as simple or as elaborate as you’d like. Most of this kit can be re-created simply using a printer, with the addition of extra items depending on your budget.

Want to use make a Lumberjanes Kit at your library? Download the PDFs at the links below, or write a comment or send an email (bookcartqueens@gmail.com) for editable files.

Lumberjanes General Materials

Each bag contains some of the same basic materials, and the Lumberjanes kit is no different.

Slideshare not working? Download the PDF featuring all kit activities here.

Slideshare not working? Download the PDF listing all book titles here.

Slideshare not working? Download the PDF listing readalikes here.

The Lumberjanes readalikes bookmark features these titles:

Slideshare not working? Download the PDF listing discussion questions here.

The Lumberjanes Discussion Questions included:

  • The very first page of the first book has the original name of the Lumberjanes’ camp inscribed at the bottom. It reads “Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Girls” with the word “girls” scratched out and replaced with “hardcore lady-types.” Why do you think the word girl was scratched out?
  • How would you describe each of the five main Lumberjanes? Who is your favorite? Why?
  • Why do you think they included so many snippets from the Lumberjanes manual and information about Lumberjanes badges?
  • In the “Message from the Lumberjane High Council” in Volume 1 it says: “…Whether you are a dancer or a misfit, career girl or a social elite, you have a place at this camp — no matter how different you feel.” How does the story and the characters reflect this?

This bag also included a sticker, printed on Avery circle 2.25″ white sticker label paper.

Slideshare not working? Download the ready-to-print sticker sheet here.

Lumberjanes Crafts, Games, and More

Someday, I really want to create a Lumberjanes activity book with activities related to each badge. That didn’t happen for this kit, but I did make an awesome, ready-to-print mythical creatures card game. Playing cards were printed double-sided on cardstock.

Download the cards:

Slideshare not working? Download the playing cards here.

Download the Instructions:

Slideshare not working? Download the instructions here.

The kit also included a Friendship Bracelet activity:

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