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Anuncio de los ganadores del Premio CLEL Bell en español 2025 Announcing the 2025 Spanish CLEL Bell Award Winners

COLORADO – 17 de octubre de 2025: Las Bibliotecas de Colorado para la Alfabetización Temprana (CLEL) anunciaron los cinco libros ilustrados ganadores que ejemplifican las prácticas de alfabetización temprana: LEER, ESCRIBIR, HABLAR, CANTAR y JUGAR. Los ganadores fueron seleccionados de una lista de 25 títulos preseleccionada por el comité de premios.October 17, 2025: Colorado Libraries …

Books for Babies

Books for Babies By Michelle Ballard, Springfield-Greene County Library District I get asked: Why should I read to my baby? The answer is more complex than one might think. Reading to a baby creates a stronger bond between the baby and the reader. The baby is gaining vocabulary knowledge, learning how to handle a book, …

Storytime Ideas for Books About Singing

By: Justine Ferrara, Union (NJ) Public Library Do you want to incorporate CLEL Bell books into your storytimes? Are you looking for some caregiver tips, rhymes, songs, and activities to freshen up an existing storytime? Read on for some ideas to plan and execute an engaging storytime all about singing! CLEL Bell Award Winners & …

Announcing the 2025 Spanish CLEL Bells Shortlist

We are pleased to announce the shortlist titles for the biannual Spanish CLEL Bell Awards. The Spanish CLEL Bell Awards are an biannual recognition of five high-quality children’s books that provide excellent support of early literacy development in children ages 0-5. This shortlist of 25 CLEL Bell titles, five for each early literacy practice – …

Curating Picture Book Magic with the CLEL Bell Awards

By: Kate Davis If you’re reading this blog post, you’re probably a picture book buff. An early literacy enthusiast. An alphabet aficionado. An illustration insider. A storytime superfan. And definitely a library loyalist. No matter how much we love picture books, it can be overwhelming to find the right book at the right time for …

Storytime Ideas for Books About Writing

The Importance of Names Through Picture Books

By Lourdes C., 2026 CLEL Bells Committee Member Names are unique to each person. They have meanings, tell stories, and can even be songs. Names are conversation starters. Needless to say, names are important to everyone. What’s Your Name? by Bethanie Deeney Murguia was one of the titles that made it to the TALK category …

Wait, You Can SING That?

By Ali Kubeny (she/her), Children’s Services Librarian – Bellingham Public Library 2026 CLEL Bell Committee Member One of my favorite ways to integrate the SING practice into storytime is to find books that have opportunities to squeeze a song in or can be set to a tune in their entirety. I always get excited to …

Authors and libraries — a perfect pair!

By: Kristin Jardien Like most people, I love moments of serendipity! When I learned that I am lucky enough to live near Denise Vega, author of Adela’s Mariachi Band, I knew I couldn’t ignore the message the universe was sending me. That message was “bring her to your library!” So, I did. However, if you’ve …