Storytime Ideas
Get inspired and discover suggested books, activities, and crafts with hundreds of thematic storytime ideas, compiled by Penny Peck.
Read-Alikes
Readers’ advisory means offering reading selections to someone based on that person’s interests. Many times a reader will offer the title of a favorite book, and want similar books. We call them Read-Alikes; find great ideas here.
Reviews
Find a sampling of our reviews as well as information for ACL Reviewers here.
Programming Ideas
Creative and exciting ideas for Do-It-Yourself programming, passive programming, craft and game resources, and more, designed by Penny Peck.
Professional Development
Professional deveolpment trainings are a frequent part of ACL’s monthly meetings. Experts from ACL and other organizations offer presentations on current and essential topics regarding library service to youth. Find materials shared during professional development trainings including handouts, powerpoints, booklists and more.
Institutes
Find bibliographies and other information from past ACL Institutes.
Dorothy Helfeld Fellowship
Do you want to find out more about children’s librarianship? ACL invites students of children’s librarianship and/or children’s literature to apply for one of up to three annual membership fellowships. Discover a network of active Bay Area children’s librarians who meet monthly to share their passion for children’s literature and libraries.
Outstanding Books
ACL reviews and evaluates books on a monthly basis. Excellent books are given the status of “Outstanding” and are nominated for our year-end Distinguished Books List. Find a list for each month’s “Outstanding” books here.
Distinguished Books Lists
Distinguished books have been selected for their outstanding literary merit, high quality of illustration and design, and contribution to a child’s understanding of the world. Books are designated as “distinguished” through a process of nomination, discussion, and voting by ACL members. We compile these titles, with annotations, into annual Distinguished Books lists, which are downloadable PDFs available here.
Publisher Submission Guidelines
Publishers looking for information about submitting review copies of their titles to ACL, please click here.