Pop-Up Stories & Discussion in the Civic Lab

In this first iteration of our Civic Lab here at my library, most of the modes for participation are passive: voting on the major question, browsing the resources, and reflecting on or responding to the conversation starter questions. This first appearance of the Civic Lab has been largely unstaffed--which is decidedly different from how we plan to proceed when we get to round two.

But there has been a specific active component for youth in conjunction with the Civic Lab's debut: pop-up stories and discussion.

I facilitated each of these pop-ups, one for each of our six topic areas. During the days we were focused on each topic, I grabbed the picture book from that topic's micro-collection and headed into the youth services department. I looked for the areas where kids were playing or hanging out, then introduced myself and invited them to participate in one story with some talking afterward. As is usual in our busy library, only a handful of kids were willing to put down the activity they'd been engaged in to participate--but that's fine, as it ensured our groups were small and cozy, better for thoughtful shared reading.

Then, when we were settled around a table, or in a circle on the floor, I'd open the book and start to read. Depending on the particular title, we might immediately start talking about what we saw in the pictures, or words that we were hearing in the story that weren't familiar. The goal of the pop-up stories was to engage kids in the focus topic in a developmentally appropriate way; and in many instances, the reading was the first encounter with the topic. It felt important to share the story together and to think about it, to ask questions and to encourage kids to ask them, too, and to respond with information, or more questions, when appropriate.

Here are the books we discussed:

• I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Bryan Collier (Black Lives Matter)
• Where's the Elephant? by Barroux (Climate Change)
• Two White Rabbits by Jairo Buitrago, illustrated by Rafael Yockteng, translated by Elisa Amado (Immigration)
• Yard Sale by Even Bunting, illustrated by Lauren Castillo (Income Inequality)
• Donovan's Big Day by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Mike Dutton (LGBTQQI)
• My Body Belongs to Me: A Book About Body Safety by Jill Starishevsky, illustrated by Angela Padron (Reproductive Justice)

My favorite, and probably most successful, of these pop-up stories and discussions was with the title Where's the Elephant? In that gorgeous picture book, kids are asked on the first, lush spread to try to find the elephant, snake, and parrot. It's a familiar type of book-sharing for kids--the seek and find. They get really into it, applying laser focus to each spread to find those animals. It gets easier and easier to spot them on each spread, as with each page turn, more and more of the lush forest in which they've lived is cut down. Eventually, the animals are hiding among houses, not trees, until finally they end up in the zoo. Easy to spot? Absolutely. And that visual storytelling makes it so impactful to finish the book and ask the kids, "So what do you think the story was really about?"

Spread from Barroux's Where's the Elephant?

Spread from Barroux's Where's the Elephant?

Where's the Elephant? spurred great conversations about how humans impact our environment, and how that has effects on other living creatures as well as on ourselves. It was a unique approach to the larger topic of climate change, which ties back to humans' impacts on our world. The simple story gave kids a frame for thinking about the topic.

I think this type of activity could be easily replicated outside of a larger initiative like our Civic Lab. A storytime leader could easily add one of these picture books into storytime and have a quick little chat after the story. If parents are present at the story sharing, the story gives them the opportunity to think about how they might have that conversation with their kids. We've anecdotally found that parents do want to talk to their kids about these major topics in the world, but they don't always know how to go about doing so. Sharing stories that connect to major topics can show parents that there are resources to support those conversations, and that their library is a place to go for those resources and for their own support.

Sharing these types of stories gets us engaged in conversation with each other in ways that build community bonds--whether among a family, a neighborhood, or an entire community. Give it a try.

The Civic Lab: Skokie's Civic Engagement Library

Civic engagement is on our minds at my library. Not just because this is an election year--although that certainly adds a layer to the conversation and mood around civic engagement in our community. Civic engagement has been on our mind for several years, and it's informed public programs and initiatives as well as discussions around our strategic plan. We've seen teens and adults having conversations about issues and things they see in the news, and children and their parents trying to figure out how to process those same issues and news items. After seeing The Uni Project in New York, this idea of civic engagement in the library seemed to coalesce for us around the idea of a mobile, pop-up space. And so after a few months' discussions, followed by a few weeks of planning and resource-making, we debuted our civic engagement space at the end of August.

Welcome to the Civic Lab at Skokie Public Library.

The Civic Lab is a mobile, pop-up library with resources and activities. Its first appearance is situated in the library itself--specifically, in our Boutique space, which features seasonal and themed collections throughout the year. The Civic Lab as a concept is meant to offer information and thought-provoking activities meant to support dialogue and engagement on issues that affect our community. For this two-month residency in the library, the Civic Lab is exploring six main issues of impact and importance to our community: Black Lives Matter; climate change; immigration; income inequality; LGBTQQI; and reproductive justice.

This debut Civic Lab includes elements of collection, activities, and facilitated programming.

Six micro-collections comprise the bulk of the materials available in the Civic Lab. Each of our six focus topics is supported by six core resources: two for adults, two for teens, and two for children and families. These lists have been carefully curated, with library staff in nearly every department having input. We've curated these lists not to be neutral, but rather to provide introductions and perspectives on our six topics. Lists for further reading--which also live on our library website--provide even more choices for exploring a topic. All the core resources, further reading, key definitions, and conversation starters appear on handouts in the space. They're also available here:

• Black Lives Matter handout
• Climate Change handout
• Immigration handout
• Income Inequality handout
• LGBTQQI handout
• Reproductive Justice handout

We're rotating some of the interactive components of the exhibit so that each of our six topics has an opportunity for closer focus and engagement over these two months. On one wall of the Civic Lab, we pose a general question relating to that featured topic; when we opened with the Black Lives Matter focus, we asked: "Has the Black Lives Matter movement challenged you to think about racism in Skokie?" The question sits atop a large board for voting, with bright-colored sticky notes ready to be placed on the sections for "Yes," "No," or somewhere in between. Pencils in the space allow patrons to write any comments on their sticky notes, too; and the longer the Civic Lab is up, the more comments people are sharing.

This type of voting component is taking place on a display unit in our youth services department as well. While the questions may be phrased differently for kids and families to be developmentally appropriate, they get at the same ideas and concepts.

We've also set a kitchen table of sorts in the Civic Lab. With boxes surrounding the table for sitting, and a box atop the table with conversation starters on it, the table is meant to be a place to stop and have a kitchen table conversation about these issues. We've left postcards on the table as well, encouraging patrons to share their thoughts--with a friend or family member, or just with the library in general--by writing them down and placing their postcard in our mailbox. These conversation starters are also the basis for some of our facilitated conversations taking place in the Civic Lab--more on those types of programs later.

Today I wanted to share an overview of this first appearance of our Civic Lab. I'll be back in a few weeks to talk about some of the programming elements that accompanied this first iteration, and in coming moths I'll share details about additional instances when and where the Civic Lab pops up. In the meantime, explore the resource lists we've created; have a conversation with a friend or colleague around a topic of import to your community; and make a point of recognizing instances of civic engagement in your library practice.

Storytime in the Wild

Over the past year or so, we've been putting a fair amount of intention behind the partitioning of our youth department into spaces designated for specific age ranges. Part of the impetus for this delineation of space is to ensure that all ages of youth who visit have an area to go to that is suited to their developmental needs and has materials and other items that are appropriate to them. One prime example is the Little Learners area, which is designated for youth ages 4-7--prime early and emerging literacy years. I've written before about the themed pocket collections we've developed for this space, and major programs we've hosted have often had elements take place in this area, too (think our Family Science Expo and Curious George Birthday Party, both huge events). This summer we've started doing something else in the space on the regular: storytimes.

I like to call this kind of initiative going out "in the wild" of the library--those spaces where people are every single day, but don't often have a formal mode of interacting with the space. It's our goal that, in offering age-specific programming in these age-delineated spaces, we're helping patrons develop a level of familiarity with the areas we're tailoring to them. It's a work in progress, but we're seeing these types of repeated program offerings reinforcing the models of use we optimally want to see.

When it comes to offering storytime in our Little Learners area, it means making slight furniture adjustments within the somewhat-partitioned area we've already got. The space is generally blocked off from the main thoroughfare of the library by a set of zig-zag shelves (on which we display our Little Learners take-home backpacks on one side, and most wanted picture books and readers on the other); there's still plenty of room to accessibly get into the space, but there is a visual sense of distinction. There's also one of the themed bins that helps create a lane along an architectural wall. Usually, there are two tables with kid-sized chairs in the space; for storytime, we orient those tables and chairs so they're facing a set of display shelves beneath a colorful mural--a perfect backdrop for a storytime leader. Kids have plenty of space to sit on the carpet in the front, and there are chairs for caregivers. Anecdotally, I think that caregiver participation is perhaps higher than we see in larger storytime spaces simply because the area is so cozy. The end result is a storytime that is engaging and inviting--anyone walking by can see and join if they want--while also introducing families to a space created specifically for their use with their kids ages 4-7.

We've been making other experiments in bringing programming into the wild in the past few months, too, with particular adventures this summer. I'll report back with more later on!

Until then, I'm curious: how do you think about taking programs into the wilds of the library, if you do so at all? Have you found it works better with certain programs with others? Certain ages?

And in case you're mostly curious about my storytime...

We read:

• The Crocodile and the Scorpion by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley
• There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer
• Mix It Up! by Hervé Tullet
• That Is Not a Good Idea! by Mo Willems

We sang:

• "Open, Shut Them"
• "Herman the Worm"
• "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree"
• "If You're Happy and You Know It"

Gratitude Graffiti at the Library

Back in January during my library's annual staff day, my department spent our meeting time giving spark talks--high-energy, three-minute pitches of ideas that we think are cool and that the library could consider adopting. My coworker Rachel pitched the idea of "gratitude graffiti"--a visual, crowd-sourced community art project in which people express their thanks. She cited some examples where communities do gratitude graffiti around Thanksgiving.

My department absolutely loved the idea, and we wanted to implement much sooner than November. Instead, we chose to make the Gratitude Graffiti project one of the cornerstones of our 2016 National Library Week celebrations.

We celebrated National Library Week from April 10 through April 17, or Sunday to Sunday. During that week, we identified 14 different library programs for a range of audiences as well as 2 high-use spaces for the project. Staff took our Gratitude Graffiti supplies to each of those programs and spaces. Supplies included a black foamcore poster board with signage explaining National Library Week; an assortment of metallic markers to write on the board; and an array of cookies (kosher) and dates as a thank-you treat for participants. Basically, our goal was to give library users the means and opportunity to express a thought of thanks for what the library adds to their lives.

To say we were blown away by the enthusiasm and responses we received is accurate. Patrons were consistently thrilled to have a chance to share a bit about what they love at their library.

We had community college students who excitedly took a break from their quiet study on the second floor to doodle and say "thank you" for the consistent and comfortable space.

We had teens who got into deep conversation about gratitude following the prompt of sharing on the board.

We had a teen at an author visit express her appreciation for the fact that she can always find books with girls like her--from biracial backgrounds--at our library.

We had school-age kids happy to state the activities they love having available to them at the library: science, art, reading, friendships...

We even had a three-year-old storytime regular who was so excited to share what she loves about the library, she wrote her first letter ever on the gratitude graffiti board. That's huge.

That's what the library can inspire in the people who visit.

So here is my takeaway, and my challenge and question to others: We know, anecdotally, that the library is a place that is valued and appreciated in the community, but we don't always give our patrons opportunities to express that value and appreciation. Comment cards tend to end up about complaints, but we don't always have great methods for capturing the good and the positive impacts the library has. Then, with a relatively low-stakes initiative like the Gratitude Graffiti project, we get to see not only what we add to peoples' lives, but we can see that they're thrilled to share their appreciation with us. It's like they've been waiting to share their feelings but never found the right moment until we asked.

How do you ask? How do you give your patrons opportunities to share beyond the everyday options? Because if there's one big thing we learned during our Gratitude Graffiti Project for National Library Week, it's that patrons are as happy to give gratitude as we are to receive it.

Community Aspirations for Strategic Planning

We've just wrapped up the strategic planning process at my library. It was a robust multi-month process, and we absolutely wanted lots of patron and community feedback to inform the direction of the library. To help the strategic planning team to position the library in a future that our community actively wants for our village, we wanted to hear their thoughts about where the community should go and what it should have--library included.

Around the time we were mulling over ways to generate community input, I was reading a book that included a quick mention of a Japanese festival, Tanabata. One of the customs associated with this holiday is the writing of wishes on tanzaku, small pieces of paper, then either setting the paper afloat on a body of water or tying it to the branch of a wish tree. I found this image of people--neighbors who share spaces but may not know one another--all sharing their wishes communally to be incredibly beautiful. How might we embrace this idea in a manner that would get patrons sharing their wishes for our community?

This community aspirations board was in our east
side  checkout area. It looks sparsely populated
with stars-- but that's just because I only took a
picture on day 1, then forgot to take more photos
when I was culling stars for the report to make
more space for input.

Cue our community aspirations boards. Since we wanted folks to share their aspirations--their wishes--we decided to go with a "wish upon a star" theme: a big nighttime starscape on foam core with a sign reading "Wish Upon a Star: Wishes for Skokie." Our graphics department made two of these boards, and we placed one at both of our checkout locations (which are on opposite sides of the library, together in the paths of everyone who uses the library). Next to each board was a table area with colorful star-shaped sticky notes, writing utensils, and a simple sign entreating folks to share their aspirations for Skokie on a star.

We chose this type of flat format for feedback because it could fit into the high-trafficked checkout areas without causing physical obstructions. And we opted for colorful visuals because, as we had hypothesized and as was confirmed by participation rates, when patrons see the colorful notes, they want to add their own to the board. We found that the more wishes that were on the board, the more people were inclined to add.

We left the community aspirations boards up for about three weeks, and some colleagues and I would periodically remove some stars and record the wishes on them for our final report. Over those three weeks, we had over 400 responses. These came from children through seniors and everyone in between. As you might imagine, some were more legible than others.

Now, if you want to do this type of patron-sharing project, you could certainly stop here. You can read the comments on the boards themselves and get some great ideas about what your public wants for the community they live in. Since we wanted this information for strategic planning, however, I put together a report of all the contributions. This involved coding the responses for themes so we could see what particular aspirations seemed most widely shared. The coding process required throwing out some of the contributions; I'm talking about the stars on which folks had written "poop" (there were at least a dozen); where young children had simply scribbled (we appreciate those thoughts and only wish we could translate!) or practiced their names; or where the comments didn't really fit into the category of realistic wishes from which we could suss out deeper aspirations. My favorite of this third type came from a four-year-old: "I wish Skokie was made of waffles." I hear you, Sadie.

We ended up with 363 viable aspirations that were coded into about 28 categories, then analyzed for frequency.

Far and away the aspiration for Skokie most frequently expressed in this project was for resources--both specific types of library resources and other types of resources in the community. To me, that indicates that lots of people in our community know what they want, but they may not know where to find it. That's something the library can certainly help with.

Food, play, and coffee were in the next tier of most-cited aspirations. While some of the comments about food had to do with food security, at least half of them were referring to spaces that were inviting and affordable to eat with others. Combined with play and the high desire for a coffee shop near the library, one interpretation of this grouping of aspirations could be that folks want spaces were they can be and play as individuals and as families who are part of a larger community. Again, this is a value that I think a library can be well-situated to embrace and promote.

We learned a lot from this community aspirations board project, and it certainly informed how the core strategic planning committee thought about what the community wants from us and from the place they live. We exist for them, and so we wanted to know what they want. We heard. And I encourage you to think about ways to get your patrons to weigh in on the type of community they want to live in so that you can think about how the library fits into that vision.

Little Learners Browsing Bins: A Themed Pocket Collection for Ages 4-7

We debuted a new pocket collection at my library this week.

Let me take a step back to start. We’ve been redesigning a space in the youth department designated for children ages 4-7, whom we call “Little Learners,” and their caregivers. The goal of the space is to engage these emerging readers and their families in literacy-positive activities, including reading and hands-on learning.

One of the initiatives for the space, and the one that I’ve helmed, is the creation of a pocket collection: ten themed browsing bins of age-appropriate picture books (YES! Picture books, and nonfiction in picture book format, are wonderful for all ages!). I’ve done theming/organizing of collections before, but the really cool thing about the Little Learners Browsing Bins project is that it was building a pocket collection from scratch. Turns out it’s super gratifying to go through all the steps to create a shiny, accessible new collection.

The first step was deciding on the bin themes. I did some research on libraries that have organized/reorganized their picture book collections into neighborhoods, thinking about what themes recur most and would be most appropriate for ages 4-7. I created a list of about a dozen themes, then shared them in a poll with all the folks at my library who work the youth services desk. My team members were expert at weighing in on themes--they know what types of books families with children this age ask for over and over again, and they have a great sense of what hidden gems in the collection could use more time front-and-center. They voted on preferred themes, including writing in suggestions. A combo of these themes then went to a poll on the library’s Facebook page, which library patrons were able to take. We got some good feedback from the folks who took the public poll, too.

Thus was our set of 10 themes determined--and 10 was the magic number because our new browsing bins would have space for 10 themes (4 “major” double-binned themes, and 6 single-binned themes):

• Award-Winners - titles that have received accolades, with an emphasis on awards recognizing diversity and inclusion 
• Fairy Tales - folk and fairy tales from both multicultural and traditional Western traditions 
• Science - titles that invite scientific interest and inquiry 
• Longer Tales - longer stories told in picture book format (we had previously noted many of these books in our collections with a note reading “Illustrated Fiction” in the MARC record) 
• Dinosaurs - picture books and picture book-format easy nonfiction dealing with dinosaurs as historical creatures and characters in stories 
• Things That Go - books that depict vehicles and transportation 
• Multilingual - titles including multilingual elements, with an emphasis on major languages spoken in the community 
• School Stories - stories about the experience of starting or going to school 
• Animals & Nature - picture books and picture book-format easy nonfiction that portray animals and nature as they are in real life 
• Listen-Along - picture books with musical accompaniment 

Then it was GO TIME for getting books in each theme. With the exception of titles for the Longer Tales and Listen-Along categories, which were culled from our existing collections, the books for the bins were gathered by purchasing brand new copies of great books. I bought one copy of each title for the bins, and the library also owns at least one additional copy of each title housed in our regular stacks. In my purchasing, I prioritized titles that are more recent (think the past few years) as well as titles by, about, and/or featuring diverse persons. Equity is a major goal with this pocket collection.

The library’s access department staff were outstanding in cataloging and preparing these items, and our graphic designer made outstanding icons for each of the themes; each book in the Little Learners Browsing Bins collection has a beautiful spine sticker, with both text and icon, to identify its theme and home. Very simple for both customers and staff.

There are more elements to the redesigned Little Learners area at my library than these Browsing Bins, including interactive panels, circulating Little Learners backpacks for at-home learning, a rotating monthly display, and eventual hands-on activities for children and caregivers to do together. I like to think, however, that the Little Learners Browsing Bins are a cornerstone of this revamped section--something previously not offered by the library, with great books displayed beautifully and in a manner that pre-readers and emerging readers can use effectively.

I so look forward to seeing how this pocket collection is used--and, hopefully, enjoyed--by our 4- to 7-year-olds and their families.

~~*~~

Debut collection for the Little Learners Browsing Bins at Skokie Public Library (we’ll keep adding new titles as excellent choices are published):

Award-Winners:

1. Princesses on the Run by Smiljana Coh
2. Part-time Princess by Deborah Underwood
3. Red Kite, Blue Kite by Ji-Li Jiang
4. Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss
5. Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light by Tim Tingle
6. A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant
7. Back to Front and Upside Down! by Claire Alexander
8. Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales
9. Firebird by Misty Copeland
10. Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty
11. Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue
12. Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett
13. One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo
14. Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
15. Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave
16. A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Erin Stead
17. The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
18. So, You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George
19. Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
20. Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
21. Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
22. Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
23. Grandma's Gift by Eric Velasquez
24. The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon
25. A Coyote Solstice Tale by Thomas King
26. Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt's Treasured Books by Susan L. Roth
27. The House Baba Built: An Artists' Childhood in China
28. Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji by F. Zia
29. Zephyr Takes Flight by Steven Light
30. Here Come the Girl Scouts! by Shana Corey
31. Molly, by Golly! by Dianne Ochiltree
32. Once a Mouse by Marcia Brown
33. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
34. May I Bring a Friend? by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers
35. The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship by Arthur Ransome
36. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
37. Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall
38. Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
39. Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman
40. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

Fairy Tales:

1. Walt Disney's Cinderella by Cynthia Rylant
2. The ABC of Fantastic Princes by Willy Puchner
3. Aladdin by Giada Francia
4. Beauty and the Beast by Giada Francia
5. Cinderella by Giada Francia
6. Little Red Riding Hood by Giada Francia
7. Rapunzel by Giada Francia
8. Sleeping Beauty by Giada Francia
9. The Little Mermaid by Giada Francia
10. Snow White by Giada Francia
11. Little Red Riding Hood by Jerry Pinkney
12. Precious and the Boo Hug by Pat McKissack
13. Hansel and Gretel by Rachel Isadora
14. Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal by Paul Fleischman
15. The Tale of the Firebird by Gennadii Spirin
16. Goldy Luck and the Tree Pandas by Natasha Yim
17. Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky
18. Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco
19. Town Mouse Country Mouse by Jan Brett
20. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
21. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
22. The Girl of the Wish Garden by Uma Krishnaswami
23. Brush of the Gods by Lenore Look
24. Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin
25. Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble
26. Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote by Duncan Tonatiuh
27. One Grain of Rice by Demi
28. Ganesha's Sweet Tooth by Emily Haynes
29. Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer
30. The Contest by Nonny Hogrogian
31. The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton
32. Juan Bobo Goes to Work by Marisa Montes
33. Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales
34. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka
35. Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
36. It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach
37. The Emperor and the Kite by Jane Yolen
38. Ten Big Toes and a Prince's Nose by Nancy Gow
39. Lon Po Po by Ed Young
40. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe

Science:

1. Look Up! Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer by Robert Burleigh
2. The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins
3. Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola
4. Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette Leblanc Cate
5. The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton
6. Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos by Stephanie Roth Sisson
7. Light is All Around Us by Wendy Pfeffer
8. What Happens to Our Trash? by D.J. Ward
9. Secrets of the Seasons: Orbiting the Sun in Our Backyard by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
10. Lookin' for Light: Science Adventures with Manny the Origami Moth by Eric Braun
11. Simply Sound: Science Adventures with Jasper the Origami Bat by Eric Braun
12. Plant Part Smarts: Science Adventures with Charlie the Origami Bee by Eric Braun
13. Rainbows Never End: And Other Fun Facts by Laura Lyn DiSiena
14. Saturn Could Sail: And Other Fun Facts by Laura Lyn DiSiena
15. What is the Water Cycle? by Ellen Lawrence
16. What are Rocks Made Of? by Ellen Lawrence
17. How Are Rain, Snow, and Hail Alike? by Ellen Lawrence
18. What is Weather? by Ellen Lawrence
19. What is Climate? by Ellen Lawrence
20. What are Clouds? by Ellen Lawrence
21. Volcano Wakes Up! by Lisa Westberg Peters
22. The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top: A Book About Volcanoes by Joanna Cole
23. The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow by Joanna Cole
24. How Many Planets Circle the Sun? by Mary Kay Carson
25. A Trip into Space: An Adventure to the International Space Station by Lori Haskins Houran
26. You Can't Ride a Bicycle to the Moon! by Harriet Ziefert
27. Gravity by Jason Chin
28. Pluto's Secret: An Icy World's Tale of Discovery by Margaret A. Weitekamp
29. It's Raining! by Gail Gibbons
30. It's Snowing! by Gail Gibbons
31. Clouds by Anne Rockwell
32. Energy Makes Things Happen by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
33. Sounds All Around by Wendy Pfeffer
34. What Makes a Magnet? by Franklyn Mansfield Branley
35. What's Alive? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
36. My Five Senses by Aliki
37. Forces Make Things Move by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
38. The Human Body by Jon Richards
39. Volcanoes by Seymour Simon
40. No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart

Longer Tales:

1. Hope Springs by Eric Walters
2. Dancers of the World by Aurelia Hardy
3. Harlem Renaissance Party by Faith Ringgold
4. Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
5. Goin' Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack
6. Lost + Found by Shaun Tan
7. January's Sparrow by Patricia Polacco
8. A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson
9. Mister Whistler by Margaret Mahy
10. Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin A. Ramsey
11. Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek by Deborah Hopkinson
12. Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China by Deborah Noyes
13. Black Dog by Levi Pinfold
14. The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman
15. Ladder to the Moon by Maya Soetoro-Ng
16. The Secret River by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
17. The Man in the Moon by William Joyce
18. Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet
19. Who Stole Mona Lisa? by Ruthie Knapp
20. Testing the Ice by Sharon Robinson
21. Henry and the Kite Dragon by Bruce Edward Hall
22. A Packet of Seeds by Deborah Hopkinson
23. Trouble with Trolls by Jan Brett
24. Jack and the Giant Barbecue by Eric A. Kimmel
25. When Grandmama Sings by Margaree King Mitchell
26. The Beautiful Lady by Pat Mora
27. The House at the End of Ladybug Lane by Elise Primavera
28. The Odious Ogre by Norton Juster
29. Stand Straight, Ella Kate by Kate Klise
30. The Django by Levi Pinfold
31. The Girl Who Wanted to Dance by Amy Ehrlich
32. Naming Liberty by Jane Yolen
33. The Flying Bed by Nancy Willard
34. Pancakes for Supper! by Anne Isaacs
35. Wings by Christopher Myers
36. The Yellow Star by Carmen Agra Deedy

Dinosaurs:

1. My Dinosaur is More Awesome! by Simon Coster
2. Brontorina by James Howe
3. When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach
4. Tea Rex by Molly Idle
5. Dinosaurs Love Underpants by Claire Freedman
6. Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems
7. Time Flies by Eric Rohmann
8. Dino Pets by Lynn Plourde
9. If Dinosaurs Live in My Town by Marianne Plumridge
10. Dig Those Dinosaurs by Lori Haskins Houran
11. How Big Were Dinosaurs? by Lita Judge
12. Amazing Giant Dinosaurs by DK
13. Why Did T. Rex Have Such Short Arms? by Melissa Stewart
14. If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur by Linda Bailey
15. Are the Dinosaurs Dead, Dad? by Julie Middleton
16. Bang! Boom! Roar! A Busy Crew of Dinosaurs by Nate Evans
17. Camp Rex by Molly Idle
18. The Three Triceratops Tuff by Stephen Shaskan
19. Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur by Judy Sierra
20. Dinosaur vs. the Library by Bob Shea

Things That Go:

1. The Too Little Fire Engine by Jane Flory
2. Construction by Sally Sutton
3. The Village Garage by G. Brian Karas
4. Machines Go To Work in the City by William Low
5. Everything Goes By Sea by Brian Biggs
6. Everything Goes in the Air by Brian Biggs
7. Everything Goes on Land by Brian Biggs
8. Moonshot by Brian Floca
9. The Glorious Flight by Alice Provensen
10. Locomotive by Brian Floca
11. Backhoe Joe by Lori Alexander
12. Night Light by Nicholas Blechman
13. Digger, Dozer, Dumper by Hope Vestergaard
14. Planes, Trains, and Cars by Simon Abbott
15. Supertruck by Stephen Savage
16. The Tweedles Go Electric by Monica Kulling
17. The Fire Station by Robert Munsch
18. Number One Sam by Greg Pizzoli
19. Earth Space Moon Base by Ben Joel Price
20. Go! Go! Go! Stop! by Charise Mericle Harper

Multilingual:

1. Maria Had a Little Llama / María Tenía Una Llamita by Angela Dominguez
2. Book Fiesta! Celebrate Children's Day-Book Day / Celebremos El Día de los Niños-El Día de los Libros by Pat Mora
3. Gracias / Thanks by Pat Mora
4. Count Me In! A Parade of Mexican Folk Art Numbers in English and Spanish by Cynthia Weill
5. Alicia's Fruity Drinks / Las Aguas Frescas De Alicia by Lupe Ruiz-Flores
6. Healthy Foods from A to Z / Comida Sana de la A a la Z by Stephanie Maze
7. Grandma's Chocolate / El Chocolate de Abuelita by Mara Price
8. Movi la Mano / I Moved My Hand by Jorge Lujan
9. La Florecita de la Maleza / The Little Weed Flower by Vicky Whipple
10. Little Crow to the Rescue / El Cuervito al Rescate by Elizabeth Cummins Munoz
11. Playing Lotería / El Juego De La Lotería Mexicana by Rene Colato Lainez
12. Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! / Preparate, Kindergarten! Alla Voy by Nancy Carlson
13. Mirror / (Arabic) by Jeannie Baker
14. Time to Pray / (Arabic) by Maha Addasi
15. Waiting for Mama / (Korean) by Tae-joon Lee

School Stories:

1. Lizzie and the Last Day of School by Trinka Hakes Noble
2. Planet Kindergarten by Sue Ganz-Schmitt
3. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
4. The New Girl...And Me by Jacqui Robbins
5. Follow the Line to School by Laura Ljungkvist
6. The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
7. My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay by Cari Best
8. Miss Brooks' Story Nook by Barbara Bottner
9. Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
10. The Best Thing About Kindergarten by Jennifer Lloyd
11. The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten by Maureen Fergus
12. Adventure Annie Goes to Kindergarten by Toni Buzzeo
13. Kindergarten Diary by Antoinette Portis
14. Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney
15. Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin
16. A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech
17. Preschool Time by Mij Kelly
18. The Night Before Preschool by Natasha Wing
19. Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison
20. Miss Nelson is Missing by Henry Allard

Animals & Nature:

1. Little Puffin's First Flight by Jonathan London
2. My Spring Robin by Anne Rockwell
3. My Garden by Kevin Henkes
4. Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner
5. Neighborhood Sharks Katherine Roy
6. Whale Trails, Before and Now by Lesa Cline-Ransome
7. Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth
8. These Bees Count! by Alison Formento
9. Picture a Tree by Barbara Reid
10. Plant a Little Seed by Bonnie Christensen
11. Awesome Autumn by Bruce Goldstone
12. Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell
13. Time to Eat by Steve Jenkins
14. Time to Sleep by Steve Jenkins
15. Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Steve Jenkins
16. How Do You Know It's Winter? by Ruth Owen
17. Shaping Up Summer by Lizann Flatt
18. Swirl by Swirl by Joyce Sidman
19. The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry
20. At This Very Moment by Jim Arnosky

Listen-Along:

1. The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket
2. Pictures at an Exhibition by Anna Hartwell Celenza
3. Vivaldi's Four Seasons by Anna Hartwell Celenza
4. Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite by Anna Hartwell Celenza
5. Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Anna Hartwell Celenza
6. Bach's Goldberg Variations by Anna Hartwell Celenza
7. The Heroic Symphony by Anna Hartwell Celenza
8. Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf by Peter Malone