Storytime Ideas for Books About Reading

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 reading!

CLEL Bell Award Winners & Shortlisters perfect for a baby storytime:

• This is a Story by John Shu, illustrated by Lauren Castillo (2024 Winner)
• This Is the First Book I Will Read to You by Francesco Sedita, illustrated by Magenta Fox (2024 Shortlist)
• I’ll Build You a Bookcase by Jean Ciborowski Fahey, illustrated by Simone Shin (2022 Shortlist)
• Where Do Words Come From? by Jeff Zwiers, illustrated by Sr. Reny (2022 Shortlist)
• Library Babies by Puck, illustrated by Violet Lemay (2021 Shortlist)

CLEL Bell Award Winners & Shortlisters perfect for a toddler/preschool storytime:

• When You Love A Book by Kaz Windness, illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee (2025 Winner)
• Bathe the Cat by Alice B. McGinty, illustrated by David Roberts (2023 Winner)
• Llama Llama Loves to Read by Anna Dewdney and Reed Duncan (2019 Winner)
• Benita and the Night Creatures by Mariana Llanos, illustrated by Cocoretto (2024 Shortlist)
• Help Wanted, Must Love Books by Janet Summer Johnson, illustrated by Courtney Dawson (2021 Shortlist)

Rhymes, Songs, and Fingerplays:

Flannelboards:

Recorded Music:

• Library Card Song from Arthur
• Reading Rainbow Theme Song
• Reading is Fun by The Learning Station
• Bounce for Books by Groovy Nate

Relevant Caregiver Asides (credit: www.earlylit.net)

• Part of reading books with young children is simply helping them become comfortable with how books work. Your baby will bat at the pages, trying to imitate you turning the page. Your toddler will know what a book is for and may babble a story while turning pages. Older children will benefit from you running your finger under the text to show that you are reading the words, not the pictures. All these activities help support your children’s print awareness.
• You may notice that as I read a book I point to the words in the title or to the words of a repeated phrase. By drawing attention to the text while saying the words children are learning that it is the text we read, not the pictures. This helps them develop print awareness, one of the skills that helps them when they learn to read. 
• One of the best things you can give your children is the enjoyment of books and reading. By allowing your children to participate as you share books with them, you can keep them engaged around the book. Feel free to have them turn the pages, to stop and talk about a picture, or ask an open-ended question to keep their interest.
• Factual books are a great way to expand children’s knowledge about the world. You can read the whole book or choose certain pages your child might be interested in.
• You can help children understand words they may not know by offering a little explanation as you go along. If you prefer, you can talk about or explain some words before you start reading the book. Research notes that the more words your children know and understand, the more vocabulary they have, the easier it will be for them when they begin to read.
• Books are very rich in vocabulary—they have words that we do not use in everyday conversation with young children. So, children hear many more words when we read books to them. You may notice, though, that with board books for babies, there are often only a couple of words on a page. In that case, YOU are the one who must provide extra words by using the pictures as conversation starters—to tell a little story or to tell your baby about an experience you remember. It is the little things you do that build their vocabulary which will later help them understand what they read.

This is the first in a series of storytime templates for the five Early Literacy Practices. Stay tuned for more!