Setting up a storytime is NOT as easy as A, B, C

I am doing the toddler storytime here in my library for the next few weeks, so today I started pulling books and making my handouts. As I was doing this, I thought that most people probably think, "Hey, it's a library. Just walk around, pick out a few books and you've got yourself a storytime!". Oh, if only. Not so much so. In reality, there is a good deal of thought and prep work that goes into a successful storytime. And the important word there, just in case you weren't sure, is successful. I could actually just go grab a bunch of books, sit down and read them, but if I do that, I can virtually guarantee that the storytime will be a horrible experience for everyone involved. Kids will be crying, parents will be glaring, asteroids will miss the Earth by 17, 240 miles...okay, just kidding. About that last part anyway.

If you want your storytime to be successful, to be effective, you really do need to take time and plan it. You need to take several things into consideration before you even start looking for books.

1. What is your audience's age? As I said, I am going to have toddlers for my storytimes. We consider toddlers to be between the ages of about 18 months to about 3 years old.

2. Are you only reading books or will you also incorporate songs into your storytime (before we go any further, I HIGHLY recommend that you incorporate songs into your storytime)?

3. Once you know the answer to numbers 1 and 2, you can better answer this question: how long will your storytime last? With toddlers, we have found that about 15-20 minutes works best. If they are having a great day, go the distance and stay for 20 minutes, but, if they are having a rough day (lots of crying, lots of running around, lots of wiggling), call it quits at 15. ***Tip: if you do have to end a little earlier than you had planned, be honest with the parents/caretakers. Let them know that not every storytime runs smoothly and that's okay. The important thing is to not give up. Come back next time and try again!***

Okay. So now you've got the framework for your storytime. Now you can start looking for books. Again, this is not as easy as it sounds. Not all books are built the same. To really be a great storytime book, it needs to be just long enough to tell them the story, but not so long that they lose interest. It needs to have exciting pictures (colorful is best) that will help make the book fun for them. The pictures need to be big enough that the kids hanging back can see it just as well as the kids who rush to sit right in front of you. And, of course, the book has to be about something that the kids will enjoy. A book about the proper preparation of mashed potatoes probably ain't gonna cut it for toddlers. Boring story, boring pictures, bored kids.

When I do storytime, I can get through some books. In that 15-20 minute time frame, I can get up to 6 books read. Sometimes it will be less than that, depending on the kids. Once I have picked out six books, I create a loose outline for the order in which I will read them. I think it is best to start with a short book because everyone is still going to be so excited to be there that they might not yet be ready to listen to a longer one. I save my longer books (and I try to limit this to no more than two), for the next two slots. Then I finish with a few more shorter ones.

Now for the songs. With toddlers, you may find that you have to alternate book-song-book-song-book, etc, so make sure you have plenty of songs ready to go. We use large song sheets that we hang behind us. This way, the parents/caretakers are encouraged to also participate. Songs are also a great way to help burn off excess kid energy. "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is a classic that pretty much all of them know and so can help to bring them back into focus. "Five Little Monkeys" is a great song to get the kids up and moving so maybe they can get rid of some of those wiggles. Songs are also great because they reinforce listening and memory skills.

This might be the most important tip of all: read your books on your own BEFORE you read them in storytime. There are a couple of important reasons for this. You need to be as familiar with the books as possible because they will flow better and will be more entertaining for the kids. Also, if you have read them beforehand, YOU will be able to enjoy them more. Trust me, if you don't enjoy the book you're reading, neither will the kids. I actually read my choices to my 6-year old daughter. If I lose her, it's a pretty safe bet I'll lose other kids as well.

Hopefully this has helped you to see that storytime isn't as easy as it sounds. It takes some time and effort, but when you get those kids smiling and laughing, or sitting quietly because they just don't want to miss what comes next, it really does make it all worthwhile.