Best Books to Share in Baby Programs: Survey Responses

Last month, I posted a survey form on this blog asking readers to share their favorite books to use in baby programs. I know I'm always looking for new titles to explore, and there are plenty of gems on this list.

Best Books to Share in Baby Programs
*titles shared by multiple respondents are noted with an asterisk

Sandra Boynton books
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
Jamberry by Bruce Degen
Barnyard Banter by Denise Fleming
Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming
Hello, Baby! by Mem Fox
*Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury
Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett
Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett
Birds by Kevin Henkes
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
Where's Spot? by Eric Hill
Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora
Look at the Baby by Kelly Johnson
Karen Katz books
Annie Kubler books
Barney Plays Nose to Toes by Margie Larsen
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
Tickle the Duck! by Ethan Long
Achoo! Bang! Crash! The Noisy Alphabet by Ross MacDonald
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle
We've All Got Bellybuttons! by David Martin
Baby Faces by Margaret Miller
I Kissed the Baby! by Mary Murphy
A Kiss Like This by Mary Murphy
Kiss, Tickle, Cuddle, Hug by Susan Musgrave
Saffy and Ollie by Paola Opal
I'm the Scariest Thing in the Castle by Kevin Sherry
*Clip-Clop by Nicole Smee
Simms Taback books
Little White Duck by Walt Whippo
*books with pop-up, lift-the-flap, and touch-and-feel components

What do you read in your baby programs?

There are lots of different ways to do programs for babies. I've shared my basic Bouncing Babies program format here on the blog, and while I usually stick to that format, I always look forward to hearing what some of the baby story time pros have to say. I know I can count on Melissa at Mel's Desk, Abby at Abby the Librarian, and Brooke at Reading with Red to share great ideas when it comes to baby programs, and they are always sources of inspiration for me.

I also find it inspiring when I find new titles--or, at least, titles that are new to me--that absolutely scream "Share me at Bouncing Babies!" I found just such a book last week in Baby Parade by Rebecca O'Connell with wonderful illustrations by Susie Poole. I shared this title earlier this week in Bouncing Babies, and everyone got really into the book. It can be terrifically interactive for little ones, as it invites listeners to wave to the babies on parade. If there's one motor skill babies and toddlers seem to master early on, it's waving. Thus I found this book a perfect addition to my go-to Bouncing Babies favorite reads.

And that got me thinking: what are your favorite books to read with babies in your baby programs? What have been your most successfully shared titles? My Bouncing Babies programs serve children from 1 through 23 months, so there's quite a developmental range there. Any tips on books I absolutely must get my hands on?

If you'd like to contribute the name of a book or two that you like to share in your baby programs, please do so using the form below. I'll compile the responses into a post to be shared here, most likely after ALA Annual Conference at the end of this month.
 

What's Popular in MG Series: Books Kids Love Survey Results

The results are in! 146 of our participated in Part II of the Books Kids Love Survey that Anne and I sent out into the interwebs; that's 146 people weighing in on what middle grade series are popular at their branches and which are not. And now, without further ado, the fifteen middle grade series we surveyed, from most popular to least:

I am intrigued by the fact that the top three most popular middle grade series--Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, and Dork Diaries--can all be considered readalikes of one another. I sense a theme, writing style, and or perspective that appeals to this age of reader...

Anne compiled the data on each individual series. Take a look at the charts below; how do series' popularity at your library relate to any larger trends? Are you missing anything from your collection?

Anne and I want to say THANK YOU for weighing in on the series that your readers are enjoying, or perhaps not so much. My hope is that the results can give us some points of consideration in moving forward. What I'll be thinking about:

• Are there series on which I should be offering book discussions or programs?
• Based on series popularity, what types of readalike booklists should I make before summer reading?
• What series am I purchasing too many copies of?
• What series may need replacement copies?

It should be noted that a few people expressed a wish that we had offered more descriptive criteria in Part II of our survey; namely, they wanted there to be an option for a series that saw consistent middling interest among readers. Note that our data will only reflect popularity within the boundaries that we set for the survey. Also, there will always be room for discussion on what it even means for a book or series to be "popular." For now, though, I think these data give us plenty of interesting things to talk about.

Books Kids Love, Part II

75 of you (!!) responded to last week's survey about what middle grade series are popular in your libraries. Anne and I are thrilled with that response, and now we want to dig a bit deeper. Using the data from Part I, we've identified the 15 series that were named the most--because you said either they are very popular or they are not living up to their former fame. We'd love it if you'd take a few minutes to report on how these 15 series fare in your library. Is one series collecting dust in the stacks while another series overtakes your hold shelf? We want to know, and we'll report back on the findings at the end of the month. I can't wait to see if what's popular with my kids is part of a larger trend.

Books Kids Love, Part I

Anne at so tomorrow and I got to talking on Twitter a few weeks back--she was looking for additional read-alikes for Dork Diaries, and I was offering suggestions for similar series that my kids are enjoying. That conversation turned to how series popularity can vary from library to library, and from there we started wondering what kids love at libraries other than our own. And so this two-part survey was born.

If you'd be so kind, please take a moment to think about what middle grade series are most popular with the kids you serve. There's no need to check circ stats--just name some titles off the top of your head (or look to your hold shelf!). Data collected from this survey will inform the next step in our exploration, with a culmination of series popularity info on our blogs at the end of February. Thanks for sharing what your kids love reading!

Program Planning Styles Poll Results

Two weeks ago, I asked a question of those of you who create library programs: When it comes to library programs, what is your planning style? I ended up with 49 responses to that question, and I find the results of this (admittedly small sample size) poll interesting. Without further ado, the breakdown of how you all plan your programs:

The most popular program planning style (in orange), which is standard for over half of us, is to plan a general theme in advance of the program and fill in the details in the last few days before it happens. This method is primarily how I program, as I mentioned in my initial post. I personally like that there are so many fantastic ideas out there in libraryland that my colleagues are willing to share, and when I find something I like, I make note of it (and of my source!); I feel very comfortable filling in the fine print of the program--or the less fine print, if I'm unprogramming--closer to the actual event. I find this strategy especially useful since sometimes my expected program attendance can vary wildly. No use planning a huge program for what looks, in the few days leading up to the program, to be a group of five. It seems many of you agree, albeit I'm sure your reasons may differ from mine. Share details of your reasoning in the comments!

The next most popular program planning styles are having a loose plan and going with the audience's mood (in green) and meticulously planning a program at least a week in advance (in red). I'm curious to know what sorts of programs these respondents are offering. Loose planners, what do your programs look like, and what do your attendees think of them? Meticulous planners, what are your motivations for planning ahead? Preparedness, staff or budget control, centralized planning? I'd love to know if you're inclined to share in the comments.

Only two of you said that you totally wing it when it comes to programming (in blue), and three of you clarified your programming planning style with other responses (in purple). One of those "Others" plans every detail over a month ahead of time, and the other two admit to using different planning styles for different types of programs. Which brings up a good point--are some programs "quicker" to plan than others? Relative ease could stem from substantial experience offering a type of program--story times, for instance--or from a number of other factors. Have you found that you can put together certain types of programs more quickly, efficiently, and effectively than others which require more brainpower? How do your program offerings break down along these lines? I know that I personally need to do at least a bit of deliberate planning for each of my programs, although my STEAM programs do take a bit more concentration and intention than my story times. How does it work out for you?

And, last but not least, what does this all mean? I find it encouraging that the vast majority of you have some sort of plan in place when you walk into a program room full of kids. That fact gives some validation to my own methods--in particular sharing program ideas with colleagues. I primarily use blogs, conferences, Twitter conversations, and other collaborative/interactive spaces to get ideas, and that's what I try to do here, too. Knowing that you all, to varying extents, use plans in your programming, too, makes me even more inclined to share as much of my programming on this blog (and the ALSC blog) as I can.

The last thing I want to say is that I am thrilled to see so many youth services librarians putting any level of thought and deliberation into programming, and I cannot wait for opportunities to talk programs with all of you. If you're in Seattle for ALA Midwinter this weekend, let's chat.

What's your programming planning style? (I want to know!)

Library folks have been talking about taking programming breaks lately, and all that talk has got me thinking about program planning--I try to plan in bulk on breaks. You see, in my library district, program event calendars are published every quarter, with event descriptions ready at least a month before the first program. That means my March-May events must be solidified February 1. This schedule requires some amount of forethought and planning, which I create in the form of a programming grid:

I have a rough idea of how many types of "special" programs (i.e., not recurring, age-specific story times) I want our department to offer every month. As I find ideas in the books I read, professional journals, and (primarily) online, I fill in the program spaces in my grid. As you can see, in some areas I am much better planned than others. I don't have my January outreach story time figured out yet, for example, despite the fact that it is most definitely already January. But I do have science program topics planned out for many months to come.

My programming grid helps me keep tabs on all of the program ideas that end up bouncing around my brain, and it absolutely streamlines my process when I need to plug programs into a schedule. As far as planning program content, though? How I do that can vary hugely, and many times it takes the form of what Marge at Tiny Tips for Library Fun calls "unprogramming." Here are three examples of my different programming styles:

• For school-age programs (that are not science programs): I tend to find inspiration for these programs in the form of complete ideas; that is, I find the theme, activities, and related books all at once. Thus, when I have a school-age program idea, I plug it into my program grid and create a Google Doc with the full program itinerary. Said itinerary can be structured (e.g., booktalk, craft, activity, craft, closing activity), but just as often the itinerary lists a few loose ideas of things we can do depending on audience mood. Regardless of whether I program or unprogram these events, I spend about 45 minutes planning for an average 45 minute program.
• For science programs: I spend downtime on the reference desk browsing science activities online, and when I find at least three on any given STEM topic, I consider that topic program-worthy. I plug the topic into my program grid, create a Google Doc with the program topic as the title, and wait until about two weeks before the program to solidify my program itinerary and create program materials. For these programs, I spend about 90 minutes for an average 45 minute program.
• For story times: With the exception of in the fall, when I incorporate state award-nominated picture books into my story times, I tend to keep a free planning style for story times. I like to look through new picture books as they are delivered to the branch, and I often find myself pulling these titles to share at upcoming story times. I'll frequently fill out these program reading lists with books from favorite authors, folktales, and classic picture books. I note relevant early literacy connection as I read through the books, and that's enough for me to be prepared to share tips in the program. Oh yes, and the craft. More and more often, I turn to so-called "blank page crafts" for my story times with a craft component. The freedom and creativity allowed by such crafts with loose parameters are developmentally beneficial to children, and I love the interactions I have with them when they tell me about their creations. That works for me. I usually spend between 15 and 30 minutes planning for 30-45 minute story times.

So that's what I do when it comes to program planning. Even within my variety of programs, there are a range of program planning styles that I use. In my opinion, there is no one right way to plan programs--so long as the resulting programs are engaging, quality, and supporting some aspect of the library's mission, like literacy, education, lifelong learning, etc. (I will say, however, that when you spend 3, 4, 5 times as much time planning as you do providing a program, it's time to start evaluating program content priorities--more on that in a future post).

What about you? How to do plan for your library programs? Take a moment and answer that question below; I'll share results in an upcoming blog post.