Storytime Ideas
BayNews features thematic storytime ideas compiled by Penny Peck. Visit the lists below for suggested books, activities, and crafts. Most of the recommended picture books are annotated.
NEW / Animals / Everyday Things / Miscellaneous Multicultural / People / Science / Special Days Summer Reading : 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012 2013 – Reading is Delicious (CLA/IRead) / 2013 – Dig into Reading (CLSP) 2014 – Paws to Read (CLA/IRead) / 2014 – Fizz Boom Read! (CLSP)
New Snowman (12/2014) Peace and Kindness (12/2014)
ACL Storytime Refresher – Spring 2014 (Adobe PDF File) or Google Doc
ACL Nonfiction Title Suggestions – June 2014 (Adobe PDF File) or Google Doc
Animals
- Alligators & Crocodiles (12/05)
- Ants (2/08)
- Baby Animals (5/04)
- Bats (9/2012)
- Bees (1/08)
- Birds (7/05)
- Pet Birds (1/2014)
- Butterflies (2/08)
- Caring for Our Animal Friends (10/06)*guest contributor
- Cats (12/2013)
- Crickets (3/08)
- Digging up Dinosaurs (1/2013)
- Dinosaurs (12/04)
- Dogs (12/2013)
- Donkeys (10/05)
- Farms (5/2013)
- Fireflies & Glowworms (1/08)
- Fleas (3/08)
- Flies (1/08)
- Foxes (7/06)
- Frog (11/03)
- Goldfish/Tropical Fish (1/2014)
- Guinea Pigs (4/2011)
- Habitats (7/07)
- Hamsters and Gerbils (11/05)
- Hippos (4/2010)
- Horses (2/2014)
- Jungle Animals (7/2012)
- Ladybugs (3/08)
- Lizards (4/2014)
- Llamas (6/2012)
- Moles – Animals that Dig (3/2013)
- Mosquitoes (5/08)
- Ocean Life (1/2010)
- Opossums (10/2012)
- Owls (8/2013)
- Penguins (12/06)
- Pet Pigs (1/06)
- Pet Show (11/05)
- Pets (11/2013)
- Pigeon Books (6/06)
- Rabbits (7/2013)
- Rhinos (7/2014)
- Snakes (5/2014)
- Spiders (5/08)
- Tigers (9/2012)
- Turtles & Tortoises (5/2014)
- Worms, snails and slugs (5/08)
- Zoos (8/2014)
Everyday Things
- Acting (2/09)
- Apples (11/2012)
- Art & Colors (5/06)
- Bathtime (9/08)
- Bedtime (6/08)
- Boats (2/2010)
- Boxes (8/09)
- Breakfast (12/2012)
- Buttons (10/09)
- Camping & Hiking (9/04)
- Car (10/2014)
- Chalk (4/09)
- Circus (9/03)
- Clay Play (12/08)
- Computers and Technology (6/2013)
- Cookies (5/2010)
- Crayons (12/08)
- Dance – Summer (1/09)
- Digging Machines (12/2012)
- Dinner (9/2011)
- Doughnuts (1/08)
- Dreams (1/2012)
- Eggs (11/09)
- Getting Dressed (11/09)
- Hats (8/2014)
- Houses & Homes (10/06)
- Ice Cream (12/2011)
- Jazz (4/09)
- Lullabies (1/2012)
- Maps school-age (5/05)
- Mail (9/07)
- Mask (4/09)
- Money (6/11)
- Music (8/07)
- Music – Summer (1/09)
- Noisy-Sound (10/07)
- Painting (3/09)
- Pajamas (7/2013)
- Pancakes (3/2010)
- Peanutbutter (10/04)
- Photography (2/09)
- Pizza (1/13)
- Play with Food (5/05)
- Popcorn (3/2013)
- Potatoes (10/03)
- Recycling (8/2011)
- Shoes (9/2014)
- Singing (2/09)
- Signs and Signage (11/2014)
- Shadows (3/06)
- Sleep (3/2012)
- Snowman (12/2014)
- Strawberries (2/2013)
- Surfing & Swimming (1/2010)
- Teddy Bears lapsit (3/01)
- Teddy Bears (9/2013)
- Teeth (6/2013)
- Telephone (11/07)
- Television (11/2012)
- Trains (7/2010)
- Tools and Construction Worker (9/08)
- Vegetable Gardening (7/03)
- Vegetables (Digging up) (1/2013)
- Underwear (8/2014)
- Watermelon (10/2013)
Miscellaneous
- Books Featuring Children w/ Disabilities (8/02)
- Bullying (1/03)
- Dragons, Dreams, & Daring Deeds (2/05)
- Flannel-Board Ideas (3/03)
- Get a Move on / Movement (4/07)
- Helping (10/2013)
- Imagination (3/09)
- Informational Picture Books (9/2014)
- It’s Hot Outside (3/2010)
- Manners / Etiquette (10/2010)
- Monsters (8/04)
- Mother Goose (7/04)
- Newbery & Caldecott Possibilities (11/00)
- Opposites (8/09)
- Peace and Kindness (12/2014)
- Picnics (3/2010)
- Puppets (6/2013)
- Rebus (6/2014)
- Riddles (7/2014)
- Sick/Get Well (11/08)
- Silly Stories for School Visits (8/00)
- Solve It! (1/07)
- Digging up Treasure (3/2013)
- Treehouses (7/07)
- Websites Helpful for Storytime Planning (7/06)
- Yoga (6/2014)
- Zombies (9/2012)
Multicultural
- Africa (2/2011)
- African American Books w/ Musical Themes (1/00)
- Alaska (6/2010)
- Asian Stories & Crafts (5/03)
- Australia (2/2011)
- Canada (8/2010)
- Caribbean (8/2010)
- Caribbean Islands (11/2010)
- China (3/2011)
- Chinese Americans (12/01)
- Egypt (3/2011)
- Ethnicities & Cultures school-age (10/01)
- France (12/2010)
- Germany (1/2011)
- Hawaii (2/2010)
- India (2/2011)
- Japan (3/2011)
- Mexico (11/2010)
- Middle Eastern Culture (12/06)
- Russia (1/2011)
- Scandinavian Countries (12/2010)
- South America (11/2010)
- Spain & Italy (12/2010)
- United Kingdom (12/2010)
People
- Architects (5/2013)
- Astronauts (12/07)
- Aunts and Uncles (11/2011)
- Bakers (6/09)
- Chefs & Barbecue (6/07)
- Cowboys & Cowgirls (8/2010)
- Crime Fighters! (2/07)
- Dance (9/01)
- Families – people (12/09) *guest contributor
- Farmers (7/11)
- Firefighters (11/07)
- Friends (8/08)
- Garbage Man (10/08)
- Grocer (6/2010)
- Knights (9/09)
- Librarian (9/09)
- Magicians (10/2014)
- Mail (9/07)
- Mermaids (7/2012)
- New Baby (8/03)
- Personal Names (6/04)
- Pirates (8/06)
- Police Officers (8/2011)
- Presidents (8/2012)
- Princess (8/06)
- Scarecrows (11/09)
- Superhero (12/04)
- Teachers (8/2012)
Science
- Art & Colors (5/06)
- Autumn (8/2011)
- Bubbles (1/2010)
- Body Parts (9/05)
- Building & Construction (12/09)
- Chemistry (1/2014)
- Colors (11/2013)
- Drought-Hydrology (4/2014)
- Earthquakes (1/2010)
- Five Senses (05/2014)
- Flower Garden (digging in) (2/2013)
- Grossology (5/2014)
- Healthy eating (6/2012)
- Hibernation (11/2011)
- Leaves & Trees (10/09)
- Light (7/09)
- Math (10/12)
- Migration (11/2011)
- Moon Stories (1/2012)
- Night sky (3/2012)
- Ocean Life (1/2010)
- Outer Space (11/06)
- Plants & Photosynthesis (4/2014)
- Pumpkin Gardening (9/2014)
- Rain & Snow (1/05)
- Rainbows – Science (7/2010)
- Robots (9/2011)
- Sand (Digging in the) (2/2013)
- Seasons (7/08)
- Shapes (1/07)
- Spots (5/2010)
- Spring (10/2011)
- Summer (11/2011)
- Stars (3/2012)
- Stripes (5/2010)
- Sun & Moon (8/05)
- Telling Time (10/2011)
- Volcanoes (2/2014)
- Water (2/2010)
- Weather (7/09)
- Wind (2/2014)
- Winter (9/2011)
Special Days
- Backwards Day (11/2014)
- Beach Day (6/03)
- Birthdays (6/11)
- Cesar Chavez’s Birthday (8/2013)
- Days of the Week (9/2013)
- Dia De Los Ninos (12/2011)
- Easter Eggs (8/03)
- Earth Day (12/07)
- Father’s Day (6/07)
- First Day of School (8/12)
- Fourth of July (6/05)
- Grandparent’s Day (9/09)
- Groundhog Day (10/2011)
- Halloween (9/08)
- Halloween – Not so Scary (9/2010)
- Mexican Independence Day (8/05)
- Months of the Year (9/2013)
- Mother’s Day (8/2013)
- New Year’s Day (9/09)
- Olympics or Sports Day (7/2012)
- Picnics (3/2010)
- Polar Express Reading Celebration (11/04)
- Pumpkins (9/2010)
- Thanksgiving (10/09)
- Valentine’s Day (12/2011)
- Wedding (1/2011)
SUMMER READING 2008 – Catch the Reading Bug Flies (1/08) Fireflies & Glowworms (1/08) Butterflies (2/08) Ants (2/08) Bees (2/08) Fleas (3/08) Ladybugs (3/08) Crickets (3/08) Spiders (5/08) Mosquitoes (5/08) Worms, snails and slugs (5/08
SUMMER READING 2009 – Be Creative @ Your Library Clay Play (12/08) Crayons (12/08) Dance (1/09) Music (1/09) Acting (2/09) Singing (2/09) Photography (2/09) Imagination (3/09) Painting (3/09) Jazz (4/09) Chalk (4/09) Mask (4/09)
SUMMER READING 2010 – “Make a Splash – READ” Surfing & Swimming (1/2010) Ocean Life (1/2010) Bubbles (1/2010) Water / Science (2/2010) Hawaii (2/2010) Boats (2/2010)
SUMMER READING 2011 – “One World, Many Stories – READ” Mexico (11/2010) Caribbean Islands (11/2010) South America (11/2010) Scandinavian Countries (12/2010) United Kingdom (12/2010) France (12/2010) Spain & Italy (12/2010) Germany (1/2011) Russia (1/2011) Africa (2/2011) India (2/2011) Australia (2/2011) China (3/2011) Japan (3/2011) Egypt (3/2011)
SUMMER READING 2012 – “Dream Big – READ” Stars (3/2012) Night sky (3/2012) Sleep (3/2012) Nocturnal Animals (2/2012) Pajamas (2/2012) Beds (2/2012) Dreams (1/2012) Lullabies (1/2012) Moon Stories (1/2012) Bedtime (6/08) Camping & Hiking (9/04
SUMMER READING 2013 – “Reading is So Delicious” (CLA’s theme) Breakfast (12/2012) Apples (11/2012) Bakers (6/09) Chefs & Barbecue (6/07) Cookies (5/2010) Dinner (9/2011) Doughnuts (1/08) Eggs (11/09) Grocer (6/2010) Healthy eating (6/2012) Ice Cream (12/2011) Pancakes (3/2010) Pizza (1/2013) Picnics (3/2010) Popcorn (3/2013) Strawberries (2/2013)
SUMMER READING 2013 – “Dig into Reading” (CSLP’s theme) Animals that Dig – Moles (3/2013) Digging up Dinosaurs (1/2013) Digging Machines (12/2012) Digging in the Flower Garden (2/2013) Digging in the Sand (2/2013) Digging up Treasure (3/2013) Digging up Vegetables (1/2013)
SUMMER READING 2014 – “Paws to Read” (CLA’s theme) Cats (12/2013) Dogs (12/2013) Horses (2/2014) Goldfish/Tropical fish (1/2014) Lizards (4/2014) Pets (11/2013) Pet Birds (1/2014) Snakes (5/2014) Turtles and Tortoises (5/2014)
SUMMER READING 2014 – “Fizz Boom Read!” (CSLP’s theme) Chemistry (1/2014) Colors (11/2013) Drought-Hydrology (4/2014) Five Senses (5/2014) Grossology (5/2014) Physics (12/2013) Plants & Photosynthesis (4/2014) Wind (2/2014) Volcanoes (2/2014)