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
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
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
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!
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
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
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
Rhymes designed to get kids up and moving are a staple of any storytime. These aren’t quite Fingerplays (but there may be a lot of overlap). Sometimes they can include Flannel or Magnet pieces. Rhymes are often (but not always) shorter than a song, as they are often used as short breaks to get some wiggles out between longer material. They often develop fine and gross motor skills, practice following directions, and can also connect to any number of other concepts like counting, letter sounds, animal sounds, and more.
I separated Baby Bounce Rhymes, designed for babies in arms or in laps, into a different post. Find those here.
Beyond the songs that had racial slurs in their origins–stop and think for a minute about the words in Baa Baa Black Sheep or I’ve Been Working on the Railroad. Goosey Goosey Gander made me pause when I first heard it in a Mother Goose on the Loose storytime–and the suggested origins of that rhyme don’t make me want to teach it to babies and toddlers.
Before I get further into this conversation, check out this wonderful document with many sources cited regarding the history of some of the songs and rhymes mentioned above and more. I’m sure there are more popular tunes I have missed too. Please comment below, and I’m happy to add and adjust.
I understand that there can be value in the rhythm of Mother Goose and other “traditional” nursery rhymes–but frankly, I grew up only learning a handful of these, and I don’t think I lost much of my childhood from not growing up with the Mother Goose canon. There are plenty of other songs that can teach kids how to count or practice identifying body parts–and once you become aware of the origins of certain songs, they are easy enough to avoid.
But what about the familiar tunes (changing those words)? For me, this comes down to the grandmother in one of my in-person Baby Storytimes who proudly sang “Indian” instead of “finger” when we sang “Ten Little Fingers” to the tune of “Ten Little Indians.” She told her little one that she was so excited to sing a song she grew up with–so she sang the words she knew instead of the words on the screen behind me. The short answer is–let these rhymes–and their tunes–go.
I struggle with this just as I am sure some of you do. Put Your Hands Up High is my hardest rhyme to let go of because I love the motions so much, and it is part of my default, go-to storytime routine. But, it is to the tune of Do Your Ears Hang Low. I’m sure that other problematic tunes have slipped through too in my work–on this post and others on this blog. But there are plenty of other rhymes out there–on this blog and many others–that none of us have an excuse for continuing to use these problematic works.
Looking for more storytime tools? Check out our Storytime Resources page for links to more content.
Movement Rhymes
Baby Hokey Pokey
You put your arms up, You put your arms down, You put your arms up, And you wave them all around You wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, And you tickle, tickle, tickle That’s how the baby pokey goes (clap along) Yeah! (arms in the air)
One little red fish Swimming in the water, Swimming in the water, Swimming in the water.
One little red fish Swimming in the water, Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble (roll arms) POP! (clap)
Bubble, Bubble, Pop: Baby Shark
One yellow baby shark, Swimming in the water, Swimming in the water, Swimming in the water.
One yellow baby shark, swimming in the water, Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble pop!
Continue with: One blue daddy shark One pink momma shark
Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands
Clap, clap, clap your hands, Clap them now with me. Clap your hands, let me see! Clap them now with me.
Continue with: Tap your knees Shake your feet Tickle your tummy
Clap Them
Clap them, clap them, clap them so. Clap them high! Clap them low. Clap them left. Clap them right. Clap them, clap them, out of sight!
Continue with: roll them, shake them
Clap Your Feet
Clap, clap, clap your feet. Clap your feet together. Clap, clap, clap your feet. Clap your feet together.
Clap them high! Clap them low. Clap them fast! Clap them slow.
Clap, clap, clap your feet. Clap your feet together. Clap, clap, clap your feet. Clap your feet together.
Cool Cat Boogie
Slide right, shake your tail! Slide left, shake your tail! Now clap, clap, clap. Jump front! Rock and roll! Jump back! Rock and roll! AIR GUITAR!
Dino Ditty
A hungry dino walking down the street Singing dino ditty ditty dum ditty do He’s looking for something good to eat Singing dino ditty ditty dum ditty do He’s big! (He’s big!) He’s strong! (He’s strong!) Won’t be hungry very long…
Do You Like to Jump Around
Do you like to jump around? Jump around, Jump around? Do you like to jump around? Jump and now let’s FREEZE!
Continue with: Roll Clap Shake Jump
Five Little Eggs
Give it a whack, (clap) Hear it crack, (hand behind ear) Drop it in the middle, (pat hands on your lap) One egg frying on the griddle.
Galoomp Went the Little Green Frog
Galoomp (hop) went the little green frog one day Galoomp (hop) went the little green frog Galoomp (hop) went the little green frog one day And his eyes went blinkblinkblink
Repeat with new line added on each time: Arms went flop, flop, flop Feet went splash, splash, splash
Head and Shoulders
Head and shoulders baby 1, 2, 3 Head and shoulders baby 1, 2, 3 Head and shoulders, Head and shoulders, Head and shoulders baby 1, 2, 3
Continue with: Knees and ankles Tummy and back Fingers and toes Shake them all
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (audiation)
Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes! Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes! And eyes and ears and mouth and nose! Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes!
Horns and Fangs
Horns and fangs, knees and claws, Knees and claws, knees and claws, Horns and fangs, knees and claws, Eyes, ears, tail, and paws!
I Wake Up My Hands
I wake up my hands with a clap, clap, clap, Clap, clap, clap, Clap, clap, clap, I wake up my hands with a clap, clap, clap, And I wiggle my wiggles away!
If you’re a pigeon and you know it, flap your wings! If you’re a pigeon and you know it, flap your wings! If you’re a pigeon and you know it, And you really want to show it! If you’re a pigeon and you know it, flap your wings!
Shake your tail (shake, shake) Eat your cookies (nom, nom) Drive the bus (zoom, zoom)
If You’re Fancy and You Know It
If you’re fancy and you know it give a curtsey! If you’re fancy and you know it give a curtsey! If you’re fancy and you know it and you really want to show it, If you’re fancy and you know it give a curtsey!
Continue with: Take a Bow Wave to All Your Fans Shout Ooh La La!
If You’re Ready for the New Year
If you’re ready for the new year, clap your hands! If you’re ready for the new year, clap your hands If you’re ready for the new year, If you’re ready for the new year, If you’re ready for the new year, clap your hands!
Continue with: Stomp Your Feet (Stomp, Stomp) Wave Bye-Bye (Bye Bye 2020) Give a Shout (Happy New Year!)
I’m a Little Dump Truck
I’m great big dump truck Full of rocks. Here is my engine. Here is my box. When the crew is ready, Here me shout, “Pull the lever and dump me out!” Shhhhhhhhh!
Magic Butterflies
Five fuzzy caterpillars spinning cocoons Hoping spring will come real soon! With a little bit of magic And the warm sunshine– Clap, clap, clap, there’s a butterfly!
Mix a Cake
Mix the batter, stir the batter Shake some flour in Mix the batter, stir the batter Pour it in a tin
Sprinkle in some chocolate chips Put it in to bake Then open wide the oven door And out comes the cake!
Mix a Pancake
Mix a pancake. Stir a pancake. Pop it in a pan. Fry a pancake. Toss a pancake. Catch it if you can!
Move Your Arms
Move your arms up and down, Up and down. Up and down. Move your arms up and down, Just like me!
Move your hands and clap, clap, clap. Clap, clap, clap. Clap, clap, clap. Move your hands and clap, clap, clap, Just like me!
Continue with: feet…stomp, body…up and down
My Heart Is A Zoo
Sometimes my heart wants to clap like a seal. Sometimes my heart wants to hop like a bunny. Sometimes my heart wants to jump like a frog. Sometimes my heart wants to roar like a lion. Sometimes my heart wants to fly like a blue jay.
One, Two, Peek-A-Boo!
One, two, peek-a-boo! You see me, and I see you. I see your nose; yes I do! Time to play peek-a-boo!
Continue with: Hands, Feet, Belly
Open Shut Them
Open, shut them. Open, shut them. Let your hands go clap, clap, clap!
Open, shut them. Opem, shut them. Drop them in your lap, lap, lap!
Walk them, walk them, Walk them, walk them, Right up to your chin, chin, chin!
Open up your little mouth, But do not let them in!
Pinkalicious Turn Around
Pinkalicious, Pinkalicious turn around. Pinkalicious, Pinkalicious touch the ground. Pinkalicious, Pinkalicious jump up high! Pinkalicious, Pinkalicious touch the sky.
Pinkalicious, Pinkalicious bend down low. Pinkalicious, Pinkalicious find your nose. Pinkalicious, Pinkalicious dance to the beat. Pinkalicious, Pinkalicious take a seat!
Put the Beat On
Put the beat on your toes, on your toes. Put the beat on your toes, on your toes. Put the beat on your toes, Put the beat on your toes, Put the beat on your toes, Now we stop!
Continue with: Tummy In your hands (clap)
Roll Roll Sugar Babies
Roll roll sugar babies, Roll roll sugar babies, Push and pull And clap, clap, clap!
Roll roll sugar babies, Roll roll sugar babies, Push and pull And clap, clap, clap!
Roll up high! Roll down low. Roll real fast! Roll real slow.
Roll roll sugar babies, Roll roll sugar babies, Push and pull And clap, clap, clap!
Roly, Poly
Roly Poly, Roly Poly, Up, up, up! Up, up, up!
Continue with: Down, Out, In, Fast, Slow
Row, Drive, Fly
Row, row, row your boat (sway) Gently down the stream Merrily, merrily, merrily Life is but a dream.
Drive, drive, drive your car So quickly down the street Merrily, merrily, merrily Driving can’t be beat!
Fly, fly, fly your plane Fly your plane so high Merrily, merrily, merrily Way up in the sky!
Chug, chug, chug the train Goes quickly down the track Merrily, merrily, merrily Hear it click click clack!
Slowly, Slowly
Slowly, slowly, very slowly, Creeped the garden snail. Slowly, slowly, very slowly Up the wooden rail.
Quickly, quickly, very quickly Ran the little mouse. Quickly, quickly, very quickly, Round about the house!
Show Me How You Move
Show me how your hands can move, Your hands can move, Your hands can move, Show me how your hands can move, Now show me how they STOP!
Continue with: Feet…stomp Elbows…bend Body…jump
There Was a Crocodile
There was a crocodile, An orangutan, A flying eagle, And a silvery fish.
A bunny, A beaver, A crazy elephant, Da na na na na na Da na na na na na
This is Big
This is big big big. This is small small small.
This is short short short. This is tall tall tall.
This is fast fast fast. This is slow slow slow.
This is yes yes yes yes. This is no no no no.
Tiny Tim
I have a friendly frog. His name is Tiny Tim! I put him in the bathtub, To see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water! He ate up all the soap! And now he’s home sick in bed, With bubbles in his throat!
Pigeon Storytime! Featuring the one and only bird from the Mo Willems books. I have my own personal secret: I hate this bird. The books and Pigeon’s general personality annoy me to no end. But…this ended up being one of my favorite storytimes.
The highlight, of course, was Pigeon’s attempted storytime coup:
Catch a glimpse of the whole experience in the video below.
This was another very popular program: over 600 virtual attendees!
Just like past virtual storytimes, I curated a PDF packet that we shared with event participants. Many of these materials are from Mo Willems’ Pigeon website, full of great resources. Download the activity packet here.
Watch the short preview video below. This isn’t like many of my other preview videos…instead Pigeon keeps popping up all over the library!
And watch the full storytime here:
The general storytime layout–in order of what I presented–is below, with videos where applicable.
Pigeon Storytime Outline
Intro Song: Shake Your Sillies Out by Rainbow Songs
Pigeon Book: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Music: Wheels on the Bus by Jay Laga’aia
Action Song: If You’re a Pigeon and You Know It
If you’re a pigeon and you know it, flap your wings! If you’re a pigeon and you know it, flap your wings! If you’re a pigeon and you know it, And you really want to show it! If you’re a pigeon and you know it, flap your wings!
Shake your tail (shake, shake) Eat your cookies (nom, nom) Drive the bus (zoom, zoom)
Pigeon Takeover After If You’re a Pigeon and You Know It, I realized–oops!–I forgot our second book! I needed to step out to get it, and while I did just that, I put on some music and needed everyone watching to keep an eye on storytime. Sure enough, Pigeon attempted a takeover!
I didn’t actually leave the room–instead I had a table on wheels to the side of the screen. When I stepped off screen, I opened and closed the door to the room before wheeling the table on screen. I tested the height ahead of time to make sure Pigeon was visible but the table wasn’t.
I had the signs piled and ready on a table off screen. The sticks were attached from the top because it is much easier to drop something from above onto the screen then for me to try to lay below the camera and get up again. If I did this again, I might try to have this situated somehow so the signs were resting on the table, and I removed one at a time. My hand was shaking quite a bit during this portion (so the signs were too).
I ran through the timing of the song and the signs beforehand and made sure I had just enough signs to last the length of the song. I came back at the end of the song with another opening and closing of the door and a loud “PIGEON!” before returning on camera to “rescue” storytime.
Pigeon Book: The Duckling Gets A Cookie?!
Magnet: Pigeon Playing Hide and Seek
Pigeon, Pigeon playing hide and seek Are you behind the yummy cookie? Let’s take a peek!
Closing Song: I Know a PIGEON (Chicken) by Laurie Berkner We very loudly shouted PIGEON in place of Chicken throughout the song.
Extra, Extra! I filmed a few extra Pigeon videos that were on YouTube but didn’t make it into storytime:
Two Little Pigeons:
Two little pigeons sittin’ on a hill One named Jack and one named Jill. Run away Jack, run away Jill. Come back Jack, come back Jill.
Two little pigeons sittin’ on a cloud. One named soft and one named loud. Run away soft, run away loud. Come back soft, come back loud.
Two little pigeons sittin’ on down below. One named fast and one named slow. Run away fast, run away slow. Come back fast, come back slow.
Five Little Pigeons Sitting in a Tree:
Five little pigeons sitting in a tree One flew away! How many do you see?
One, two, three four!
And finally, I attempted to write a rhyme to the tune of the Itsy Bitsy Spider, but I didn’t get it quite right. Feel free to edit and make it your own!
The happy little pigeon Snuck onto the bus route. Along came the driver Who chased the pigeon out. Along came the kids who Jumped onto the bus. And the happy little pigeon Rode along with us.
More toddlers! I like the variety of toddler activities so much, though it will be fun to be back to babies next week. Lot’s of polar bear content this week (not intentionally, but here we are). My library reopened to the public this week for browsing, though I’m writing this before that happens…so hoping all goes well.
Early Literacy Tip: Read books with excitement and enthusiasm—this can be much easier with books that encourage silly actions or behaviors. Try being extra silly! Nothing is over-the-top for your child.
Book Recommendation:The Doghouse by Jan Thomas
Song: Jump with Me by Bobs & Lolo
Fingerplay: Here Is the Beehive
Here is the beehive, But where are the bees? Hidden away where nobody sees. Watch and you’ll see them come out of the hive… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…They’re alive! Buzzzzzzzzz
Oh the city is great and the city is grand There are lots of tall buildings on a little piece of land And we live way up on the 57th floor and this is what we do when we go out the door.
We take the elevator up and the elevator down, take the elevator up, take the elevator down Take the elevator up and the elevator down and we turn around.
Flannel: Polar Bear’s Underwear (Song/Rhyme)
Oh where, oh where did my red underwear go? Oh where, oh where can they be? I looked up high, and I looked down low? Did someone hide them from me?
— Find more Flannel & Magnet Activities in this post. —
Edit: A fantastic commenter pointed out the inaccuracy of the word “diverse” to describe these artists, and I’m working to correct that. You will see a mixture of terms used in this post as I take the time to better prepare for future posts in this series. The artists highlighted below are all from typically underrepresented backgrounds, including a mixture of Black, Latinx, Asian, and LGBTQIA+. I’ll better distinguish this on future updates to this post and blog series.
Update: Find a newer list of artists and songs (published in 2024) here.
Are you using music from a diverse group of artists in storytime? I’ll ask another way: are the artists of all the songs you use in storytime white? There is a ton of conversation in the library world about the need to make sure your collections, displays, reader’s advisory, and programming books include underrepresented populations. Rudine Sims Bishop is often quoted, citing her wonderful Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors essay. That work is very important, and books are at the core of library services. But, we also highlight other forms of media in our programming, storytimes, and events. Think about your hired presenters and performers (virtual in 2020 and in-person in 2019). How many were white? Who are you supporting with your library’s limited funds? What about your storytime music playlist? How often do you share music by Black artists? Latinx artists? LGBTQIA+ artists?
Since my time on the ALSC Notable Children’s Recordings committee, I’ve been thinking a lot about children’s music, especially the music we use in storytime. Most of the artists I use are white. Jim Gill and Laurie Berkner are great, but there are some really fantastic Black, Latinx, and Asian artists that out there. There are artists from so many underrepresented groups–you just need to put in the time to look for them.
And it does take time. The music world is hard to break into at any level. Getting an agent isn’t easy or cheap, and the children’s music world is competitive. An artist might be able to self publish or perform locally, but that creates a very limited audience for a time consuming and costly pursuit. In some ways, the pandemic has opened up more opportunities for smaller presenters and performers to perform, virtually, on a national scale. But, the pandemic has also made it harder for those same smaller performers to survive. Money is tight everywhere, and many libraries who could never afford to bring a big name performer in person, might be able to afford them virtually. Libraries want to attract a large virtual audience, and that is easier with a name that caregivers will recognize. Caregivers recognize children’s musicians that they hear a lot–which they may mostly hear in storytime. So we are back to the beginning again: what musicians are you highlighting in storytime?
I am picky about my storytime music. I present for all ages now, but mostly babies and toddlers. I want music selections that are:
Short. Preferably 1-2 minutes, though I’m flexible with this (I can always stop the song myself where I need to).
Clear actions that are preferably repeated in a straightforward way. And actions that are appropriate for the age range. We can always adapt words and motions, but it is hard to spin a squirming one-year-old sitting on your lap.
Good pace. For me, I don’t want something too slow, but it also needs to be at a speed that is feasible for a toddler or preschooler to follow.
Your storytime music preferences might be very different. Some of my coworkers only use songs that have a rhythm that is way too slow for me, while others really want to theme their music to their storytime topic.
One more note: look at artists that you haven’t heard of. It’s great that you are highlighting Ella Jenkins and other artists that have been around for a few decades–but there are many new, modern artists creating amazing music right now that would appreciate your support.
I’ve been rambling on for months in other blog posts on how I have been working on a spreadsheet with artists from underrepresented populations and songs that particularly work for storytime. That full document isn’t ready yet, but I want to start to highlight diverse musicians regularly in preparation for that longer post. Many of these names may be familiar if you follow my weekly storytime outlines.
Children’s Musicians: A Starting List
All of these artists come from backgrounds that are typically underrepresented, particularly in storytime playlists: some are Black, some are Latinx, some are Asian, some identify as LGBTQIA+, and more. Some of these artists are my personal favorites while others are ones I plan to explore over the next few months. Who am I missing? Let me know in the comments!
Also, not a specific music group, but check out the Trans & Nonbinary Kids Mix by Ants on a Log and Friends.
Storytime Music: Favorite Songs
Again, I haven’t listened to every song by every artist listed above (yet–that is the plan by the end of the year), but if you are looking for some storytime music by artists from underrepresented populations to add to your storytime playlist *right now*, I’ve highlighted some of my current favorites below!
Jazzy Ash
Teddy Bear (preschool or school age)
Baby Loves Beignets (great with shakers)
Leap Frog (great with shakers – wish this didn’t gender with boys and girls)
Kymberly Stewart
I Am a Robot (toddlers, preschoolers)
Timmy the Turtle (Tiny Tim rhyme)
Down Down Up Up (all ages–could be a fun work out for caregivers with babies)
Nathalia
Animal Bop (toddlers, preschoolers)
Alina Celeste
Clap Hands (wish this wasn’t strictly mama and papa repeatedly, but the beat and actions are great)
Little Miss Ann
Shake & Sing (with shakers)
Aaron Nigel Smith
Everybody Loves to Dance (featuring Ziggy Marley) (all ages)
Itsy Bitsy Spider (featuring Zion Nigel Smith) (all ages)
Culture Queen
Super Shaker Song (with shakers! or scarves!) (all ages)
Toddler Fun! A longer book compared to my normal selections for toddlers, but I really want to use this book, and I can’t keep agonizing over how to turn Baby Goes to Market into a flannel — someday I will make that happen, but I have no ability to make people out of flannel, and I don’t have the patience for trial and error at the moment.
Early Literacy Tip: Toddlers need to move, so don’t worry if they act out stories or just skip, romp, or tumble as you read to them. They may be moving, but they are listening.
Book Recommendation:Baby Goes to Market by Atinuke
Song: Clap Your Hands by The Alana Banana Show
Fingerplay: Snowflakes Snowflakes
Snowflakes snowflakes dance all around Snowflakes snowflakes touch the ground Snowflakes snowflakes in the air Snowflakes snowflakes everywhere!
Hello again toddlers! I may be shifting the structure and content of these storytime posts soon–I have a few more weeks with a mixture of old and new content, but in March I will be back to much more repeated content than new. I don’t theme my storytimes except for special occasions (perhaps I will make a post about why that is), but I know many librarians follow themes, and I do like reading and curating storytime book lists. So many of those wonderful storytime blogs I find feel a little dated now, since they were most updated during those prime blogging years 5-10 years ago. So maybe a collection of posts on theme ideas with an eye to recent releases and diversity would be useful? Or just redundant? Let me know in the comments. Meanwhile, I’ll keep brainstorming.
Molly of Denali Storytime! I’ve been planning this for a while, but I’ve also been quite nervous about it–I want to do Molly justice. Our community is pretty white, our library staff is mostly white, and I am (you guessed it) white.
In case you aren’t familiar with Molly: Molly Mabray is a 10-year-old Alaskan Native (Gwich’in/Koyukon/Dena’ina Athabascan) vlogger from the fictional village of Qyah, Alaska (near the mountain of Denali). The PBS show is the first show to feature an Alaskan Native main character. Much of the cast and crew, including the voice of Molly – Sovereign Bill of Auburn – are of Alaskan Native or First Nations heritage. The show authentically portrays the life of an Alaskan Native girl (while also having a particular focus on examining and evaluating sources of information).
Molly of Denali is a wonderful show, and I encourage you to watch it yourself, explore the website (and app and podcast), and find ways to promote it at your library. I tried to keep Molly’s energy during this storytime while focusing on some of the places Molly frequently visits in Qyah as well as some of the popular storylines from the show.
There were some adjustments for me. I’m used to music being a big part of my storytimes, but the music featured in Molly of Denali is wrapped up in her culture. Dancing (often nonsensically) to the Daniel Tiger or Pete the Cat theme song felt fine–wiggling, swaying, and shaking along to Molly’s theme song felt like it might be closer to cultural appropriation. Instead, I played the Molly of Denali theme song before I came on screen, and I promoted official Molly of Denali content on YouTube with this playlist.
Looking back, I’m afraid I focused a bit too much on animals and too little on Molly’s culture. My reasoning for this during planning is that my main audience for these storytimes are ages 2-3. While some of the concepts were still there for older kids to explore, I knew I needed to keep the attention of those bouncy toddlers. In hindsight, this program would have been better suited as a separate event aimed for ages 6-8.
Just like past virtual storytimes, I curated a PDF packet that we shared with event participants. Many of these materials are from PBS. Download it here.
Watch the short preview video below. I tried to not dance through this the way I often do, instead highlighting storytime activities:
The general storytime layout–in order of what I presented–is below, with videos where applicable.
Molly of Denali Storytime Outline
Intro Song: Molly of Denali Theme Song (played before I came on screen)
Daniel Tiger Story: Crane Song
Exploring Qyah: I really like when these storytimes have some kind of unifying theme. For Molly of Denali storytime, we were simply exploring Qyah along with Molly.
Denali Trading Post: 5 Shiny Agate Stones
We started out at Molly’s parents’ store: the Denali Trading Post. Molly and her friends were trying to buy a new tubing raft, so they were selling agate stones again. We talked a bit about agate stones before jumping in with the rhyme shown below.
Down around the corner at the trading post, There were five shiny agate stones at the most. Along came a neighbor with a dollar to pay. She picked out an agate and took it away.
Dog Kennel & Vegetable Garden: Anka Playing Hide and Seek Tooey didn’t show up to help with the agate stones, so we went to find him at the Dog Kennel to make sure everything was okay. His dog, Anka, is missing again–but Tooey doesn’t think she is lost this time, just playing hide and seek…in Trini’s vegetable garden! Did you know that vegetables grow ENORMOUSLY large in Alaska? I learned that from Molly.
Anka, Anka playing hide and seek! Are you behind the _? Let’s take a peak!
Fish Camp: Five Little Salmon Off to find some fish for hungry Anka at the Fish Camp! Catch your pretend salmon by tossing out a line and reeling it in or snatching a salmon from the air like a bear.
Alaskan Animal Adventure Now that Anka was taken care of, it was finally time to explore Alaska by looking for something Molly loves and Alaska is well-known for–its amazing wildlife! I gave some hints for each animal before revealing the puppet and after the reveal, I encouraged viewers to do a quick motion.
There’s something by the river, Now what can it be? There’s something by the river, That I can’t really see.
Wrapping Things Up And that was it! For the reasons mentioned above, I didn’t have a closing song either (which was unusual for me). I once again directed people to the official Molly of Denali PBS playlist.
The first themed Saturday storytime special of 2021! We started the new year with the one and only Daniel Tiger Storytime! This set a highly unrealistic attendance expectation for 2021, but I am very happy with the final product. If nothing else in 2021 works out whatsoever, maybe my storytime game will be on point?
Daniel Tiger is close to my heart because of Mr. Rogers, though I did learn in this process that I am not the biggest fan of the Daniel Tiger tv show. But, there is most definitely an audience for Daniel, and, if we ever return to in-person programs in the next five years, this is something I would like to recreate as a party-style event. The heart of the story is excellent, and in person I could use some Mr. Rogers tunes–something Facebook strictly does not allow (it WILL shut down your stream, mid-stream or immediately after–be warned). Daniel Tiger songs are fine.
I talked about Daniel Tiger during the well-attended Noon Year’s Eve Storytime, and I could tell the Facebook event had a lot of interest (over 1000 people responded to the event), so I did not make a trailer for this one. (Also, Noon Year’s Eve was barely a week prior, and I’m tired.)
The trailer was not needed because, following the Noon Year’s Eve Storytime fun, we once again broke attendance records. This is the most-well attended program I have ever done…ever. (Except for the in-person Wizards & Wands Festival, but that is a whole other thing.) Final attendance was 770 people, most of which were from central Ohio based on anecdotal info (where we are located), and even knowing that Facebook’s one-minute view count isn’t the most accurate, we had 400 people just from families self-reporting how many people were watching in the comments (so they stuck with us long enough to hear my announcements).
Moral of the story: Daniel Tiger > Dog Man.
Just like past virtual storytimes, I curated a PDF packet that we shared with event participants. Download it here.
Watch the full storytime here (starts about 5 minutes in):
The general storytime layout–in order of what I presented–is below, with videos where applicable.
Daniel Tiger Storytime Outline
Backdrop Setup: Daniel Tiger pennant banners, book covers, and images. I’m happy to share these printable files if anyone is interested–just let me know in those comments or send us an email.
Intro Song: It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Daniel Tiger Story: Meet the Neighbors!
Neighbor Day Help: The premise for storytime was that it was time for the annual Neighbor Day Festival, and we needed to help all of our friends in the Neighborhood of Make Believe get ready.
Each time we were ready to find a new friend we took a seat and pretended to “drive” trolley.
Driving Round in My Little Red Trolley Driving round in my little red trolley, Driving round in my little red trolley, Driving round in my little red trolley, Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!
When we got to a location, we would receive three clues to figure out where we ended up.
And then we figure out where we ended up (the bakery!) and see which friend is waiting for us there (Miss Elaina!):
Before starting that location’s activity:
Bakery with Miss Elaina to Mix a Cake
Mix the batter, stir the batter Shake some flour in Mix the batter, stir the batter Pour it in a tin
Sprinkle in some chocolate chips Put it in to bake Then open wide the oven door And out comes the cake!
Faster, Faster!
Music Shop with Katerina Kittycat for Head Shoulders Knees and Toes
Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes! Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes! And eyes and ears and mouth and nose! Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes!
Playground with Prince Wednesday for Animal Guessing Game
Grocery Store with O the Owl to Count the Balloons
Red Balloons, red balloons, how many do we see? Red balloons, red balloons, count them now with me!
Post Office with Daniel Tiger for Letter Matching
Oh, have you seen the letter W The letter W, the letter W Oh, have you seen the letter W? It makes the sound wuh-wuh-wuh
Wrapping Things Up After helping Daniel find all of the letters for his friends, we found one more lost letter that needed a home! But this one was addressed to…us!
When we opened it, we discovered that since we were so kind to all of our new friends, we would become honorary residents of the Neighborhood of Make Believe! First, we just had to sing our song one more time:
